Ikea may be closing one of its UK stores but it can face up to the threat of Amazon

The Swedish flat-pack furniture pioneer is belatedly reinventing itself to adapt to the online world, says Ben Chapman

Ikea is not going to become the next Debenhams or House of Fraser (Michel Porro/Getty Images)

Ikea is closing down one of its large UK stores for the first time since crossing the North Sea to spread the flat-pack revolution in this country more than three decades ago.

But while the news is of course unwelcome for staff at the Coventry branch who will lose their jobs, it is unlikely to herald deeper problems for Ikea.

The Swedish retailer’s executives blamed the familiar cocktail of woes that has done for a number of household-name brands, including high costs and shifting habits as consumers shop online more and more.