has announced several store closures, with one to cease trading this month. The Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway Shopping Centre will cease in just a fortnight's time on June 16. The store in Greater is a smaller outlet than its usual out-of-town locations and is focused on kitchen, bedroom and living room planning.

announced the sudden closure of stores that opened just two years ago. It is set to close its Aintree Plan and Order Point on Monday, June 16, too.

Launched in December 2022, the store, located at Aintree Racecourse Retail Park, was the first of this test and trial format to open in the UK.

The closures come as "a result of valuable learnings". Salma Azad, area manager, said: "After careful evaluation, we've made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre.

"In the two years since opening, we've taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet , and we'll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.

"I want to sincerely thank all of the customers who have shopped with us in this time. IKEA Manchester, a store locals know and love, will continue to be the closest hub for home planning, meatballs and everything in between."

Azad added: "After careful evaluation, we've made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Aintree Racecourse Retail Park.

"In the two-and-a-half years since opening, we've taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet , and we'll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way."

Whilst a number of pre-existing Plan and Order points across the country, including stores in Dundee, Hull and York, will be adapted for customer demand - including offering a small selection of home furnishing accessories to buy - the Stockport branch and Aintree outlet will close altogether.

Ahead of opening its Plan and Order point in Stockport, said the intention behind the store was to ''become more accessible and sustainable for customers in the north west'.

But said they were disappointed with the limited selection of items available at the store, which was limited to a small number of accessories and instead favoured the likes of kitchen units and worktop surfaces.

List of stores closing:

• Aintree Plan and Order Point

• Plan and Order point at the Stockport Merseyway