Ikea will close seven stores in China to “lay the foundations for more resilient growth”
The Swedish furniture and decoration giant Ikea has decided to cease the activity of seven of its establishments in different cities in China as of next February 2, while will shift the focus of its expansion in the country towards the key markets of Beijing and Shenzhenwith the planned opening of more than a dozen small format stores in the next two years.
“This decision is a important step in the profound transformation of Ikea in Chinawhose objective is to lay the foundations for more resilient business growth,” the multinational announced.
Specifically, “after a thorough review and evaluation”, Ikea will close its IKEA Shanghai Baoshan stores, IKEA Guangzhou Panyu, IKEA Tianjin Zhongbei, IKEA Nantong, IKEA Xuzhou, IKEA Ningbo and IKEA Harbin, starting February 2, 2026.
In this way, the Swedish chain, which opened its first store in the country in 1998 and currently reaches more than 1 billion local customers, A total of 34 physical establishments will operate in China. In addition, Ikea has three of its own digital channels and two flagship e-commerce stores in China, while it continues to explore ways to further improve the omnichannel customer experience.
In this sense, the multinational has indicated that will move from large-scale expansion “to focused market penetration”exploring key markets in Beijing and Shenzhen, and opening more than ten small stores in the next two years, including the IKEA Dongguan store in February 2026, and the Beijing Tongzhou store, which will open in April 2026.
Likewise, Ikea has stressed its intention to continue strengthening its online presence and investing in existing stores, as well as leveraging China’s advanced innovation ecosystem and collaborating with leading local partners in areas such as digitalization, automation and the circular economy in order to optimize processes, reduce costs and increase speed and flexibility.
