Hold the meatballs: Ikea experiments with small format stores

Ikea is expanding the number of markets in which it offers online sales, and opening dozens of new, urban small-format stores (roughly 1/4 the size of a typical 80,000 square foot outlets, and which won't feature the company's famous meatball-serving cafeterias).

Why it matters: Ikea CEO Jesper Brodin tells Bloomberg that his company is moving at "revolutionary speed" to adapt to the future of retail. Foot traffic at Ikea stores has been flat for a number of years, suggesting that the rising share of young people — Ikea's key demographic — are choosing to live in urban areas far from a typical Ikea's exurban location.