Ikea to shut city centre store after just two years

Furniture retailer Ikea is to shut its concept store in Birmingham, just two years after opening.

The concept store was one of five smaller shops around the UK which operated as order and collection points rather than the brand’s more traditional out-of-town warehouse.

However Ikea has said the Dale End store has proven to have “not been accessible enough to customers shopping in Birmingham city centre”.

Julie Carr, customer experience manager at Ikea, said: “In 2015, we launched the OCP test programme to find out more about how customers want to shop with Ikea in new retail formats.

“As part of the programme, we opened five OCP [order and collection points] units in Norwich, Aberdeen, Birmingham, London and Dublin.

“Along with the other OCPs, Birmingham has been crucial in developing our recently unveiled city centre approach and has provided valuable insights on how customers want to shop with us.”

Staff have been offered positions at other Ikea stores, which include Wednesbury and Coventry.