The message behind the news that Ikea has spent $213 million on a large retail space in downtown Manhattan should be hitting you over the head like a Billy bookcase: This is not your college kid’s Ikea.

Over the past five or so years, the giant home furnishings retailer—both its business and its stores are enormous—has been reinventing itself with urban locations, smaller formats, and a marketing approach targeting the rising generation of consumers.

This new location in the heart of SoHo is the latest manifestation of that transformation. Currently occupied by a Nike store, the six-story building at the corner of Broadway and Spring Street is slated to open under Ikea’s yellow-and-blue banner next year, and will feature about 25,000 square feet of retail space spread over the first two

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