Ingka reimagines the mall with Livat

The real-estate development arm of IKEA-owner Ingka Group says it is accelerating its transformation from a shopping-centre business to a “meeting-place business” as its Livat portfolio nears 50 locations.

What is Livat?

Ingka’s focus is moving away from large out-of-town shopping centres towards smaller, urban locations which fulfil multiple purposes: Livat centres, from the Swedish for ‘a lively happening’, are typically anchored by smaller IKEA stores, complemented with retail, food and beverage and leisure units.

Crucially, all are tailored to the particular needs of the local populace. A new Livat planned for Gurugram in India, for example, will include a communal space for festivals and cultural exhibitions.

Background

• A new Livat site opening in London’s Hammersmith this week is the eighth such meeting place to open in the past ten months, bringing the total worldwide to 48, Retail Week reports; another six are in development, including the first two in North America. 
• China alone has seven Livat centres, with two opening in the past year; the one in Changsha includes work-live units. 
• The centres attract 372 million visitors a year and sales by tenants across Europe, Russia and China jumped 16% to €6 billion (£5 billion) during Ingka Group’s 2021 financial year.

Key quote

“Many of the trends that we saw back then [pre-pandemic] that set us in this new direction have only been accelerated by the pandemic, such as online, an increased customer desire and need for experiences, convenience and so on” – Cindy Andersen, managing director, Ingka Centres.

Sourced from Retail Week, Ingka Centres