IKEA is expanding across the UK with new smaller stores – full list of confirmed locations

Back in the day to get to IKEA you would have to drive to a massive store on the outskirts of a town. It was a full day out, complete with pretending to live in one of their show rooms, followed by meatballs and gravy in the IKEA canteen. 

These days IKEA is opening smaller shops in town centres in a bid to become more accessible. The Swedish furniture giant has acquired a number of former Homebase units and plans to transform them into a new small store concept. Soon, flat-pack lovers will be able to cop Billy bookcases and Kallax shelves at new outposts in Essex, Cheshire and Norfolk. 

According to IKEA, the new shops will be ‘the classic Ikea experience that customers know and love, on a smaller scale’. They will have around 5,000 items on display, with 3,000 available for immediate purchase and the rest available to order. It will have a curated product range, planning and design services, and click-and-collect options.

There will also be food, which IKEA says will be a ‘compact on-the-go food menu for customers to take away.’ No confirmation on the meatballs just yet. 

IKEA UK and Ireland chief executive Peter Jelkeby said: ‘We know many people want to shop with IKEA but in some instances we are just too far away. That’s why we are strategically expanding our UK footprint, with the aim of showing up in convenient, accessible locations for our customers. Centrally located in retail parks, our three new stores mark a major step forward in our expansion plan, making it easier than ever for customers in these areas to shop with us.

‘Harlow, Chester and Norwich have long been areas of interest to us, and we’re looking forward to bringing the very best of the IKEA experience in a refreshingly compact format to these communities later this year.’

Where is IKEA opening new locations

• Harlow, Essex
• Chester, Cheshire 
• Norwich, Norfolk
• Brighton, East Sussex
• Oxford Street, London