Home furnishing company IKEA has revealed plans to open its first Order and Collection Point in London at Westfield Stratford City. The new Order and Collection Point will also be the company’s first unit to open inside a UK shopping centre.
IKEA Westfield Stratford City Order and Collection Point, expected to open in summer 2016, is a new format for IKEA and it has been designed to bring the IKEA home furnishing range and expertise closer to more customers.
Acting primarily as a planning studio to plan and order more complex purchases such as kitchens, wardrobes and sofas, IKEA Westfield Stratford City Order and Collection Point will also feature the IKEA room sets providing inspiration and ideas for the home and expert co-workers offering home furnishing knowledge and advice.
IKEA Order and Collection development manager, Jack Jackson, says: “We are really excited to be bringing this new IKEA format to Westfield Stratford City in London. It is our first Order and Collection Point in London as well as in a major shopping Centre location in the UK and this marks an important milestone in making our products and services available to more customers.”
“We recognize that customers today want to shop with us in different ways and our Order and Collections Points are developed to offer a new way for people to interact with us. Located within five minutes of the train stations and close to major bus routes IKEA Westfield Stratford City Order and Collection Point will be easy to access by public transport, something that we know is important to many customers who live in London.”
Keith Mabbett, Westfield director of leasing, says: “Westfield is very pleased that IKEA has chosen our Stratford City centre as its first London location for its new Order and Collection Point. We believe that this will prove a popular drawcard for shoppers, strengthening Westfield Stratford City’s destination for homeware shopping. Our respective teams have worked extremely hard to secure the 900 square meter retailing space in order to optimise the customer experience.”
The new Order and Collection Point will be located within the Westfield Stratford City development and the unit will also be connected to a shopper’s car park offering a convenient option to collect ordered products by car.
The Order and Collection Point will not carry the full product range to take home but customers will be able to order from the full range for home delivery or for collection at the collection point. In addition a small range of the ‘markethall’ items will be available for customers to take home on the day of their visit.
Recruitment for a team of 30 multi-skilled co-workers has now begun. Jack adds: “As a values-based company, it’s not necessarily about the qualifications you bring but rather that you have the right attitude and share our passion for home furnishing and customer service.”
As part of its expansion plans to make IKEA more accessible to many more people, the company is testing a number of similar Order and Collection Points across the UK. The first Order and Collection Point opened in Norwich in November last year, the second one will open in Aberdeen on 12th May and a third unit is planned for Birmingham City Centre later this summer.
