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We've all been there – after hours of shopping and meatball-eating, you think you can schlep the flatpack Billy bookshelf and six blue bags overflowing with jars, plants, candles, toilet brushes and picture frames back on the bus from Edmonton, before realising that you're only human and that the delivery cost wasn't as extortionate as you first thought.
Well, for those who don't live near Ikea's branches in Wembley, Edmonton, Croydon or Lakeside in Essex, furniture shopping might soon be about to become a lot closer to home, if plans for a 'click and collect' centre on Oxford Street go ahead. The Swedish store has already opened a similar outlet in Norwich and has plans for another in Aberdeen next year. Now they're chatting to BHS about opening a unit in its Oxford Street store. This could be a serious game-changer.
But don't expect the full-blown Ikea experience to be recreated in the West End: the Norwich one currently has a smaller range of products, a café (hopefully selling the obligatory meatballs) and a collection point for online orders. Before you get too excited, it seems that this mini-Ikea dream is still a way off, as an Ikea spokesperson said: 'We are also exploring a number of other potential locations across the UK, one of which is the current BHS building on Oxford Street. While we are seriously considering this opportunity, we have nothing to confirm at this point in time while discussions are ongoing.' Looks like you'd better cough up for that delivery fee after all.
Photo: Flickr: Håkan Dahlström