The Boulevard: Why IKEA chose Northern Ireland’s “most exciting” retail destination for outlet debut
The Boulevard outlet shopping centre in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, recently announced that 2025 was its most successful year to date. The scheme recorded increases in both sales and footfall, which were up by 11.5% and 12.3% year-on-year, respectively.
The Boulevard capped off the year with a landmark letting to IKEA, which opened its first-ever outlet store at the shopping centre. The 2,691 sq ft store will operate as a pop-up until the Spring 2026, serving as a hub for planning services, home furnishings, and online order pick-ups.
But what made the Swedish furniture giant venture into outlet retail? And why choose The Boulevard for this move?
Alastair Coulson, managing director at Lotus Property, which owns The Boulevard, told Completely Retail News that the retailer was looking for a strategic location for its revised concept, a smaller store that offers IKEA’s key ranges.
“They have a large format store on the periphery of Belfast at the Hollywood Exchange, and they were looking for places to trial this new concept. They were drawn by the footfall, the destination, and the proximity to the A1 which is the main ‘Euroroute’ between Belfast and Dublin“, he added.
“When we started having discussions with IKEA they saw our enthusiasm, they saw our team’s professionalism on site, and I think they just liked everything they saw.”
Alastair Coulson said The Boulevard provided a strategic location for IKEA’s revised concept
The Boulevard – which opened in 2006 – has also recently welcomed a number of other new arrivals, including Northern Irish cosmetics brand BPerfect, which is now making inroads into other UK markets. In addition, 2025 saw women’s fashion retailer Vila open its only standalone UK store at The Boulevard, while French Connection chose the scheme for its first store in Northern Ireland.
The Boulevard is also home to the only standalone Northern Irish stores for the likes of Adidas, Under Armour, and Kate Spade New York.
Outlet shopping in general is in good health. The likes of Outlet Shopping at The O2 and London Designer Outlet are continuing to sign new tenants while recording strong sales figures, while 2025 also saw the launch of Cotswolds Designer Outlet in Tewkesbury, one of the largest major retail projects to complete in recent years.
Coulson explained the why many brands look to outlet centres to trial new concepts:
“If you open an outlet store you can test and see how the market responds to it before you open a prime city centre store. Could it be considered a bit of brand protection? It might be. But we relish the opportunity because we have very few retailers that open concept stores, or their first and only store, and lose them. They all trade really well and stay at The Boulevard.
“Outlets are strong from an investment perspective as well. You’ve got turnover leases instead of fixed leases so your retailers feel comfortable with the fact that it’s not ‘landlord versus tenant’, it’s landlord and tenant together. With the turnover leases we get rewarded for it, and the tenant gets rewarded for it. It works really quite well. We’ve been doing this for 20 years, and you can really see this leaking into other retail concepts as the retail landscape evolves.”
BPerfect’s opening at The Boulevard
At The Boulevard, the focus is now on creating an all-day destination with more leisure and F&B options on top of the retail offer. Hollywood Bowl is set to join the scheme later this year, opening a large bowling alley with a restaurant and kids’ entertainment facilities.
“It’s a really exciting addition and it’s creating a retail and leisure-led location,” said Coulson, adding: “You can buy stuff online, so our customers are looking for experiences now, that’s what it’s all about. They can go with their families, friends, et cetera. You’re looking to have an experience that you can’t get online. You can couple a trip to Hollywood Bowl with a trip around the Boulevard or if you’re out with your mates you can go shopping then do some bowling. It’s going to be a great addition to creating that night-time economy in the scheme.”
This wider offer ties in with what Coulson describes as a “critical mass” at The Boulevard:
“If you take a big picture look at retail, on the site we have a Starbucks drive-through at the entrance, as you come into the scheme you’ve 200,000 sq ft of outlet retail and a cinema. Then we’ve got McDonald’s, and next to that we’ve got The Range, Tesco, M&S, Food Warehouse, as well as a Home Bargains garden centre which is set to open,” he said.
As for the future of The Boulevard, Coulson said the scheme has a list of target brands that it wants to bring in: “We’re having some really positive discussions. We’ve got two strong sets of heads of terms going through legals right now, which will be opening in February and March time. As we progress, we’re continually improving all the time.
“The Boulevard is the most exciting retail destination in Ireland. There’s more happening and changing in this location than anywhere else.”