IKEA Australia has announced the opening of new Planning Studios across Australia

The iconic Swedish furniture store (and tasty meatball stop) IKEA has announced plans to open new customer meeting points across locations in Australia, with the first opening in Northwest Melbourne before the end of the year followed by an additional location looking to be secured in Newcastle.

The first of their kind Planning Studios are set to provide new and innovative ways for the store to become more accessible and convenient for us Aussies, with the main focus on dream home planning instead of shelf shopping.

Unlike the traditional big blue boxes, a Planning Studio will be sized between 300 – 500m2. They will be a place where customers can plan and order complex home furnishing products and services such as kitchens, wardrobes, and console units, with a collection point at each studio or pick up.

You won’t see any immediate articles or food on site here though. Basically, the main goal is to assist people coming in to create their dream home.

Mirja Viinanen, CEO of IKEA Australia says, “the goal for our expansion is simple: we will be
where the many people are, offering more people the ability to choose when, where, and how they want to engage with IKEA. Convenience is at the heart of our strategy.”

With Melbourne’s plans already in full swing, the exact opening of a store in Newcastle is still up in the air. These two new stores will gather important customer insights and feedback, and IKEA will consider opening additional Planning Studios in 2023 based on their success.

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