Swedish furniture retailer, Ikea, will give its Richmond store a multi-million-dollar facelift to upgrade the store’s layout with new entrance points and better lift accessibility.

The project, which is expected to be completed by mid-2018, will expand the store’s showroom and a refreshed restaurant will be installed and serve cafe-style food including barista made coffee and cakes.

The Swedish Food Market and Bistro will be upgraded to provide a better experience to customers, the retailer added.

Chris Brown, Ikea Richmond store manager, said the investment will pave the way for a transformation at Ikea Richmond for it to be better equipped to meet the needs of its customers.

“We are looking forward to opening a new and improved store and shopping experience for our customers that will continue to evolve,” Brown said. “Ikea Richmond will be more even inspiring and relevant for our customers, and even easier to access once the renovation is complete.”

Ikea Richmond, which opened in 2003, currently employs over 350 co-workers, a figure which, according to the retailer, will grow by approximately 10 per cent through the store upgrade and expansion.

The store will continue to trade as normal throughout construction.

Earlier this week, the furniture retailer launched an augmented reality application, which it sees as a “total game changer for retail”.

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