It’s always great news when London gains a new IKEA – hiya shiny new Hammersmith branch – as it gives us more options for reasonably priced furniture around the city. But, sadly, this has been followed by the sad news that the Tottenham IKEA superstore looks to be closing down.
Should this move go through it would impact 450 jobs at the store. IKEA has pledged to find alternative jobs for “as many as possible” of the staff affected.
As of now, there is no word on when the closure is planned for, and the store will continue trade as normal until informed otherwise.
The closure is said to come as part of a wider overhaul of the Swedish furniture giants’ London branches, and IKEA have said that the shift to online shopping during the pandemic and changes to the area meant it had to “assess the long-term viability of the site”.
IKEA’s Tottenham site opened in 2005 and became somewhat infamous for an opening sale which descended into chaos, and became known as the “sofa riot”.
Closure of the site in Tottenham means that there will now be four superstores in the London radius – Croydon, Greenwich, Lakeside and Wembley. The new branch in Hammersmith is a much smaller branch, and there are also plans for a new branch in central London, replacing the former flagship Topshop site on Oxford Street.
It has not yet become clear when the Tottenham IKEA will close, so keep an eye out for further updates.