No plans for Edinburgh Ikea store to shut as chain annouce UK closure

The Swedish giants have announced their first ever UK store closure

Ikea says it has ‘no plans’ to close its store in Edinburgh, following the Swedish furniture giant’s decision to shut an outlet in Coventry city centre.

In what will be the chain’s first closure of a big UK branch, the shop in the West Midlands will cease trading this summer. The store has made ‘consistent losses’ since it opened in 2007, bosses said, and visitor numbers were lower than expected.

Ikea will now enter a period of consultation with the 352 staff affected by the closure, to discuss the proposals and next steps

The Edinburgh store, onCostkea Way inLoanhead, opened on November 4, 1999.

The Edinburgh store, on Costkea Way in Loanhead, opened on November 4, 1999.

It launched an unusual marketing campaign urging people not to come to the store when it first opened, and set up webcams in the car park to show how long the queues were to get in.

And Ikea have said that the UK 'remains a key market' for the business, adding that there are 'no plans for further store closures'.

An Ikea spokesman said: “Today, we have no plans for further store closures. The UK remains a key market and as such we have ambitious growth plans and will continue to invest in stores, fulfilment centres, city centre formats and our digital capabilities to make IKEA even more affordable, convenient and sustainable.

It launched an unusual marketing campaign urging people not to come to the store when it first opened

“We also continue to invest in and test new physical touchpoints to learn about and adapt to ever-changing customer needs which we constantly review if they are fit for purpose.

“The reality for Ikea Coventry is that we now know that this was the wrong type of unit for the location as it is neither a high street store nor a more traditional Ikea store.”