Ikea knows New Yorkers want what they're selling, but they haven't quite landed on a concept for how to sell it to them.

A Small-Format Store

Ikea, known for stylish, inexpensive, put-it-together-yourself furniture, announced that it would be closing its small-format store in Queens less than two years after the store opened. Where typical Ikea stores occupy a massive 300,000 square feet, the Queens store took up fewer than half that, at a still impressive 115,000 square feet.

Customers in the Queens store could buy and take home items curated for New Yorkers, considering what was likely to be popular and functional for New York City apartments. Other items were available on the same day but had to be delivered for $49 to New York addresses.

Manhattan's Store was Even Smaller

The Queens store was significantly larger than the Ikea Planning Studio concept store that closed on the Upper East Side of Manhattan earlier in the year. At just 17,350 square feet, the Planning Studio store was delivery only, with no items available for same-day takeaway. The store was the Sweden-based chain's first location in a U.S. city center. When the Manhattan store closed, the retailer said it planned to look for another Manhattan location.

Now, with the Queens store closing, only one Ikea remains open in New York City—Ikea Brooklyn, which opened in Red Hook in 2008. Ikea issued a statement saying that the store is still committed to New York City and is looking for new locations to test.

Other Small Stores in NYC

Ikea is far from the only big-box retailer that wants a convenient presence for New Yorkers. Target and Best Buy have also opened smaller versions of their stores in New York. The small-format stores allow the stores to move out of the suburbs and experiment with new concepts in a city that welcomes change.

Ikea, likewise, still seems interested in opening smaller stores in urban areas. In May, Ikea Canada opened a 66,000-square-foot store in a Toronto skyscraper.

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New York City commercial real estate, including large retail and warehouse space, is always in demand and always in flux. If you'd like to know more about what's happening around the city, contact real estate attorney Melvin Monachan's experienced team today at (347) 389-1682 or online.