VANCOUVER - Ikea Canada is readying to open a new store in London, Ont., in the fall of 2019 after the success of a pickup and order point it operates in the city.

The flat-pack furniture retailer says it plans to begin construction on the 270,000-square-foot store in the southwestern Ontario city late next summer.

A smaller-scale Ikea shop and online order hub in London will be closed following the opening of the full-size store, which the retailer says will create 100 to 150 jobs.

Ikea Canada president Marsha Smith says online order hubs are one way the company tests a possible market opportunity.

Smith says Ikea had great success with it in London and while the plan for a store may have already been in place, that good reception helped the decision.

The hubs also exist in Quebec City, where Ikea has previously announced it will open a replacement full-size store in late summer 2018, as well as in Ontario cities Whitby, Windsor, Kitchener and St. Catharines.