IKEA enters UK shopping centers market with London mall deal

IKEA’s shopping center business is spending 170 million pounds ($222 million) to buy and upgrade a London mall in its first foray into Britain, betting it can win over a nation increasingly doing its shopping online.
Ingka Centers, an arm of the world’s biggest furniture retailer, said on Thursday it would put a new format IKEA store at the heart of the 27,000-square meter Kings Mall in London’s Hammersmith district.
The move comes as Britain’s store groups struggle, with many outlets closing as shoppers opt to spend more of their money online.
The deal marks Ingka Centers’ entry in Britain. It is also its first acquisition of an existing mall, and will be its first anchored by a new-format smaller IKEA.

Reuters