Starting next year, Ikea will begin a major upgrade at its warehouse in Gentofte.

“We plan on it costing at least tens of millions of kroner to do the first floor,” Dennis Balslev, head of Ikea Denmark, told Jyllands-Posten. “As we move through the whole store, it could easily cost more.”

The Ikea store in Gentofte is 20 years old and has a retail space of 21,000 sqm. Three million customers visit the warehouse every year.

“The store is worn out and needs to be refurbished,” said Baslev.

The store is located in the Vangede-Gentofte centre, which is also home to a Jysk, Toys’R’Us and Elgiganten. Ikea owns the centre and Baslev said the entire location needs to be spruced up.

Headed downtown
Plans also continue to take shape for the chain’s new location in central Copenhagen. The new warehouse will have its main entrance at Dybbølsbro. The store’s planned 37,000 sqm would make it the second largest Ikea store in Denmark.

The city and various local groups must sign off on the construction plans. Ikea hopes the store can be opened at the end of 2018.

There may have to be some changes to the chain’s iconic logo and graphics.

“When we presented the drawings of the new store, the facade was very blue and yellow,” said Balsev.

“The exterior came under much discussion, and we listened to the municipality’s requirements for the location to fit in with the surrounding area, so it will probably not end up being quite so blue and yellow.”

A slight change in philosophy
The downtown location will join Gentofte and Høje-Taastrup as one of three stores in the Copenhagen metropolitan area. Having a store close to the centre of town runs counter to Ikea’s usual construction philosophy.

“We usually build on the periphery of large cities, but we have wanted to get closer to Copenhagen customers for a long time,” said Balsev.

“Our move into the city is similar to what we have done in Hamburg, which has been a great success. I expect the Fisketorvet store will be as well.”