IKEA opens doors to third-party retailers with new Decathlon pilot in Croydon

Furniture retailer IKEA is piloting a retail partnership with Decathlon, which will see the sportswear retailer open a standalone store inside IKEA's Croydon location this spring.

The Decathlon store will occupy 1,188 square metres of retail space within the 25,000-square-metre IKEA store, offering a selection of over 5,000 products across hiking, camping, running, fitness, swimming and cycling.

The idea for this latest partnership with Decathlon came from the furniture retailer's Life at Home Report 2025, a study of how people live and what contributes to their happiness at home. The report showed that over a third (36%) of people in the UK say that spending time on hobbies and personal interests is their main source of enjoyment at home.

This retail partnership reflects IKEA's agile retail strategy, which has seen the company launch both smaller city-centre locations as well as full-sized stores across the UK, with the aim of meeting customers’ evolving needs.

Another recent example of this strategy includes IKEA launching a co-working space within its Greenwich store in response to the rise of hybrid and remote working.

The furniture giant opened a total of seven new stores in the UK last year, including a location in the former Topshop location on Oxford Street.

Kim Chin-Sung, Market Manager for IKEA Croydon, said: "The new Decathlon unit coming to IKEA Croydon is the latest example of us investing in and reimagining our stores to ensure customers and co-workers continue to get the most out of these spaces."

Mónica Cedres, London City Leader for Decathlon UK, added: "At Decathlon, our purpose is to bring people together through sport to make wellbeing accessible for all. This new home at IKEA Croydon represents a bold step in our mission to help more people across the UK and Ireland become active."