Going back to the Union Station Idea... That would be a sweet IKEA! Location is perfect, and adds some design to the BLAH Homedepot/Walmart Look. [Structure that is]
I wouldn't be too hopeful about IKEA doing something other than a plain ole big box. The one we have in Atlanta was a total missed opportunity. I thought I finally was going to see a company show everyone that big box retailers can be progressive and work with the constraints of a urban rather than suburban development. Check out Atlantic Station if your curious. It could have been sunk inside of three decks of parking covering 10s of acres and be integrated with other retail but instead they pick a site over to the side where they didn't have to do ANYTHING creative.
I don't quite understand why Cincinnati is getting/has one (I think it opened) and they seem to be skeptical about placing one in STL. Cincy's is northwest of the city in an area in the midst of prime suburban sprawl (AKA name your chain restaurant and its probably being built and cookie-cutter siding-clad homes are everywhere).
Cincinnati's got one?
Nice to see a metro with a about a million less get an IKEA.
I guess the one in Memphis is opening next week and Joplin's by the end of Fall.
If we're lucky, there'll build one in Carbondale and so we won't have to drive too far.
Nice to see a metro with a about a million less get an IKEA.
I guess the one in Memphis is opening next week and Joplin's by the end of Fall.
If we're lucky, there'll build one in Carbondale and so we won't have to drive too far.
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Never been to an Ikea. Why does this place make everyone so "randy?" What's the draw?
Because there is a much, much larger population within any given radius (100, 125, 200 miles, take your pick - whatever IKEA considers their geographic draw) around Cincinnati, than there is around St. Louis.Blzhrpmd2 wrote:I don't quite understand why Cincinnati is getting/has one (I think it opened) and they seem to be skeptical about placing one in STL. Cincy's is northwest of the city in an area in the midst of prime suburban sprawl (AKA name your chain restaurant and its probably being built and cookie-cutter siding-clad homes are everywhere).
There are about 10 million people in just a 125 mile radius around the West Chester, Ohio IKEA store. Dayton, Indy, Columbus, and Louisville are all less than a 2 hour drive away. If you look at a map of the region, that IKEA store looks like it is located at almost the exact population center of those four cities and the Cincinnati metro. A 250 mile radius around the store would reach at least part of the metro areas of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Nashville, which would add another 20 to 25 million people (3 of those cities have their own IKEAs though).
What is there in a 125 mile radius around St. Louis? Columbia and Springfield? How about a 250 mile radius? Indy, KC, Peoria, the Springfields, and a few of the southwest Chicago exurbs. Whoopty freakin' do.
It's pretty amazing when you think about it. There are something like 30 to 35 million people living in a roughly 250 mile radius around Cincinnati, and like what, 9 or 10 million around St. Louis, if that.
Moorlander wrote:Never been to an Ikea. Why does this place make everyone so "randy?" What's the draw?
Cool, smart stuff, cheap.
Small article about IKEAs new location in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn in New Yorn City.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bro ... _up-1.html
For those that don't know Red Hook is a newly gentrifying area of the burrough.
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bro ... _up-1.html
For those that don't know Red Hook is a newly gentrifying area of the burrough.
BL211 wrote:Moorlander wrote:Never been to an Ikea. Why does this place make everyone so "randy?" What's the draw?
Cool, smart stuff, cheap.
IKEA is the Old Navy of furniture stores...decent looking for a season or two, if it lasts that long.
^ Cheap, to me, is inexpensive AND poor quality. I think IKEA is cheap.
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CWEnder wrote:BL211 wrote:Moorlander wrote:Never been to an Ikea. Why does this place make everyone so "randy?" What's the draw?
Cool, smart stuff, cheap.
IKEA is the Old Navy of furniture stores...decent looking for a season or two, if it lasts that long.
Pretty much. I've never understood why anyone beyond a college kid with no money would buy anything from there.
I agree that a lot of IKEA stuff is poorly made.
Hey, if you are going to buy cheap stuff, you might as well buy good looking cheap stuff.
Hey, if you are going to buy cheap stuff, you might as well buy good looking cheap stuff.
The cabinets are nicer than anything you can buy at any big box stores in the area. The lighting is contemporary and well made. The textiles (rugs, fabrics, etc) are great for updating a place even if they don't last forever. The best thing about shopping at an Ikea is picking up small things like kitchen utensils or cotton ball holders or whatever. It's more contemporary than stuff you would normally buy at Target. People tend to look at the upholstered furniture as the epitome of Ikea and that stuff is strictly made for dorm rooms.The Central Scrutinizer wrote:CWEnder wrote:BL211 wrote:
Cool, smart stuff, cheap.
