IKEA opened its first city store at Paris, Plaza Madeleine (Image via: AFP)

IKEA Opened First Store in Paris

PARIS - Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, opened its first store at Place Madeleine, Paris. This store is extraordinarily new, since the IKEA that the world knows only establish its store out of town with a gigantic blue box building design. La Madeleine, on the contrary, is established in the center of Paris as part of IKEA’s 3-year investment in France, worth of €400m. As shoutout to the Parisian and to ease the access for them, IKEA even offer transportation in form of bus for free!

Jesper Brodin, the chief executive of Stichting Ingka Foundation (parent company of IKEA) stated that the store is a “test to the water”, as the habit of customer keeps changing through time. Should the plan work, IKEA will start developing the same city-store concept to big cities around the world, starting with Milan, New York, and Tokyo.
This concept is not new for Madrid, and the city where IKEA was originated, Stockholm, Sweden. The difference between the stores is that Paris’ store sells items sold by the big, remote IKEA store; while, the two city stores only sell single product lines.

The store opening was no other than a calculated move from the parent company since their annual sales number dropped 40% just last year.
 

Source: https://www.thelocal.fr/20190506/paris-gets-worlds-first-city-centre-ikea-store