With its new Parisian store, Ikea continues its conquest of city centers

The Swedish furniture giant has opened a department store in the Italie 2 shopping center in Paris, the successor to the Madeleine store that closed its doors.

Ikea is moving to Paris. The store at La Madeleine has closed its doors, making way for a new location in the Italie 2 shopping center, in the 13th arrondissement. This Thursday, the first day of opening, you had to wait more than three hours in front of the store to be able to enter. With 6,200 m² of commercial space, the Italie 2 store is larger than its predecessor, with the addition of a 2,600 m² warehouse. Around 7,000 items are on display, including 3,000 references immediately available for purchase.

For the global furniture giant, the city of Paris is a laboratory. Italie 2 illustrates Ikea’s current strategy, which is to conquer city centers. The store in La Madeleine recorded 3 million visitors per year, a figure that the group intends to increase by setting up in the heart of a shopping center (which itself welcomes 10 million visitors annually).

This “synergy” should allow “the continued development” of Ikea in Paris, David Teixeira, regional director of Ikea stores in Île-de-France, on BFM Business.

A space dedicated to second-hand Ikea products has also been opened on the premises. A way of offering “an even wider range”, underlines David Teixeira, and of also going “to find a certain number of customers”, particularly with regard to the question of purchasing power.

Top 5 best markets

France is among Ikea’s top 5 best markets. “We are also looking to develop our presence in France. This month, we are opening this store in Paris, but we are also opening two other design and order workshops in Toulouse and La Rochelle,” said Johan Laurell, president of Ikea France, to BFM Business. The opening of the Italy 2 store, fully acquired by the Swedish group’s real estate company in April 2023, is part of a €1.2 billion investment plan in France over the period 2023-2026.