IKEA Goes West with Planning Studio Stores

IKEA U.S. (Conshohocken, Pa.) is making final preparations to open two Planning Studio stores in California by the end of the month.

Both stores are slated for the greater Los Angeles area, with the first location opening in Long Beach on Aug. 29 and the second opening in Arcadia on Aug. 31.

The studio format allows customers to sit for one-on-one consultations with an IKEA design specialist at a planning table to map out their desired living spaces. From there, an order is placed and materials are delivered to the customer’s home.

The concept for the studios “is based on extensive market research to understand consumers, what logistical barriers they face, how they like to shop, how they live at home and more,” the retailer says.

The new California stores are IKEA’s first two Planning Studio locations on the West Coast. They follow the closure of the retailer’s first U.S. studio in Manhattan, which shuttered in January. Upon announcement of the closure, IKEA said it was “actively searching” for an alternative location in Manhattan, but the retailer’s store locator does not indicate one has been found.