IKEA fans won’t have to wait much longer — the Swedish giant’s long-awaited new store will open its doors in just 48 hours.
The brand-new branch, located in Brighton’s Churchill Square Shopping Centre, takes over the former Debenhams site which has been empty since 2021.
7
7
7
7
Shoppers will be able to step inside from 10am on Thursday, August 14 , to explore thousands of affordable homeware items, and tuck into the famous meatballs.
Spread across two floors and 6,695 square metres, the store will offer 2,600 products for immediate takeaway and access to the full 12,000-strong range via delivery or collection.
It’s the first full IKEA store in the city, meaning Brighton locals will no longer need to trek to Croydon or Southampton for the full shopping experience.
Bosses say the new shop has been created with the “city at its heart”, with displays inspired by local homes and Brighton’s seaside style.
Six roomsets have been co-created with residents, including ceramicists Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey, to show off colourful, space-saving ideas and a nod to the city’s famous beach huts.
Adam said: “We’ve always loved IKEA because it’s like an interiors disco – and what’s life without a little sparkle?”
The first floor houses a 100-seat Swedish Deli serving meatballs, plantballs and sweet treats, all with sweeping sea views.
The Swedish Food Market will sell ingredients and snacks to enjoy at home.
On the ground floor, bargain hunters can snap up pre-loved and discontinued items in the Re-shop & Re-use area.
There’s also a home planning hub where shoppers can get one-to-one help designing kitchens or bedroom storage.
Quick bites and drinks will be available at the Swedish Bite kiosk.
Market Manager Karina Gilpin said: “Our city centre location in Churchill Square means customers can conveniently drop in while out and about, to seek inspiration for their homes, browse our range, access our expert planning advice, or enjoy our delicious meatballs or plantballs.”
To celebrate the launch, the first 100 IKEA Family Members through the doors will get a blue FRAKTA bag with a mystery gift card worth between £1 and £1,000.
Brighton will be IKEA’s third city-centre store in the UK, following Oxford Street and Hammersmith in London.
The opening is part of the retailer’s push for smaller, high street-friendly locations, moving away from giant out-of-town warehouses.
The Churchill Square store will open 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 5pm on Sundays.
Where is my closest Ikea?
A quick way of figuring out if you have an Ikea store near you is by using the retailer’s locator tool on its website.
You just have to enter the town or city where you live, or your postcode and it will pull up the nearest site.
The same page has a helpful map showing where all of the 21 current stores are located.
Below we reveal the full list of Ikea stores in the UK:
- Croydon
- Hammersmith
- Greenwich
- Lakeside
- Wembley
- Birmingham (Wednesbury)
- Nottingham
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Exeter
- Belfast
- Manchester
- Warrington
- Edinburgh
- Gateshead
- Glasgow
- Leeds
- Sheffield
- Milton Keynes
- Reading
- Southampton
Ikea’s new Oxford Street store
- Total retail space of 5,800 square meters over three floors.
- The store will be of similar size as IKEA Hammersmith.
- About 6,000 IKEA product lines will be showcased. Half of these, about 3,500 IKEA products, will be available for immediate take-away.
- Checkouts will be located the ground floor and –2.
- Larger furniture can be purchased / ordered for home delivery, for click and collect, or for collection off site. Within the M25 customers can collect from IKEA Hammersmith, 19 lockers in partnership with Shift, 11 pick up points in partnership with Tesco, as well as at 1,907 DPD pick up points.
- There will be focus on sustainable solutions, supporting people to live a more sustainable life at home. It will have a small Re-Shop and Re-Use section selling second-life, second-hand and discontinued IKEA products.
- IKEA is creating 150 new jobs at the Oxford Street store, with the retailer receiving a record 3,730 applications in just five days when recruitment opened earlier this year.
- IKEA will introduce the first Changing Places Toilet at Oxford Street / Regent Street, the only available facility in a 4,000 feet / 1.2 km radius from Oxford Circus.
7
7
7
