When the new Greenwich Ikea will open and what it will be like – MyLondon

Ikea has announced when it is opening its new Greenwich store.

The Scandinavian company famed for its flat-pack furniture, great value prices and Swedish meatballs on the café menu will be officially opening its latest big branch on Thursday, February 7, 2019.

The 32,000 square metre store, in the Millennium Way Retail Park, will be your nearest Ikea if you live in Lewisham, Bexleyheath or Woolwich.

It’s just off the A2 and you might find it easier get to than Croydon‘s Purley Way branch. It could be more convenient than crossing the River Thames to get to Ikea in Lakeside.

Ikea Greenwich has been designed as a place for Londoners to meet, share, learn and shop and is part of Ikea responding to the growth of urban living and changes in the way we live and shop.

And if you are into green living then this could be the store for you, because Ikea Greenwich will be Ikea’s most sustainable store in the UK.

It will include free green spaces – there will be a roof garden, roof pavilion and a Learning Lab, where you’ll be able to explore prolonging the life of products, growing food, upcycling and living a healthier and more sustainable life at home.

Ikea Greenwich will have free green spaces including a roof garden and roof pavilion (Image: Ikea)

The building also uses green technologies such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting, renewable construction materials and a geothermal heating system.

It is aiming for 100 per cent renewable energy and the interior will feature lots of natural light, so it will be less dependent on artificial lighting.

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.”

Even getting there by public transport will be an easy, convenient and more sustainable option.

As well as great Tube and rail links, up to 50 buses will pass the new store every hour, so there will be a bus every 1.5 minutes.

A visit to an Ikea store is like a day out for some people (generic store image) (Image: Ikea)

Of course, you can’t really take your flatpacked wardrobe home on the bus so 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.

There will be a special home delivery offer when the store opens.

Helen explained: “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 10 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.”

The famous blue and white colours of Ikea are coming to Greenwich very soon

There will even be flexible work areas and workshops at the store.

And of course you can browse the aisles for everything you need to furnish your home – from candles and cushions to shelves, sofas and beds.

There will also be a crèche, restaurant, bistro and Swedish Food Market.

The store is creating 500 new jobs and it has sponsored an ecology park next door to it.

Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager for Ikea UK & Ireland said: “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.

A buzz term in industry and business is the circular economy – the idea of long-lasting design, repairing, reusing and recycling rather than making and then throwing away.

Hege continued: “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.”

Ikea has also recently announced the April opening of its Planning Studio in Bromley High Street.

This will be a new kind of store offering customers a personalised service devoted to planning kitchens and bedrooms. It won’t be a massive store on a retail park like we’re used to but you’ll be able to order furniture and there will be large area with home furnishings on display.

As well as stores in Croydon and Lakeside, Ikea also has full-sized London stores in Wembley and Tottenham and a planning studio on Tottenham Court Road.

You can also keep up to date with news about Ikea Greenwich on the Ikea website here.