Optimizing business in greater Tokyo area － Happy to be home

At IKEA, we operate our business based on our vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people,” and are guided by our clear business direction to make IKEA “more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable.”  For nearly two decades, IKEA has been on a journey with our customers, co-workers, and partners to bring a better everyday life to the many people in Japan. Through our wide range of touchpoints, including 10 large stores, 3 city stores, 2 stores within commercial facilities, the IKEA online store, the IKEA app, customer support center, and 470 pick-up points nationwide, we aim to become a partner in Life at Home for the many people by offering products and services at affordable prices. 

Japan, and especially Tokyo, is an attractive and important home furnishing market that is still developing, and consumer behaviors and shopping preferences are constantly shifting. The many people are expecting seamless, personalized, and convenient experiences across both digital and physical touchpoints. To meet these increasingly diverse needs, IKEA as an omnichannel retailer, aims to provide a more comfortable shopping experience by strengthening each touchpoint and working to comprehensively connect them.

At the same time, IKEA is constantly renewing and improving to create a better IKEA for today – and tomorrow. We are constantly optimizing our customer meeting points in order to stay relevant and secure sustainable growth. This approach allows IKEA to build resilience and maximize the use of existing business units, including transforming, closing or adding new units and channels when needed, and exploring different innovative formats and ways of meeting our customers.

In order to respond to the evolving needs of our customers, and to further focus on sustainable growth, we have taken a close look at our omnichannel strategy in the Greater Tokyo area. After a thorough and thoughtful review, we have made the decision to adjust our channel setup — and plan to discontinue operating our existing Harajuku and Shinjuku city stores in early 2026, with IKEA Shibuya becoming the brand hub for IKEA in Tokyo’s city center moving forward.

IKEA Harajuku, IKEA Shibuya, and IKEA Shinjuku, which opened between 2020 and 2021,  have been a source for inspiring ideas and solutions. The experience and insights gained there led us to the renewal of IKEA Shibuya in 2024, and continues to lead us in developing innovative solutions.

In Greater Tokyo area, we will continue to strengthen our omnichannel approach by enhancing each touchpoint, including IKEA Shibuya and other stores such as IKEA Tachikawa, IKEA Tokyo-Bay, IKEA Shin Misato, IKEA Yokohama, and IKEA Yokohama Bay Quarter, as well as the IKEA online store, the IKEA App, our customer support center, and pick-up points. Through this approach, we will continue to provide a convenient, seamless, and accessible IKEA experience for our customers.

The CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer Petra Färe, commented 

“It is not an easy decision, and it is made with great care and consideration. It reflects our commitment to continuously optimize not only where our touchpoints are, but how we interact with our customers, while meeting their increasingly diverse needs. This decision, in light of current circumstances, is a strategic step toward long-term business growth, aligned with IKEA’s business direction to become ‘more affordable, more accessible and more sustainable.’  We understand that change can bring on challenges, and we will support our co-workers overcome these changes together. We will continue to grow together in new and better ways in the Greater Tokyo Area and throughout Japan, to become a partner in Life at Home and realize our vision of creating a better everyday life for more of the many people.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the customers who have shopped with us at IKEA Shinjuku and IKEA Harajuku, the local community, our business partners, and all the co-workers who have continued to take on challenges together with us. The connections we’ve built and the support and expectations we have received have been great sources of inspiration and motivation that drives us, and fuels us as we shape the future. “

Starting with the opening of IKEA Hiroshima this fall, IKEA will continue to develop the business in Japan across various formats and methods, with the aim of making IKEA feel more accessible to more of the many people. Moving forward, we will continue in our commitment to provide products and services that support a better, and more sustainable everyday life at affordable prices, and we continue to be a partner in life at home, so that more of the many people can feel “Happy to be Home.”