Friday 24 February 2023, marks the first anniversary of IKEA Hammersmith, following a year of success for IKEA UK’s first city centre store.
The opening of the store offered customers a new IKEA experience in the UK with easier access to the brand’s most loved products, as well as in-store planning services that support customers in designing bespoke kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms for their homes. Customers can explore almost 7,000 products and over ten inspirational roomsets on display, with almost 3,000 products available to take home on the day.
In the first year alone, more than 750,000 meatballs and almost 60,000 blue bags have been sold in the new store. Being the first IKEA city centre store in the UK, the retailer has quickly adapted to customer feedback. For example, adding an extra thousand products in the store, including more furniture, to provide better availability and variety. IKEA also has started selling real plants in the Hammersmith store, as well as introducing an Order and Collect service to enable customers to pick up IKEA products in the store free of charge. The store’s circular hub, where customers find everything from ex-display products and discontinued furniture through to preloved items, has grown during the year and is expected to expand even further in the next few months.
The top piece of feedback IKEA received during the first year was customers missing the much-loved 75p Hot Dog. In response, IKEA introduced it to the store in December 2022 and has since served more than 25,000 hot dogs.
Michael Hawkins, London Area Manager, IKEA UK, said: “IKEA Hammersmith marked the start of our journey to get closer to customers in London. We’re incredibly proud that our co-workers have welcomed more than two million customers to the store over the past 365 days and we look forward to continuing to build on the success of this new store format over the coming year.
“The Hammersmith store will be followed by our highly anticipated move onto Oxford Street, with planning for the unique space underway, and other locations under consideration. Alongside the opening of new stores, we continue to focus on improving our customer experience, investing in existing stores and expanding our service offering and fulfilment network. Later this year, we will open a new Distribution Centre in Dartford to expand our fulfilment capacity by 20%, with 60% of deliveries into the capital being zero emission from day one.”
IKEA Hammersmith’s first year in numbers:
- Two million visitors
- Over 750,000 meatballs sold
- Almost 60,000 reusable blue bags sold
- 25,000 hot dogs have been served (and can be purchased for 75p)
- 161 co-workers employed
- 50/50 male-to-female ratio in the store’s leadership team
The top three most sold products in IKEA Hammersmith over the last year are:
- KROPPSVARM Potpourri in a bag, Lavender, £1
- DIMPA Storage bag, £3
- BUMERANG Hanger, £5/8 pack
