Furniture giant IKEA is developing plans for city centre stores across the UK following the successful trial of smaller outlets in Norwich and Aberdeen.
After three decades of encouraging shoppers to navigate vast edge-of-town warehouses of flat-pack furniture, Ikea is opening a high street shop, in Hammersmith, west London.
The retailer is also planning to spend £1billion over the next three years in London and will open its second store in the former Topshop building on Oxford Street in 2023.
Ikea said the units would make it more accessible to modern shoppers and is making the move after previously testing small trial shops, including the one in Wellington Road, Aberdeen.
Peter Jelkeby, UK and Ireland country retail manager, told the Times that Ikea would learn from the new opening and “develop plans for other city centre locations as well as the wider UK and Ireland, to bring our offer even closer.”
Ikea arrived in Britain in 1987 and has 22 shops here and three in Ireland.
Jelkeby said the new store would focus on small furnishings with the largest products available to take away being rugs or floor lamps.