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TORONTO – Ikea Canada is embracing the trend of big retailers who are starting to think small.

The Swedish furniture giant announced Thursday it will open two ‘pick-up point’ stores in Quebec City and London, Ont. this year that are one-tenth or less the size of its average store.

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Consumers will be able to pick up Internet orders at the outlets, and buy a handful of its top-selling items.

“I have had a goal from the starting point to make Ikea a bit more accessible for many Canadians,” Stefan Sjostrand, managing director at Ikea Canada, said in an interview announcing the move.

The pick-up format is part of a global Ikea test pilot for secondary markets where it currently has no stores, and whose residents typically drive to bigger cities or pay to have their Ikea items shipped to them. The retailer has pick-up stores in Spain and Greece, and will open one in Thailand this summer.

It allows us to expand quickly into markets that we have identified as having potential

“It allows us to expand quickly into markets that we have identified as having potential,” Sjostrand said, adding customers in London typically have a 1.5-hour drive to the closest Ikea store in Burlington, Ont.