Key Points
- Decathlon has opened a new store inside IKEA Croydon as part of a pilot partnership between the two brands.
- The Decathlon unit covers 1,188 square metres inside IKEA’s 25,000 square metre Croydon store and has its own dedicated customer entrance.
- It is the first time IKEA has hosted another global brand inside one of its UK “blue box” stores.
- The offer includes more than 5,000 products across around 70 sports, with ranges including cycling, fitness, running, hiking, camping, swimming and outdoor activities.
- The store also features Click and Collect, Buy Back and Second Life-style circular retail services.
- Decathlon UK and Ireland chief executive Elena Pecos said the partnership is intended to make wellbeing accessible and bring sport and home life together.
- IKEA UK and Ireland interim chief executive and chief sustainability officer, Mostafa El Garaa, said the pilot is designed to create a more convenient one-stop destination.
- Ingka Group said the move is part of a wider effort to make IKEA stores more relevant, convenient and inspiring for customers.
Croydon (South London News) April 30, 2026 – IKEA and Decathlon have launched a new pilot at Valley Retail Park in Croydon, bringing a 1,188-square-metre Decathlon store inside IKEA’s existing site and creating what the companies describe as a combined shopping destination focused on home and wellbeing.
As reported by Bdaily, the concept is designed to blend home furnishing and sporting goods under one roof, with the partnership framed as a test of how large retail spaces can be used more efficiently.
What is inside the new store?
The new Decathlon space sits within IKEA Croydon but operates as a standalone unit with its own entrance, according to Ingka Group.
The store stocks more than 5,000 products covering 70 sports, and the selection is tailored to local demand, including cycling, fitness, running and outdoor pursuits.
Ingka Group said the pilot also includes services such as Click and Collect, while Decathlon’s Buy Back and Second Life initiatives are intended to extend product life and support circular retail.
The company added that the format is intended to offer customers both home-furnishing and sports-shopping in one visit.
Why are the companies trialling this model?
Ingka Group said it is exploring partnerships with third-party retailers because customer expectations and shopping habits are changing, and it wants to make physical stores more convenient and relevant.
Javier Quiñones of Ingka Group IKEA said the ambition is to give customers more reasons to visit and to evolve stores into destinations that combine convenience, inspiration and a broader offer.
Bdaily reported that the Croydon pilot is also part of Decathlon’s 50th anniversary strategy, using the location to test new ways of integrating sport into everyday routines.
The companies present the collaboration as a practical retail trial rather than a one-off marketing exercise.
What did the executives say?
As reported by Bdaily, Decathlon UK and Ireland chief executive Elena Pecos said:
“This partnership with IKEA Croydon represents a bold new chapter in how we bring people together through sport to make wellbeing accessible for all”.
Pecos added that the partnership creates a destination where “sport and home life go hand-in-hand” and said the company looks forward to the South London community using the new format.
Mostafa El Garaa, interim chief executive and chief sustainability officer at IKEA UK and Ireland, said the pilot offers customers a convenient one-stop destination where they can design their homes and discover the joy of being active.
He also described IKEA Croydon as the first UK store of its kind and said the pilot reflects how IKEA is rethinking its stores to better meet customer needs.
How does this fit IKEA’s wider strategy?
Ingka Group said the Croydon trial is part of a broader pattern of cooperation with other retailers in different markets.
The company noted that similar partnerships have already been announced in Austria and Sweden, where IKEA has explored ways of adding complementary retail offers to its stores.
Ingka Group also said it is investing more than EUR 5 billion across FY24-26 to open new locations and improve existing ones across most of its 32 markets.
That wider investment suggests the Croydon pilot is being used as one example of how IKEA wants to adapt large-format retail for changing consumer behaviour.
Background of the development
The Croydon opening follows a period in which major retailers have been looking for ways to make physical stores more appealing at a time of shifting shopping habits.
IKEA has increasingly talked about making its stores more “convenient and inspiring,” while Decathlon has been expanding services that encourage longer product lifecycles, such as Buy Back.
The partnership also reflects the growing use of store-in-store formats, where different brands share space to attract more footfall and broaden the customer offer.
Croydon has been selected as the UK trial site, making it a notable test case for future retail partnerships in large warehouse-style stores.
Prediction for customers
For shoppers in Croydon and wider South London, the development is likely to make trips more efficient because they can browse home products and sporting goods in one location.
Families, casual exercisers and people setting up a new home may benefit most, since the format combines practical home shopping with accessible sports ranges and collection services.
If the pilot performs well, similar shared-retail models could appear elsewhere in the UK as both brands look for ways to increase convenience and footfall.
For local customers, the main effect is likely to be a broader choice under one roof rather than a major change in price or product type.
