Here's a sneak peek at Ikea's newest (and smallest) outlet in Jem before its official opening on April 29

Westies were delighted when furniture giant Ikea announced that they were planning to open a third store at Jem in 2021.

This fateful day is finally arriving — the spanking new outlet is slated to open its doors to the public this Thursday (April 29).

The three-storey branch will be taking over the space of the now defunct Robinsons and will span 70,000 sq ft.

While it's definitely much smaller as compared to its counterparts in Alexandra and Tampines, the new place will still offer the full range of Ikea products and house a restaurant. This will also be Ikea's first outlet within Singapore that will be housed within a shopping mall. 

It isn't surprising that many of us are itching to check out this shiny new toy of the West since its announcement, however, some lucky ones have already managed to get a peek of the space prior its opening.

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Last Thursday (April 22), netizen Alan Neo took to Facebook to document down his experience during the sneak preview of Ikea's new venture at Jem. 

In some of the photos he shared, we got a glimpse of the place which was surprisingly more spacious than we had imagined it to be. There are even escalators located within Ikea itself so that customers can have easy access to all the three levels.

An image of the Swedish store's directory also revealed the layout of the entire area. Level two is designated to things like dining, lighting and living room while level three is where one should go to for anything bed or bath-related.

Hungry visitors who are only there for the food should make an immediate beeline to level four where the Swedish Bistro, and Swedish Food Market are located.

It was also revealed that the bistro will operate on a Click & Collect basis. All diners have to do is scan a QR code to place their orders and pay for their food online. Once your food is ready, you will receive an SMS which you would have to flash at the collection counter to pick up your food.

We were also excited to flip through photos taken in the Swedish Food Market which is seemingly more well-stocked than we had anticipated it to be. Shelves and chillers were stocked up with popular Swedish snacks, condiments, and frozen goods, such as hotdogs and cakes.

Overall, it seems like Ikea has managed to squeeze in quite a fair bit of things despite the small space, and in all honesty, some areas look pretty similar to its other two larger stores. And despite having seen most of the store in this sneak peek, we still can't wait to visit when it officially opens in three days.

melissateo@asiaone.com