IKEA Canada to open first downtown store in Toronto

IKEA announced Thursday that it will open a new store in downtown Toronto, its first location in a Canadian city centre.

Ingka Centres, IKEA's parent company, has acquired the commercial space at the base of the Aura building at 382 Yonge Street, where it plans to open a smaller-format IKEA store later this year or early 2022. The acquisition marks the parent company's first foray into the Canadian market, managing director Cindy Andersen said in a statement.

The new store will offer similar features to the classic IKEA shopping experience, including food service and more than 2,000 products for sale. Larger furniture items will be available for home delivery only. The company said that no self-serve furniture will be available at the new location.

"IKEA Canada is committed to becoming more accessible by bringing our stores closer to where Canadians live, work and socialize," IKEA Canada CEO and chief sustainability officer Michael Ward said in the statement.

"As one of the fastest growing cities in North America with a vibrant and diverse community, Toronto was a natural choice for us to launch our first downtown store."

Ingka's acquisition of the Aura space includes more than 12,000 sq. metres of commercial retail space across three floors. Until recently, the space included a Bed, Bath and Beyond store. Ingka said it will redevelop the property into "a new destination", with the IKEA store taking up more than 6,100 sq. metres across two floors.

IKEA has opened 10 similar smaller-concept stores around the world in cities such as Paris, Moscow, Shanghai and Queens, New York.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.