IKEA is the Old Navy of furniture stores...decent looking for a season or two, if it lasts that long.
Pretty much. I've never understood why anyone beyond a college kid with no money would buy anything from there.
Right. Depends on what you buy there. Small household items are very contempo there, but furniture is best bought at World Market - in my opinion.
Rubber Tree = Fancy name for inexpensive full Maple furniture made by hand.
Rubber Tree = Fancy name for inexpensive full Maple furniture made by hand.
As a retailer of contemporary accessories and furniture, I would love to have an IKEA in town. IKEA serves as a great entry entry-level retailer for those who might not want to jump into the higher price points of better quality designs. Once they live with and experience the great designs IKEA offers, most consumers will be more comfortable with the higher price point and superior quality of the designer contemporary products.
IKEA has amazing cabinetry of varyinig quality. Most items (excluding cabinetry) are designed to be throw-away or short term fillers that will last a few season at most. IKEA has introduced some higher priced items, such as their Stockholm line, that are better quality and more competitively priced.
St. Louis needs more contemporary options!
IKEA has amazing cabinetry of varyinig quality. Most items (excluding cabinetry) are designed to be throw-away or short term fillers that will last a few season at most. IKEA has introduced some higher priced items, such as their Stockholm line, that are better quality and more competitively priced.
St. Louis needs more contemporary options!
Northwest Plaza. Good geographic location, but I'm not sure that would give them the highway visibility they crave.
backthecity wrote:http://www.ikeafans.com/forums/chats/12 ... louis.html
After the whole downtown Schnucks fiasco, I'm not buying it until officials from IKEA are standing with the St. Ann mayor at the corner of Lindbergh and St. Charles Rock Rd.
Maybe it is just me, but I have been noticing a lot more Ikea commercials on TV lately, or maybe it’s just the fact I switched from charter to directv. Seems like a good idea to run ads awhile before you open up a store in a new location.
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Apologies if someone has already linked this:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.c ... furniture/
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.c ... furniture/
Apparently our central location prevents us from getting an IKEA store (keep in mind that inland cities like Minneapolis, Dallas, and Chicago have this chain), So the great suburb of Charlotte gets one .
CLOSEST SHOP IS IN ATLANTA
IKEA breaks ground
on Charlotte store location
University City site set to open spring 2009
JEN ARONOFF
jaronoff@charlotteobserver.com
Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA broke ground for its new Charlotte store Wednesday in University City, paving the way for a spring 2009 debut.
The 356,000-square-foot store on City Boulevard, next to Interstate 85, will be the first in the Carolinas and the 36th nationwide. It's expected to employ about 400 people.
Customers can expect 10,000 affordably priced, exclusively designed home goods, a supervised children's play area and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.
That combination is expected to draw shoppers from across the Carolinas and southern Virginia. Though the closest store is in Atlanta, the company says it already has 150,000 Carolinas customers; IKEA has long operated in the northeast and in California.
Work has begun on the 25-acre site, and construction equipment bustles around the expanse of grass and red dirt.
The IKEA will be the centerpiece of Crescent Properties' 175-acre Belgate mixed-use development. Other retail, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, is also set to spring up nearby.
After the groundbreaking ceremony, the Observer spoke with IKEA representatives about coming to Charlotte. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. Why Charlotte, and why now?
Joseph Roth, public affairs director: Since (opening our Atlanta store in 2005), we've been very keen on growing our presence in the Southeast. We also had a distribution center planned in Savannah, Ga., which now is up and running. So now, we can cost-effectively distribute goods in the Southeast. That means we can open a couple more stores.
Michael Maier, real estate manager: This is the largest metropolitan area between Atlanta and (Washington) D.C. Within 100 miles of this site are 7 million people. It's centrally located to serve the Charlotte metropolitan area as well as outlying metropolitan areas (like Raleigh, Greensboro, Columbia and Greenville, S.C.).
Q. How far away do you expect the store to draw people from?
Roth: We expect everyone in the Carolinas to shop here, as well as even the south side of Virginia.
Q. Who do you see as your competitors?
Roth: No one. Everything we sell is only an IKEA product. So it's not like you could get it at any other store at a higher price or a lower price, or in a different color. ... We'd say our competition is really any day outing for the family. So, miniature golf, movies, sporting events.
Q. So if I had a furniture store operating in Charlotte, should I be concerned that IKEA's coming in? Roth: You should be concerned if you do not offer affordable prices. But if you offer a good product at affordable prices, you will benefit. Typically, when IKEA enters the market, we actually elevate the profile of being able to redecorate affordably. We think we will complement what else is out in the market and fill a void in the market, both in terms of the unique styles and the prices.
