Ikea recently announced its plans to shut its Tottenham branch in North London.

Earlier in the year, in February, Ikea opened a smaller store in Hammersmith. It was the first Ikea store opened on the high street. A little over a month later Ikea announced the big Tottenham store is being closed. They have not shared any dates of when this closure is taking place, although the store is continuing to sell and remain open as of now. 

The news has shocked and disappointed customers, with many wondering what they are going to do once the store is closed because of high delivery prices and the lack of Ikea stores around North London.There are six Ikea stores in London, with branches in Greenwich, Wembley, Croydon, Lakeside and of course Tottenham. The nearest branch to the North London store is the Wembley branch, located in North West London, a significant distance away. This means it is much harder for local residents to visit and buy from Ikea and will have to take long trips across London if they aren’t willing to splash out on Ikea’s £40 delivery fee. Many have taken to Twitter and Facebook to express their disappointment, sharing their opinions on the closure and criticising the retail giant for putting 450 jobs at risk with the closure.

The closure of the store has baffled many due to its success and many customers. Back in 2005 when the store opened for the first time, it had to be closed after less than an hour because thousands of people flooded into the store looking for bargains, causing a stampede in which 6 people were taken to hospital. 17 years later the branch is still very popular, and attracts many customers from the neighbouring areas. Ikea stated that their decision to close the branch was influenced by ‘the redevelopment of the area’ and an increase in online sales which meant the demand for deliveries was much higher. 

There is no definite date for the closure, although Ikea has stated that the date will be decided once it has been discussed with employees. There is no sign of the other branches closing, and in light of the Tottenham closure have insisted that they are not planning on closing any of the other branches.