IKEA to permanently close Toronto location

IKEA has just announced some unfortunate news for Toronto shoppers: it is permanently closing one of its local stores, just a few years after the location first opened.

The legendary Swedish home goods brand shared an update on Tuesday outlining new plans to shutter its Scarborough Town Centre outpost, citing a "rapidly evolving retail landscape" and "shifting consumer behaviour in the GTA."

"IKEA Canada has made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Scarborough Town Centre location," reads a message to customers visiting the retailer's webpage for the STC store.

A vague "early 2026" closure date is mentioned, with the company stating that "for now, the store will remain open with normal operating hours until further notice." 

It also notes that consumers will still be able to return and exchange items, pick up click-and-collect orders, eat at the deli, and "enjoy all other store services as normal" until a final day of operations is decided on.

The outlet is one of IKEA's more compact "City" stores, offering a selection of smaller items, including bedding, utensils, and furnishings, as well as some furniture. It also serves as a showroom and order point for larger items for pickup and delivery.

The STC location first debuted in August 2023 to much fanfare, occupying 7,489 square metres of mall floorspace, which formerly housed Sears. It landed shortly after the brand's similarly formatted downtown Toronto store first opened its doors in Aura at College Park, located at Yonge and Gerrard, in 2022.

That Toronto City store seems to be safe, despite this latest move. IKEA also still has locations in North York, Etobicoke, Burlington, Vaughan and Ottawa, plus a handful of other "plan and order points" across Ontario.