Q. How would you describe your customers? Roth: They value good design, good function and affordable prices. And that's something that's true whether you're in China, Russia, the U.K. or the U.S. Or whether you're in Atlanta, Detroit, Austin, Texas, or Charlotte. ... I'm not saying average, but the most common customer you would probably observe would be a female in her 30s or 40s shopping with children.
Q. Do you carry the same products at every store, or is it different by country?
Roth: The only thing different is that we don't have the metric system here. And the currency. Other than that, the same products, worldwide. That's how we keep our prices affordable. That's why on a map you won't see stores in St. Louis, Kansas City or Denver. Because we're not to the point where we can cost-effectively distribute goods there yet.
CLOSEST SHOP IS IN ATLANTA
IKEA breaks ground
on Charlotte store location
University City site set to open spring 2009
JEN ARONOFF
jaronoff@charlotteobserver.com
Swedish home furnishings giant IKEA broke ground for its new Charlotte store Wednesday in University City, paving the way for a spring 2009 debut.
The 356,000-square-foot store on City Boulevard, next to Interstate 85, will be the first in the Carolinas and the 36th nationwide. It's expected to employ about 400 people.
Customers can expect 10,000 affordably priced, exclusively designed home goods, a supervised children's play area and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties.
That combination is expected to draw shoppers from across the Carolinas and southern Virginia. Though the closest store is in Atlanta, the company says it already has 150,000 Carolinas customers; IKEA has long operated in the northeast and in California.
Work has begun on the 25-acre site, and construction equipment bustles around the expanse of grass and red dirt.
The IKEA will be the centerpiece of Crescent Properties' 175-acre Belgate mixed-use development. Other retail, including a Wal-Mart Supercenter, is also set to spring up nearby.
After the groundbreaking ceremony, the Observer spoke with IKEA representatives about coming to Charlotte. Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q. Why Charlotte, and why now?
Joseph Roth, public affairs director: Since (opening our Atlanta store in 2005), we've been very keen on growing our presence in the Southeast. We also had a distribution center planned in Savannah, Ga., which now is up and running. So now, we can cost-effectively distribute goods in the Southeast. That means we can open a couple more stores.
Michael Maier, real estate manager: This is the largest metropolitan area between Atlanta and (Washington) D.C. Within 100 miles of this site are 7 million people. It's centrally located to serve the Charlotte metropolitan area as well as outlying metropolitan areas (like Raleigh, Greensboro, Columbia and Greenville, S.C.).
Q. How far away do you expect the store to draw people from?
Roth: We expect everyone in the Carolinas to shop here, as well as even the south side of Virginia.
Q. Who do you see as your competitors?
Roth: No one. Everything we sell is only an IKEA product. So it's not like you could get it at any other store at a higher price or a lower price, or in a different color. ... We'd say our competition is really any day outing for the family. So, miniature golf, movies, sporting events.
Q. So if I had a furniture store operating in Charlotte, should I be concerned that IKEA's coming in? Roth: You should be concerned if you do not offer affordable prices. But if you offer a good product at affordable prices, you will benefit. Typically, when IKEA enters the market, we actually elevate the profile of being able to redecorate affordably. We think we will complement what else is out in the market and fill a void in the market, both in terms of the unique styles and the prices.
Q. How would you describe your customers? Roth: They value good design, good function and affordable prices. And that's something that's true whether you're in China, Russia, the U.K. or the U.S. Or whether you're in Atlanta, Detroit, Austin, Texas, or Charlotte. ... I'm not saying average, but the most common customer you would probably observe would be a female in her 30s or 40s shopping with children.
Q. Do you carry the same products at every store, or is it different by country?
Roth: The only thing different is that we don't have the metric system here. And the currency. Other than that, the same products, worldwide. That's how we keep our prices affordable. That's why on a map you won't see stores in St. Louis, Kansas City or Denver. Because we're not to the point where we can cost-effectively distribute goods there yet.
Huh? So, wait, St. Louis needs to adopt the metric system and the Euro to get an IKEA? I'm confused...goat314 wrote:Q. Do you carry the same products at every store, or is it different by country?
Roth: The only thing different is that we don't have the metric system here. And the currency. Other than that, the same products, worldwide. That's how we keep our prices affordable. That's why on a map you won't see stores in St. Louis, Kansas City or Denver. Because we're not to the point where we can cost-effectively distribute goods there yet.