IKEA Announces New Urban Growth Strategy

Furniture retailer IKEA (Leiden, Netherlands) has announced a changing expansion strategy that will focus on placing stores closer to urban centers near public transportation.

CNBC reports that the company’s strategy previously hinged on creating massive supercenters in out of town areas, but changing demographics in which younger consumers prefer urban living have caused the furniture retailer to change its plans.

The company’s new strategy will place stores in existing shopping centers that are already near existing public transit. The company has also said that this urban growth will require vertical brick-and-mortar expansion in urban centers as opposed to the company’s traditional single-story horizontal spread.