But will it have meatballs? Pop-up shop brings IKEA kitchens to Cherry Hill Mall
CHERRY HILL – How do you fit an IKEA store into Cherry Hill Mall?
The answer is a pop-up shop for the Swedish furniture retailer best known for its massive blue stores on the edges of urban areas.
A newly opened kiosk focused on IKEA’s kitchen-planning services will operate at the South Jersey mall through October, the company said Tuesday.
The shop, run by an IKEA franchise in Philadelphia, will allow customers to design, order and pay for a kitchen in one visit.
Retail woes: Mall operator struggles Red ink still pouring for owner of Cherry Hill Mall, Moorestown Mall
“This is a great opportunity for us to reach and better serve our South Jersey customers,” said Michael Hill, customer experience manager at IKEA South Philadelphia on Columbus Boulevard.
IKEA expects to open similar pop-ups in other markets across the country.
Cherry Hill Mall kiosk a first for IKEA
The kitchen-planning kiosk in the mall’s first-floor Grand Court near Nordstrom is described as a first for IKEA.
But it arrives as the 80-year-old retail chain is pursuing new ways to reach customers.
“We always want to be better, and we test new solutions and formats all the time,” Jon Abrahamsson, CEO of IKEA’s parent company, says in an online overview of the firm’s innovations.
“IKEA has been working with pop-ups for several years, each time with a different theme, and they have proved very popular,” he says.
IKEA opening smaller-format stores
Abrahamsson notes the retailer has opened small-format versions of its traditional stores, as well as smaller shops that focus on one area, like bedrooms.
IKEA still gets most of its sales from more than 400 big blue stores around the world, Abrahamsson says.
The Cherry Hill shop will operate Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A grand opening will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 26.
The shop will offer IKEA's signature meatballs and cookies, along with other attractions, during a grand opening at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May 26.
The snacks won't be available on a regular basis, however.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: IKEA pop-up store opens at Cherry Hill Mall as chain tries new formats
