The Swedish retailer is set to close its store in Tottenham, north London, later this year, just a decade after it opened, with 1,000 cars reportedly queuing up on opening day and six buyers rushed to hospital amid chaos. . News of the planned closure comes just weeks after Ikea opened a new high street outlet in Hammersmith, west London, in February and before opening a warehouse in Dartford, Kent, to allow home deliveries within 24 hours. hours throughout the capital. It is also preparing to open a store in the former Topshop flagship at Oxford Circus in central London in the autumn of 2023 as part of the 1 1 billion investment in the capital over the next three years. Ikea said it was adapting to the “change in shopping behavior” with more than half of its sales now being made online. The retailer has previously closed only one major store in the UK – Coventry in 2020. It has also tried and closed smaller outlets on major highways, including Tottenham Court Road in central London. The latest closure is another sign of difficulties for mainstream stores, retail parks and shopping malls, which led to nearly 8,000 more vacancies last year, according to Local Data Company analysts. The pandemic has accelerated the transition to home shopping amid concerns over the transmission of Covid and a series of restrictions imposed by the government on physical stores to control the spread of the virus. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Ikea said the move to e-shopping and the redevelopment of the area where the Tottenham store is located prompted it to “assess the long-term viability of the site”. The company said it was entering into a collective consultation with the 450 employees affected by its plan to close the store and aims to retain as many people as possible, with 600 vacancies elsewhere in London. Peter Jelkeby, Ikea Retail Manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “Caring for our colleagues is our highest priority and we will lead the process with respect and compassion. “The decision to propose the closure of the Tottenham branch has not been taken seriously, but we believe it is the right thing for our customers and businesses, as we strengthen our position for the future.”
