Ikea Madeleine closing date and Ikea Italy 2 opening, what we know

Last April, Ikea announced the relocation of its first Paris store, La Madeleine, to the Italie 2 shopping center in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. The move is part ofIkea France's development strategy, which aims to offer customers greater choice and inspiration, while guaranteeing improved accessibility.

The choice ofItalie Deux to welcome the furniture giant is a strategic one. Located in a high-potential area with excellent accessibility, the shopping center also offers a suitable logistics infrastructure. Ikea France's Director of Business Development Strategy, Emma Recco, has given assurances that all jobs at La Madeleine will be maintained and transferred to the new site.

We now know that the Ikea store at La Madeleine will close its doors on September 8, 2024. On January 22, the department store announced the opening date of Ikea Italia 2, just a few days after the first store closes, on Thursday September 12, 2024. An ideal date for those moving in at the start of the school year.

The futureItalie Deux store will have a surface area of 5,800 m², 400 m² more than the current La Madeleine store. Parking and logistics areas will facilitate daily operations, enhancing the customer experience.

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"With the opening of Italie 2, we want to offer our customers a unique place of inspiration, thanks to an expanded assortment of affordable, accessible and sustainable furnishing solutions for as many people as possible.This is in line with Ikea's strategy of lowering prices since the start of the 2023 school year," says David Teixeira, IKEA Paris Île-de-France regional director, in a statement.

Ikea continues its expansion in Paris with the opening of a new design and order workshop in Paris Daumesnil on April 13. The 750 sq.m. space provides customers with support for their kitchen and storage projects. Ikea's Madelaine store was the first to open in Paris in 2019. This was followed by the opening ofIkea décoration in 2021, on rue de Rivoli, which was given a facelift earlier this year.

The move was made possible by the acquisition ofItalie Deux and its ItaliK extension by Ingka Centres, a Dutch holding company and partner of the Ikea brand. The financial transaction was not specified, but British property company Hammerson announced the sale of its 25% stake inItalie Deux and the entire Italik extension for 164 million euros.

In conclusion,Ikea 's move from La Madeleine to Italie Deux will enable the Swedish retailer to consolidate its presence in Paris, offering us a larger space better suited to our needs. With the opening scheduled for September 2024, we'll be able to enjoy a store that's both more accessible and better equipped, not to mention that the Place d'Italie is more accessible in terms of traffic than the more central Place de la Madeleine.