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IKEA Place de la Madeleine is a hit with Parisians

The first IKEA in the center of Paris

Opened in 2019, we went there just one day after it opened. So, we take a step back 4 years and we re-contextualize!

The main purpose of this store? Meet the needs of Parisian customers who do not necessarily have the possibility of accessing stores located on the outskirts of the capital. Indeed, with its 5,400 m² of sales area (compared to 20,000 m² for a classic IKEA), this new Ikea store was the first establishment of the group to benefit of a Parisian address intramuros.

Ikea Madeleine's target? Parisians nestled in a 26 m² apartment, for whom layout can quickly become a real headache. So what could be better than knocking directly on their door to understand their problems?

Ikea Madeleine: a store imagined in co-creation

Several months before the store opened in La Madeleine, IKEA designed a co-creation platform. Thanks to this, several Parisian families adhering to the store's loyalty program were able to participate in the design of this new place. They were able to give their ideas and express their desires.

“We didn't really have any questions, it was quite free and thanks to this platform we had more than 1,200 contributions from our Parisian customers.”, explained Annie Bétreau, the director of this new store. From these exchanges, IKEA has retained that these “wanted to have a different experience, for this store to be like an extension of their apartment.” 5 zones have therefore been set up as if they were at home! The Parisians were therefore able, for nearly 4 years “stroll around, get inspired but above all, in a close relationship, glean advice or even participate in workshops”.

The power of the customer experience at IKEA

But what are its specificities? What's new? What can we find there? And what can we buy there?

Upon entering, customers can buy self-service items and look at furniture on display. Right next door, the other space called “Social Gourmand” is there to satisfy you!

As in all other IKEA, The restaurant area is present and will welcome a large number of people. (150 seats in a store in Paris is pretty good! ). You can eat on desks, a nice concept! But if you don't have time to settle in, you can take to take away!‍ “This IKEA will offer a redesigned catering offer, based on healthy products, made on site, such as salads”, detailed the director of the future store, who ensures that the group's iconic products, such as salmon and meatballs, will be on the menu.

You can also take a tour of theThe Swedish grocery store where 120 typical Scandinavian products await you. No more traditional cash register, you order directly, your dish, your dessert or anything else directly at the terminal!

On the first floor, you can express your personality through the layout with the space “Express your personality”, do activities that we do at home with space “Share and play” or recharge your batteries with space “Detox and recharge”! So it's no longer a”customer journey” that is imposed on us, but several very distinct spaces dedicated to storage or even to cooking. Here, customers can wander freely on the 2 levels between the 4 atmospheres dedicated to the rooms of the house.

At IKEA City, visitors can become an interior designer! Thanks to the computers available in a dedicated space, customers can arrange their own spaces with IKEA furniture to get an idea of what it can do at home. A fun concept certainly, but I want to say that it's not that easy! So I advise you to make an appointment with interior designers, on site or on the internet. (Appointments certainly paid but reimbursed if the customer concludes the transaction, not bad?)

Digital tools to complete a reduced linear offer

With a retail space in IKEA City, four times smaller than in a traditional IKEA, the brand relies on digital tools to make all of its offer available in stores. In total, they 3,500 products presented via screens arranged at points of sale in exchange for only 1,500 products that are physically available. A strategic selection, made on the basis of the consumption habits of the Parisian target (thanks for the data!).

Thus, we understand that the priority for the brand is not so much that customers leave with their products under their arms, but that she orders from the store, or later from your smartphone or computer, to then have it delivered to your home.

IKEA City, a concept to boost online sales?

As you will have understood, the Parisian concept of IKEA City is a tool primarily intended for Boost your online sales.

Beyond a strategy combining physical showcases and e-commerce, it is a question for IKEA to try to exceed its main competitors in the online sales market. Because while the Swedish brand dominates the furniture market, especially ahead of Conforama and But, it is seriously lagging behind on the web. And for good reason, during the opening of its first IKEA City in Paris in 2019, e-commerce represents only 5% of its sales, compared to 8% for Conforama and 12% for But.

