IKEA Expands In Midwest With Canton, MI Store Opening

Furniture World Magazine

IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, will open the doors of its Canton, Michigan store to customers at 9:00 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 7, 2006. The 311,000 square-foot IKEA Canton is located on 21 acres along Ford Road off I-275 at the intersection with Haggerty Road, is the 28th IKEA store in the U.S. and 236th worldwide. The store employs 400 coworkers, and features 10,000 exclusively designed home furnishings all under one roof, a 300-seat IKEA Restaurant, a supervised children's play area and 1,300 parking spaces. "We are excited to bring the fun and unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience to Canton, the entire Metro Detroit area, and even all of Michigan," said Mark McCaslin, IKEA Canton store manager. "The excitement, surprises and shopping experience customers will receive truly reflect the enthusiasm the IKEA Canton coworker family feels about this big day and opening the store." Moments before the doors open, McCaslin and Pernille Lopez, president of IKEA North America, will welcome the community into the IKEA customer family with a traditional Swedish log-sawing ceremony, bringing good luck to the new home and all its future visitors. The Honorable Canton Township Supervisor Thomas Yack will give remarks during the morning ceremony. Also participating will be Swedish Consul General for Michigan, Lennart Johansson, who will raise the Swedish flag and State Senator Bruce Patterson and State Representative Phil LaJoy, who together will raise the state of Michigan's flag. To celebrate the grand opening and recognize loyal, enthusiastic customers, IKEA Canton will give away thousands of dollars in IKEA Gift Cards: - Pick a Card, Any Card - The first 5,000 people to visit IKEA Canton on June 7, 2006 will receive a random prize envelope with vouchers for goodies such as IKEA Gift Cards ranging from $10 to $250 or "Buy One, Get One Free" hotdog or frozen yogurt treats. -Enter to Win When Entering our Home - From June 7 through June 11, 2006 visitors to IKEA Canton may enter a drawing to win one of ten $1,000 IKEA Gift Cards. IKEA Canton will match the prizes (a total of $10,000) with a donation to benefit First Step, a local charitable organization offering free services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Additional grand opening festivities and customer appreciation prizes include: -Take a Seat (And We Mean Take It!) - The first 100 adults (18 and over) in line at the IKEA Canton grand opening will receive a free POANG armchair; -For the (Truly) Young at Heart - The first 100 children (under 18) in line at IKEA Canton grand opening will receive a free FAMNIG heart-shaped cushion; and, -Play Big and Eat Big (If You're Little!) - Musical entertainment and face-painting for kids will take place at IKEA Canton June 7 through June 11. They also can enjoy a macaroni-and-cheese meal with a drink for 50 cents. IKEA CANTON AT-A-GLANCE IKEA Canton Offers... - Low prices for well-designed, quality furnishings where customers visit the store, choose items and pick products from the self-serve warehouse by themselves. -More than 50 inspirational room-settings and three model homes reflecting a variety of living situations with creative design ideas that can be brought to life in any room in the home. -More than 10,000 exclusively designed home furnishings ranging from beds, desks and sofas to cookware, pet products and kitchens, complete with cabinetry and appliances. -Same-day shopping satisfaction and products in easy-to-transport flat-pack boxes that benefit the customer and the environment, and which customers can transport and assemble easily. IKEA Canton is a Fun Day Out for the Family with... -Smaland, a supervised children's play area (for children who meet the 37"-54" height requirement) that replicates the look of a typical Swedish farmhouse and forest. -A "Children's IKEA" area in the Showroom that also offers fun, interactive play. -Attention-to-detail conveniences such as: family-friendly parking, strollers, child-height handrails, baby care rooms and a private, comfortable room for nursing moms. No Need to Shop on an Empty Stomach at IKEA Canton... -The IKEA Restaurant opens for breakfast one hour before the store opens for shopping and serves a full hot breakfast, including scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon for 99 cents. The 300-seat IKEA Restaurant also offers lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert. -The IKEA Restaurant's diverse menu selection includes a variety of traditional Swedish specialties such as the popular IKEA Swedish meatballs, shrimp sandwiches, salmon platters, and American dishes such as pasta, chicken and a vegetarian option. -Menu choices for kids include a child's portion of Swedish meatballs or macaroni and cheese, and organic baby food, bottle warmers and bibs are available for even younger visitors. -A Cafe Bistro near the store's exit serves hot dogs, cinnamon buns, frozen yogurt and beverages. -The Swedish Foodmarket offers Swedish delicacies, treats, and even frozen Swedish meatballs (the same ones served in the store's Restaurant) to purchase and then prepare at home. IKEA Canton Shopping Conveniences... -17 conventional checkout lanes, 6 temporary checkout lanes (just for grand opening week), 8 self-checkout lanes, 5 permanent mobile handheld cash registers to expedite purchases and an additional 13 temporary mobile handheld cash registers (just for grand opening week). -Measuring tape, pencils, store maps, yellow shopping bags and two types of carts are available. -Home-delivery (starting at $49) and assembly services are available. With IKEA Canton open, there will be 236 IKEA stores in 34 countries, including 28 in the U.S., where the company plans to open three to five stores a year. Other U.S. stores are being planned in: Brooklyn, NY; Draper, UT; Dublin, CA; Orlando, FL; Portland, OR; Round Rock, TX; Somerville, MA; and Sunrise, FL. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" List (two years in a row), Working Mother magazine's annual list of "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" (three years in a row) and Training magazine's annual "Top 100" ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (four years in a row). IKEA incorporates environmentally friendly and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, and continuously supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. To visit the IKEA Web site or for information about working at IKEA, please go to http://www.IKEA-usa.com.