IKEA’s British owner supported the call from Oxford Street pedestrians as the world’s largest furniture retailer finally opened delayed stores in major London shopping destinations.

The Swedish company’s third-floor store in the building was once Topshop’s former flagship store, paired with meatballs, lampshades and kitchen design help, 18 months later than planned.

Sitting in a small room set by IKEA’s CEO Peter Jekelby, IKEA’s UK business CEO Peter Jekelby said he believes the plan for pedestrian Oxford Street, backed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, will “benefit the streets” and “make the streets good” and “make it easier to move”.

Khan said the IKEA store was a "giant vote of confidence in London, our economy and our plan to restore Oxford Street" and attracting new companies would help "create new jobs and increase football lag".

He said the "bold proposal" of Oxford Street pedestrians was consulted that ended on May 2, "so I encourage everyone to have a say."

Jekelby added that IKEA will employ more than 100 employees at its new London store, and he is committed to opening more stores in the UK and plans to open a new new website in Brighton this summer, with smaller sites in Norwich, Chester and Harlow in Essex.

"After that, we'll take stock of it," he said. "We can still have some places and spaces." IKEA, he said, is "affordable" and can thrive even during the "thinner wallet" period.

He called on the UK government to promote stability in the UK market, rather than overwhelming retailers who paid extra fees after increasing the employer's national insurance costs.

Jekelby said business rates need to be reconsidered, so they are “more suitable for purpose” and do not “punish certain ways of shopping” – because currently people who run stores face higher costs from property-based taxes than competitors who operate online only.

The bright and colorful Oxford Street exit includes a 130-seat Swedish deli, on-site event space and one-to-one design service for the kitchen, bedroom and living room. Lots of woodland scenes, buzzing bees and a wide variety of Londoners talking about their home design options, some of which were recreated in the store.

It will display about 6,000 IKEA products, from "Billy" bookcases to water cups, with about 3,500 items going to be taken away on the spot, while the rest can be delivered to the house.

The opening of the store is seen by some as key to hope to revive Oxford Street, which gradually rejuvenated after the decline in visitor counts during the Covid pandemic, and since then, many locations have been vacant, while a number of cheap American candy stores have moved in.

The number of vacancy and confectionery stores has declined over the past two years, with streets being raised by new openings, including HMV, which returned to its original store location in November 2023, and Sportswear Brand Under Armor.

The seven-story Topshop building is also home to Nike Town, which occupies more space in some high-rises, a channel for beauty expert Space NK and office space.