All eyes on Stockholm, Sweden as Ikea opens doors to new urban store in Mall of Scandinavia
Ikea this week opened a new small store in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the retailer’s efforts to innovate and adapt to changing consumer behaviours. This is located in the Mall of Scandinavia and spans 2,500 square metres.
It will showcase 5,000 products from the Ikea range and offer approximately 2,000 home furnishing products for immediate take-away, with the option to order the entire range for home delivery or pick-up.
Additionally, the store features a small bistro focusing on takeaway, offering classic Ikea dishes such as meatballs and plant balls. A team of 60 home furnishing experts will provide personalised planning services and showcase several room sets.
Tolga Öncu, Ingka Retail Manager, Ingka Group, says: “Our new store in the Mall of Scandinavia is a great step in our journey to make us more accessible and responsive to our customers’ needs, in Stockholm and beyond. By embracing smaller, urban store formats, we can bring the Ikea experience closer to more people, offering convenience without compromising on inspiration and service.”
Meanwhile, in London…
Ikea says that it has received 3,730 applications in just six days for its new Oxford Street, London store. Interest in the 150 available positions marks the largest ever response it has seen in the UK.
It provides the independently set Real Living Wage of £13.85 per hour alongside benefits including flexible work arrangements, enhanced parental leave, and a free healthy meal option served every day.
Successful applicants will be offered multi-skilled roles, working across different departments. They will work in a store that aims to fuse traditional retail expertise with new digital solutions and sustainable practices.
2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS
Physical stores will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards. which will open for entries in March, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”
He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”
“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”
Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering.
For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.
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