First glimpse inside Oxford Street’s eagerly awaited Ikea flagship store – unveiled…

30 April 2025, 11:12 | Updated: 30 April 2025, 11:18

Take a look inside Ikea Oxford Street as the flagship store prepares to open its doors for the first time following huge investment.

Ikea’s first West End store is opening on Thursday, 1 May.

The new IKEA – formerly the site of Topshop’s flagship store – is set to expect around 60,000 shoppers per week.

The 10am opening is due to attract huge queues of shoppers eager to take their first glimpse into the hotly-anticipated new home of the store that is as famous for its Swedish meatballs as it is its flat-pack furniture.

The opening comes two and a half years later than it was initially scheduled – after the store experienced numerous setbacks including construction and planning related issues.

Some of these included damage from water leaking through basement floors, as well as fire and smoke damage originating from the time of the Blitz.

Read more: Russian spies accused of firebombing Ikea store ‘because colours are the same as the Ukraine flag’

Read more: Ikea opens pop-up dedicated to blue carrier bag on London’s Oxford Street

Ikea’s parent company Ingka Group purchased the 113-year-old Grade 11 listed building for £378 million in 2021.

Further development over the next four years has reportedly increased total investment to at least £450 million. Ikea has not confirmed this figure.

The three-storey flagship store in London’s premier shopping district is the second ‘Ikea city’ outlet in London after the opening of the King Street store in Hammersmith in 2023.

The 3,800 sq m store is set to have 6,000 lines of display – 3,500 of which can be taken away by customers immediately – which is around half the number of a full scale Ikea.

Among its top features include three ‘curated’ shops on the ground floor, which offer collections hand-picked by Londoners “that reflect and celebrate the character and diversity of the city’s residents. The launch curators include Carrot, “a non-binary, East London-based drag artist known for their vegetable-themed persona”.

The Oxford Street store said its “roomsets” – the spaces in all of its stores that show complete rooms put together – have been created with “real people” who live in London, and include set-ups for working from home and running a small business, inspiration for properties with period features, ideas for basement rooms with little natural light, and designs for balconies.

In a global first for the firm, the store will feature a live studio with broadcasting capabilities enabling it to host events such as cooking demonstrations.

The new store will also have a Re-Shop and Re-Use section for shopping discontinued, second-life or second-hand IKEA items.

Meanwhile, a 130-seat Swedish deli will dish up Ikea culinary fan favourites including hotdogs and meatballs, alongside British staples such as fish and chips.

It is the second UK high street store for the company – the first opened in Hammersmith in 2022 – which it described as a “milestone” in a strategy to expand its presence in city centres with smaller formats, increasing accessibility for customers.

Peter Jelkeby, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA UK said: “We continue to dedicate our energy to our UK expansion plans and investing heavily to become more accessible.

“To complement our existing stores, we are laser-focused on continuing to innovate to reach more customers, with a network of new, smaller stores that offer different experiences, as well as new services that meet all of our customers’ needs – no matter where they live.”

Tolga Oncu, Ingka retail manager, said: “Adding Oxford Street to the Ikea map is a special moment for us.

“This store, on one of the busiest and most well-known streets in the world, exemplifies our ambition to innovate our retail presence and bring Ikea to where our customers live, work, and socialise.

“Offering our well-designed and affordable products to more people in city centres across the globe remains our way forward.”

The store’s opening is seen as a crucial part of the revival of Oxford Street, which suffered a slump in visitor numbers during the Covid pandemic, leading to sites sitting vacant and the opening of a string of American sweet shops.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “It’s fantastic news that Ikea is opening a new flagship store on Oxford Street.

“It’s a huge vote of confidence in London, in our economy and in our plans to rejuvenate Oxford Street and unlock its true potential.

“Oxford Street is one of the most famous shopping destinations in the world and we want to give it a new lease of life.

“This involves attracting brilliant companies like Ikea, which will help to create new jobs and increase footfall.

“We have developed bold proposals to pedestrianise Oxford Street and to establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events.

“The consultation on these plans closes on May 2 so I encourage everyone to have their say.”