Brighton's IKEA manager on new store's five year plan

Karina Gilpin has been appointed as manager of the new Churchill Square store, having worked for Ikea and parent company Ingka for almost 20 years prior.

She says she excited to take on the new store which had remained empty since Debenhams departed in 2021.

Ahead of the store opening on Thursday August 14, Karina said: "Brighton is such an exciting city, so we wanted to capture that unique, authentic, vibrant and creative aspect of Brighton."

Karina has worked for IKEA and Ingka centres for more than 19 years in total and says she is excited to take on the new Brighton store.  (Image: NQ)There are a number of Brighton themed fixtures around the store, as well as spaces created by Brighton locals themselves - including a pottery room by local potters.

She said: "We have five room sets that have been co-created by Brightonians, and they are absolutely amazing.

"And what's lovely about them is that they really amplify, you know, personality, individuality."

Five room sets have been co-created by people from the city. (Image: NQ) As well as involving people from Brighton in the creative process, Karina says almost all of their hires are people from the city.

She said: "We have approximately 150 co-workers.

"And then of that I think 125 are locals.

"And that's fantastic because it adds to the flare of the store as well.

"They know the community."

From a business perspective, Karina has high hopes for the Brighton store on many levels.

The new store will open on Thursday August 14 at 10am. (Image: Newsquest) When asked about where she sees the business in five years time, she said: "I would say that mainly that we're profitable, of course.

"But mainly that we really deliver what we have promised.

"So really having those strong local partnerships to continue with that and to live up to the expectation that people find what they're looking for when they come to visit us.

"We want to give a level of customer experience that people are after when it comes to customer service as well."

In the short term, Karina is focused on creating a safe environment for shoppers during the initial opening period.

She said "We are working closely with Ingka centres as to how to manage the crowd to ensure that it doesn't take away from the experience of that day.

"We have thought about how we manage the lines and how we ensure that people are having a good experience - even if it's a 'flow in'."