In 2022, only three years after the opening of its Parisian concept, the growth in its e-commerce sales is unquestionable. Its online sales now represent 20% of its turnover, which is 15 points more than in 2019. So yes, COVID and changes in habits have gone through this. But we are forced to recognize that IKEA is setting an example in this area and even manages to get ahead of its competitor Conforama, whose e-commerce sales represented only 14% of its turnover in 2022.

A playground to offer new experiences

One smaller retail space, but more focused oncustomer experience ? Challenge met with the concept IKEA City !

IKEA's presence in Heart of cities had offered the brand the opportunity to experiment new services. Sustainable delivery, in-store entertainment, local partnerships... an overview of an innovative concept.

Let's start with the delivery service. Very committed to sustainable development, IKEA had established partnerships with French start-ups, such asOlvo for delivery by bike, or Marcel, a VTC service using electric vehicles. “The objective, by 2020, was to reach zero emissions, thanks in particular to 100% electric delivery trucks ”, explained Annie Bréteau, store manager, then. The group was even considering the use of river transport since Gennevilliers.

Côté in-store entertainment, a event space had been specially designed to make this point of sale more lively and attractive. Of lectures and thematic workshops were organized there regularly, in line with the various worlds proposed. These meetings were led by IKEA collaborators, but also by designers, associations, influencers and others “taskers”, around various themes. The first theme addressed had been the Feng Shui, a Chinese ancestral art aimed at harmonizing living spaces.

Visitors had been able, over the weeks, Practicing yoga, cooking without producing waste, create moodboards or even Enjoy a massage. A rich and inspiring program that gave a whole new dimension to the in-store experience.

Finally, IKEA had also bet on development of new partnerships. “The idea was to involve Parisian associations and to create link between customers ”, specified Annie Bréteau. This space was also used as storefront For artistic collaborations, like the collection Förnyad, both fun and quirky, designed by Sarah Andelman, co-founder of Colette.

With this project, IKEA had found a New breath, by offering an enriched experience at the point of sale and by attracting a more urban target. If the high tech And thecustomer experience were at the heart of the concept, one question remained unanswered: What would be the next evolutions to come?

IKEA City, from Paris Madeleine to Place d'Italie

Four years after settling in the La Madeleine district, IKEA announced in April 2023 the move of its flagship store to the Place d'Italie shopping center.

A strategic move for IKEA

We are not going to lie to each other, this change of address is not due to chance. The decision follows the announcement of the acquisition of the Italie Deux shopping center by Ingka Centres, the real estate company of the Ingka group, the parent company of most IKEA stores. In short, what better than its own walls for a furniture store?

But the rental advantage is far from being the only explanation for this move.

“Excellent accessibility”

For IKEA, moving to Italy 2 also means putting accessibility back at the heart of its location choices. With excellent accessibility by transport and car, the shopping center will accommodate an urban population certainly but also equipped with a car. This was not the case for its customers in the heart of Paris.

“Logistics infrastructures”

No doubt, we are gradually returning to the fundamentals of traditional IKEA. Equipped with delivery docks, the brand thus promises smoother operations and simplified logistics. And of course, the availability of these infrastructures also brings new possibilities in terms of products displayed in stores.

“A potential surface area of around 5,800m²”

Although we are still far from 20,000 m² of surface area, this new IKEA City still has 400 m² more than the previous one. A surface that will allow the brand to offer more take-away assortments without doing without new technologies to complete its offer.

More eccentric but larger, is this new location synonymous with a return to the past for the Swedish brand?

IKEA City: an evolving concept?

From the ephemeral to the permanent point of sale, IKEA has evolved over the years its store concept in the heart of cities. Faced with the challenges of accessibility and surface area of these sales spaces, new technologies and additional services were his key words. Today, IKEA Cities are a summary of what the brand knows how to do best in terms of customer experience and omnichannel.

While Parisians were seduced by the new way of buying at the point of sale (selecting items via shelves in stores, retrieving their purchases afterwards), many of them are sorry to move.

” I was used to having IKEA nearby, I can't live without it anymore. What a shame that the Swede abandoned the center of Paris so quickly. “While some faithful will agree to travel to Italy 2, for others the choice is quickly made” One thing is certain, I will not go to the south of Paris. Too far from home ”.

Between the city center and the periphery, this new store is a halfway point. It remains to be seen whether it will be as successful as that of La Madeleine.