IKEA will open three new small-format stores in Chester, Harlow and Norwich this year, as part of its wider strategy to bring the brand closer to where customers live, shop and socialise. The new stores will be situated on former Homebase sites in Greyhound Retail Park, Chester; Harlow Retail Park, Harlow; and Hall Road Retail Park, Norwich.
Expected to open later in 2025, each location will deliver a compact version of the traditional IKEA experience, complete with roomsets, a market hall, and on-site planning services. The stores will offer a curated range of up to 5,000 product lines, with 3,000 available for immediate purchase. Customers will also be able to access the full product range via digital tools, alongside click and collect and personalised design support.
The openings follow IKEA’s ongoing shift towards smaller, more central retail spaces, designed to offer greater convenience to shoppers. A takeaway food offering will also be available in each store, including IKEA’s iconic meatballs.
Peter Jelkeby, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA UK and Ireland, 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.”
The announcement comes ahead of the upcoming opening of IKEA’s Oxford Street store in London this spring, and another city centre location in Brighton due later in the year. The new Chester, Harlow and Norwich sites will join IKEA’s current network of 21 full-sized UK stores.
Peter Jelkeby added: “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.”
