The opening date for London’s first full-sized Ikea store in 13 years has been confirmed.
The 344,445sq ft store, located on the Millennium Way Retail Park in Greenwich, is set to open on February 7.
Once opened, it will become Ikea’s 22nd big box format store in the UK and its most sustainable.
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The store will create up to 500 new job opportunities across the store’s core retail department as well as the crèche, restaurant, bistro and Swedish food market.
Ikea Greenwich will also feature green spaces, a roof garden, flexible work areas and workshops, a roof pavilion and a Learning Lab where customers can learn how to prolong the life of products, grow food, upcycle and make their homes sustainable.
“We are incredibly excited that Greenwich will be home to our first leading sustainable store in the UK,” Ikea Greenwich store manager Helen Aylett said.
“We want to inspire and enable more people to live a better everyday life at home and we look forward to inviting our customers and the local community to enjoy a unique Ikea experience that puts their needs and lifestyles first.”
Targeting a BREEAM Excellent accreditation, the new store will incorporate multiple green technologies including photovoltaic panels, rainwater harvesting and grey water treatment to reduce water consumption by 50 per cent.
Renewable materials has also been used for its construction.
The store is aiming to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy and the interior aims to have lots of natural light, reducing a dependence on artificial lighting.
“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at Ikea,” country sustainability manager Hege Sæbjørnsen said.
“We want to be a force for change by having a lasting, positive impact on people and the planet.
“Ikea is playing a key role in the shift towards a circular economy, and the new Greenwich store will be a leading example for circular retail in London as we aim to inspire and enable people to live a more sustainable life at home and support them to reuse, refresh or recycle their products.”
In addition to Ikea Greenwich and existing full-sized London stores in Wembley, Tottenham and Croydon, Ikea opened a smaller-format Planning Studio on Tottenham Court Road in October and recently announced plans to open another one in Bromley in spring 2019.
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