Ikea has opened its £450 million flagship store on Oxford Street in London, marking a significant development for the Swedish homeware giant after multiple delays. The store, which launches this Thursday, spans three floors and covers 5,800 square metres, making it one of the company’s largest UK outlets. Customers will have access to around 6,000 products, ranging from iconic staples such as the £55 Billy bookcase to specially curated shops created by Londoners.

The store features a 130-seat Swedish deli, serving Ikea’s signature food items, including its well-known 85p hotdogs, meatballs, and Daim cake. This new superstore contrasts sharply with Ikea’s first UK venture, which opened in Warrington in 1987 and was known for its budget-friendly offerings along with quirky features such as a Volvo displayed in a showroom.

Since its founding in 1943 in Amhult, Sweden, Ikea has maintained a focus on affordable home furnishings. However, some of its older products have gained a cult following and increased value over the decades. Furniture and homeware from the 1950s to the 1990s, especially from the 1970s, are now considered vintage classics and attract significant interest on the resale market. For instance, a collection of 122 secondhand Ikea items, including lights and tableware, sold for £32,000 at an auction in Stockholm in 2023.

Several pieces from past decades have seen dramatic appreciation in value. A red ‘Impala’ sofa designed in the early 1970s, originally priced at £107, fetched £1,700 at auction two years ago in Sweden. The piece was designed by Gillis Lundgren, known for creating iconic Ikea products like the Billy bookcase. On retro interiors website Vinterior, a Karin Mobring Diana Cognac Sling Lounge Chair is currently listed for £3,881.

Among the notable vintage Ikea items sought by collectors are:

  • The Vilbert chair, designed by Danish designer Verner Panton and released in 1994, originally priced at £56. Its angular design was unpopular initially but has since become a collectors’ item, with sets selling for thousands of pounds.

  • The Entreti shelf, designed by Niels Gammelgaard in the late 1970s, made from metal and real wood. While less affordable than the Billy bookcase, original versions can sell for around £1,100 on pre-owned markets.

  • The Duett hanging lights by Bent Gantzel Boysen, originally sold for £6 in the 1970s; good-condition vintage pieces can now fetch £400 to £600, with sets listed for over £1,300.

  • The Girls Go in the Ring print by Lars Norrman, released in 1972 and originally sold for £2, now valued at over £600.

  • The Impala chair and sofa, designed in 1972 by Gillis Lundgren, described in that year’s catalogue as “an amazing piece with its soft, rounded, cosy lines.” Vintage models have seen prices increase more than 15-fold.

  • More recent pieces such as the limited-edition Tiger Rug by Walter Van Beirendonck, released in 2016 at under £10, now on sale for nearly £1,800.

  • The Erik Wørts dining table is another vintage item commanding high prices, with Scandinavian pine craftsmanship making it desirable.

  • The Magnus Eleback lamp from the 1970s, with its black ceramic base and green lampshade, is worth around £1,000 today.

  • The Cavelli armchair, designed by Ikea’s first in-house designer Bengt Ruda and launched in 1959 for around £20, recently sold for £15,500 at auction.

  • The Skopa chair, launched in the late 1960s and designed by Ole Gjerløv-Knudsen and Torben Lind, originally priced at £6, now commands high resale value.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the vintage and retro Ikea market continues to grow as collectors prize the unique design and history embedded in past Ikea products. The Oxford Street flagship, with its blend of budget-friendly offerings and curated shopping experiences, may in time produce new icons for future vintage collectors.

Source: Noah Wire Services