Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Swedish giant IKEA opened the doors to its Birmingham Central Order and Collection Point at Dale End on August 18.
The home furnishings retailer already operates Order and Collection Points in Norwich and Aberdeen. Birmingham is its third, and will be joined by a fourth at Westfield Stratford City tomorrow (Wednesday August 31).
Located in the West Midlands city centre, the new format unit has been designed to bring the IKEA range closer to more customers. The Order and Collection Point will offer convenient access to the IKEA product range in the heart of Birmingham, close to several public transport links. Acting primarily as a planning studio for complex purchases such as kitchens, bedrooms and Living rooms, the premises will also feature IKEA room sets.
The Order and Collection Point is considerably smaller than a traditional IKEA store and due to its size, will not carry the full product range to take home on the day. However, customers will be able to order from the IKEA online range for home delivery or for collection at the point.
In addition a small range of ‘market hall’ items will be available for customers to take home on the day of their visit. These items will be changed throughout the year to provide a number of seasonality relevant products. Customers will also have the opportunity to enjoy speciality street food at the Bistro and can even take home selected Swedish Food Market products, including frozen meatballs.
IKEA Order and Collection development manager Jack Jackson said: “We’re very excited to be opening IKEA Birmingham Central Order and Collection Point. With the new format, we will be able to bring the IKEA product range and experience to Birmingham more quickly and conveniently than ever before.”
As part of its expansion plans to make IKEA more accessible to more people, the company will be testing a number of similar Order and Collection Points across the UK.The IKEA Group has 330 stores in 28 countries. In addition there are more than 40 stores run by franchisees outside the IKEA Group.
