IKEA To Open First Manhattan Store, Company Says

The small-format "IKEA Planning Studio" is expected to open in spring 2019 on Third Avenue and East 59th Street.

Swedish furniture giant IKEA will open its first Manhattan location in Midtown Manhattan next year, the company announced Monday.

IKEA is expected to open a small-format "planning studio" on 999 Third Avenue and East 59th Street in the spring, the company said. The format of the store is a big departure from IKEA's sprawling warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, company executives said.

Customers at the small-format store will be able to interact with a curated selection of furniture and order pieces to be delivered to their homes, according to a company press release. The new format is an attempt by IKEA to establish a retail presence in city centers.

The Manhattan location will be IKEA's first small-format store in the United States.

"We recognize that we are in a rapidly changing retail environment, and to be fit for long-term growth, IKEA is transforming in a way that lets us meet our customers where they are," Lars Petersson, Country Manager of IKEA Retail U.S., said in a statement. "New York City is the natural choice to open the first city center store – the most vibrant, dynamic city in the US, and the epicenter of retail, business, and culture."

IKEA said it consulted New York City residents during the planning phase for its new Manhattan store. The company did not reveal the types of furniture that will stock the store, but said the inventory will focus on "smart solutions for urban living and small spaces."

Shoppers who prefer to select and pick up furniture all in one trip will still have the options to schlep out to IKEA's Red Hook store. The small-format location isn't intended to replace IKEA's warehouse-style stores like Red Hook, but instead to compliment the larger locations, according to a company press release.