Ikea has announced that it is planning to shut its store in Coventry, marking its first large-scale closure in the UK.
The Swedish retail giant said that the outlet, which will close in the summer, has made “consistent losses” since its launch in 2007.
It added that it has unsuccessfully tried a number of initiatives over the years to drive sales growth, including moving business operations to the site, and reviewing whether to downsize or reconfigure the store.
The chain will now enter a period of consultation with the 352 co-workers affected by the closure to discuss the proposals and next steps.
The retailer stated: “Given its location and the size of the land available at the time, the store was built over seven levels, which resulted in a significant impact on the operating costs of the store and the shopping experience for customers.
“In addition, the changing behaviour of customers in the area, who prefer to shop in retail parks and online, has resulted in visitor numbers being substantially lower than expected and continuing to decrease over time.”
Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer at IKEA UK and Ireland, said: “Although this isn’t an easy decision, this is the right decision for the long-term success of IKEA in the UK.
“At IKEA, we are constantly challenging ourselves to find ways to meet the needs of our customers and we will continue to try and test, investing in stores, fulfilment centres, city centre formats and our digital capabilities to make IKEA even more affordable, convenient and sustainable.”
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