The IKEA store on Oxford Street has been long in the making. The initial rumours about the Swedish furniture giant opening a store in West End occurred back in 2015, so why has the store still not opened yet?
Oh, and what’s up with the massive IKEA bag covering the building?
Keep reading, and I’ll fill you in on all the important details plus when you can expect the store to open!
What we know about the IKEA store on Oxford Street
- Rumours about IKEA opening a store in London’s West End arose in 2015.
- Initially planned for 2021, the IKEA store on Oxford Street was then rescheduled to open in autumn 2023 — however, as we now know, this didn’t happen either.
- Ingka Investments, which owns the store, said to Reuters that making the 100-year-old Victorian building energy-efficient is taking longer than initially anticipated, thus pushing back the opening date further.
- Correspondingly, IKEA seeks to preserve the “[…] characteristics and atmosphere […]” of the building as best as possible.
- The opening date of the IKEA store on Oxford Street has now been pushed back to spring 2025. Whether the store will then finally open remains to be seen.
What’s with the IKEA bag?
So, practicalities and opening dates aside, what’s up with the almost 19-metre-tall IKEA bag currently covering the building?
Well, it appears to be a marketing stunt by IKEA in the hopes of covering up the multiple years of delays. While the circumstances surrounding the stunt could’ve been more positive, it’s nice to see that IKEA is slowly warming up to the grand opening, assuring us that the project is still in the pipeline.
Conclusion
It looks as if you’re gonna have to wait a little longer for the IKEA store and those famous meatballs, I’m afraid. Preserving old Victorian landmarks is no joke, and in a prime location like Oxford Street, even the slightest detail won’t go unnoticed.
Hey, at least they’re doing some cool marketing stunts along the way! In the meantime though, you’re gonna have to make do with shopping elsewhere.
Thank you for reading! I’ll make sure to keep the post updated as we know more.
