IKEA UK has announced that the doors of its new leading sustainable store in Greenwich will officially open on Thursday 7 February 2019.
IKEA Greenwich forms part of IKEA’s ongoing city centre approach in London as it responds to the growth of urban living and changes to the way people live and shop. The 32,000sq m store, located on the Millennium Way Retail Park, will be IKEA’s most sustainable store in the UK and has been designed as a place for Londoners to meet, share, learn and shop.
In addition to the traditional product range, inspirational room sets, crèche, restaurant, Bistro and Swedish Food Market, IKEA Greenwich will offer unique facilities, flexible work areas, workshops and free green spaces. These include a roof garden, roof pavilion and a Learning Lab, where customers, creative partners and the local community will be able to explore prolonging the life of products, grow food, upcycle and live a healthier and more sustainable life at home.
Helen Aylett, IKEA Greenwich store manager, said: “We are incredibly excited that Greenwich will be home to our first leading sustainable store in the UK. We want to inspire and enable more people to live a better everyday life at home and we look forward to inviting our customers and the local community to enjoy a unique IKEA experience that puts their needs and lifestyles first.”
IKEA Greenwich will be taking sustainability to the next level and is targeting a BREEAM ‘outstanding’ accreditation, incorporating a number of green technologies such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting, renewable construction materials and a geothermal heating system. The store is aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy and the interior will feature lots of natural light, reducing a dependence on artificial lighting.
The new store and services have been designed to make travelling by public transport an easy, convenient and more sustainable option. In addition to excellent tube and rail links, up to 50 buses will pass the new store every hour, resulting in a bus every 1.5mins. A wide choice of affordable delivery services will be available, from 24-hour delivery for those living within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, to a Zedify bike courier service, competitively priced mini cabs and Hertz EV van hire.
Aylett continues: “IKEA Greenwich has been designed to reflect the way people want to live and shop in London. We are committed to providing value, speed and convenience so customers travelling to the store can leave their cars at home. As well as investing in local public transport, we will have a range of services to make shopping with us as easy and affordable as possible. For the first ten weeks of opening, we will also introduce a special offer on home delivery for people living within 40-minutes of the store by public transport.”
IKEA is committed to being a good neighbour and a true partner in the local community. 500 new jobs have been created at the store, with many co-workers recruited from the local area. IKEA Greenwich has also sponsored an ecology park next to the store and is currently working with three local schools to share its expertise on sustainable living through its Live LAGOM programme.
“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at IKEA. We want to be a force for change by having a lasting, positive impact on people and the planet,” said Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager, IKEA UK & Ireland. “IKEA is playing a key role in the shift towards a circular economy, and the new Greenwich store will be a leading example for circular retail in London as we aim to inspire and enable people to live a more sustainable life at home and support them to reuse, refresh or recycle their products.”
In addition to IKEA Greenwich and existing full-sized London stores in Wembley, Tottenham, Croydon and Lakeside, IKEA opened a Planning Studio on Tottenham Court Road in October and recently announced plans to open a further one on Bromley High Street in Spring 2019.