IKEA opens new London city centre store

Swedish furniture giant IKEA on Thursday opened a new store in the heart of London's shopping district. The Oxford Street outlet has been seven years in the making and is part of the retailer's strategy of bringing the global brand closer to city centres.

Others already exist in places such as Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Tokyo. The UK is IKEA's fourth-biggest market, behind Germany, the United States and France. The retail manager at Ingka Group said IKEA has been looking at more local production for a number of years, particularly in the United States, notably to avoid exporting bulky items from Europe.