Have you heard the one about the Lego, the snack and the flatpack wardrobe…?

Earlier this year, we reported that the popular Swedish furniture store, Ikea, would be opening a new store at Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda Mall.

July was little-yellow-pencilled in for the launch date, but then, well the global pandemic struck and like much else in 2020 – the snooze button was reluctantly pressed.

But with construction and retail returning to a more consistent swing, the Scandinavian furnishing firm picked up the instructions again and are now on track for a November launch.

What’s in store for us?

Abu Dhabi already has one Ikea on Yas Island, but this second store is positioned in a more central location, making it accessible for many of the capital’s residents.

It will also take the total number of the famously labyrinthian stores in the UAE to five, following the launch of Jebel Ali’s Festival Plaza outlet at the end of 2019.

In the past, Ikea stores have usually set up home in the suburbs. It made practical sense, given their vast size and the fact that there was usually expansive warehouse space on site. Inner-city real estate just wasn’t viable.

Fast-forward to 2020 and the new 23,000-square-foot Al Wahda Mall location is just the latest in the brand’s growing ‘city store concept’ portfolio.

The city format has seen a few tweaks to the traditional shop layout where its been rolled out in areas such as Paris, but still maintains the same affordable, stylish ‘own-brand’ products.

Vinod Jayan, managing director of Al-Futtaim IKEA said of the upcoming launch, “We are delighted to open a new Ikea store at Al Wahda Mall, given the mall’s strategic and central location, we will be in the city centre closer to where the many people live.”

Meat(less)balls

Ikea broke the internet earlier this year when they launched a vegan version of their popular meatballs in select locations around the world.

What’s On has learned that the plant-balls are currently UAE-bound and should arrive in store by… November, just in time for the new Al Wahda Mall.

Standing on Lego

Ikea’s UAE social media accounts have been teasing the launch of a new range in partnership with the similarly-Scandanavian brand —Lego. We have no details on pricing, but a quick search on the campaign hashtag, #BYGGLEK reveals that it appears to be a range of simple-storage, self-contained lego units.

Where kids can create worlds within, and then simply tidy-away without disassembly when not being used. Avoiding the number one cause of accidental parent curse word use – standing on Lego.

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The products are set for launch across UAE stores this October.

 

Images: Unsplash/Ikea