Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Ikea to Temporarily Close All U.S. Stores
March 18,
2020 by Jane Chero in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
Ikea, the word’s biggest furniture brand, will temporarily close all 50 store locations across the U.S. as well as the Ikea Planning Studio in Manhattan. The decision was made by Ikea leadership as a pre-cautionary measure due to the rapidly evolving novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Ikea U.S. will continue to offer online shopping with the convenience of home delivery or Click & Collect (in select locations).
“Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. This is the most responsible way Ikea can continue to care for our co-workers and our customers in a manner that is healthy and safe,” said Javier Quiñones, Ikea retail U.S. president. “We are taking our role in containing this epidemic seriously, and we recognize the positive impact our actions could have on making life better for the millions of people who have been impacted by this crisis.”
The Ikea locations will remain closed to the public for shopping, while remaining operational to fulfill online orders and online order pick up (Click & Collect). The company has put in place additional measures to ensure the work environment is clean and sanitized and that co-workers are working at a safe social distance.
Co-workers are at the heart of the Ikea business, and the retailer is committed to caring for its 18,000 co-workers in the best possible way.
Ikea will continue to support co-workers through its comprehensive benefits package and paid leave policy. All non-essential co-worker travel and large group meetings have been cancelled. Ikea will assess all measures on a regular base.
On March 16, Ikea announced in a message to customers that it was closing many stores or reducing hours at the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local authorities. Additionally, the company preemptively closed all Småland play areas, Ikea restaurants and bistros and cancelled all in-store events and workshops in the U.S.
Globally, to date, IKEA has announced temporary closures in heavily impacted countries including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland. With the situation across China now slowly improving, Ikea stores in China are being reopened gradually.