// Ikea Hammersmith is around a quarter of the size of a traditional Ikea store and will focus on home accessories and soft furnishings perfect for urban living
// The store will also have an exclusive food offer, The Swedish Deli, which serves a range of Scandinavian delicacies such as Smörrebröd
Ikea is to open its first small format high street store in Hammersmith, west London on 24 February.
The store, which is around a quarter the size of a traditional Ikea store, is the first of its kind in the UK and focuses on home accessories, soft furnishings and a new food offer called The Swedish Deli.
Set across two floors, the 4,600 sqm Ikea store takes inspiration from London living and has a free-flowing layout with roomsets designed around urban living.
It stocks 4,000 products, which are located next to the roomsets they represent, rather than Ikea’s traditional Market Hall concept. Larger home furniture pieces will be on display and can be ordered for home delivery or delivery to nearby collection points.
The store will also house The Swedish Deli, which goes beyond serving Ikea’s iconic meatballs and sells a range of hot and cold Scandinavian delicacies, including Smörrebröd open sandwiches, Nordic Chicken Caesar and Swedish Mazarin. It will also serve plant balls, a vegan alternative to Ikea’s traditional meatballs.
Customers can dine-in, take away and also grab and go, as the deli will open at 8am on weekdays, one hour earlier than the store itself.
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Ikea UK and Ireland country manager and chief sustainability officer Peter Jelkeby said: “As shopping habits evolve and city centres continue to be redefined in the wake of the pandemic, this new store format marks the next step in our business transformation as we strive to make Ikea more accessible, affordable and sustainable.”
“For the first time, Londoner’s will be able to take the tube to an IKEA store, pop in, grab a yellow bag and buy all the home furnishing accessories that make a house a home. They will also be able to explore the whole range, for delivery to a convenient collection point or directly to their home.”
The store, which is one of only eight small format shops that Ikea operates globally, has been built with sustainability in mind and has achieved a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification, a rating given to less than 1% of UK new non-domestic buildings.
Ikea Hammersmith will also feature a small circular hub, where customers will be able to access Ikea’s popular Buy Back service, enabling them to trade in selected used furniture for Ikea vouchers and purchase pre-loved items that can be taken home that day.
Ikea Hammersmith will be located in Livat Hammersmith, a new scheme by Ingka Centres, the shopping centre arm of Ikea-owner Ingka Holdings. Ingka Centres bought the former Kings Mall shopping centre in Hammersmith in 2019 to create the destination.
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