IKEA say they are going to give smaller city centre stores a try — but not in Birmingham.
At the same moment it emerged that the Swedish furniture giant was considering the small format stores drive, it has revealed that the Birmingham city centre order and collection point at Dale End will close.
IKEA said the Birmingham outlet was one of five in the U.K. and Ireland testing what customers wanted. The trial began in 2015 and will end on 9 August, the Birmingham Post reports.
The push for smaller stores comes as U.K. shoppers fall out of love with IKEA and — if the retailer's TV advertising campaign is any guide — fall back in love with chintz.
IKEA is opening its first-ever small, urban store on Tottenham Court Road in London this autumn, The Times reports. The move is an adjustment in strategy after the furniture retailer reported a 40% drop in U.K. sales in 2017.
