IKEA Announces Appointment of Manager For New Round Rock, TX Store

Furniture World Magazine

IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, announced the appointment of Jeff O'Shaughnessy as store manager for the IKEA store opening this fall in Round Rock, TX. The store will be the Swedish company's third in Texas and 29th in the U.S. (The closest IKEA stores are in the North Texas city of Frisco and in Houston.) "We are very excited about opening a store in Round Rock, where the location will attract customers from throughout Central and South Texas," noted IKEA North America president Pernille Lopez. "Jeff's experience at IKEA has prepared him for managing this store in Central Texas, where many customers already are fans and other consumers may not know us yet." "IKEA recognizes the strong customer base for us in Central Texas, so I am very pleased about the opportunity to provide these customers with a store right here in Round Rock," explained O'Shaughnessy. "I also look forward to introducing new customers to our unique family-friendly shopping experience and wide selection of stylish, functional and affordable home furnishings." O'Shaughnessy, who relocated recently to Central Texas from Southern California, has served in several key positions prior to becoming store manager of IKEA Round Rock. A native of Ottawa, Canada, he started his IKEA career in Summer 1988 as the operations manager of IKEA Ottawa, and in 1990 became assistant store manager of services at an IKEA store in the Toronto area. Ten years later, O'Shaughnessy relocated to the U.S. as assistant store manager of services for the IKEA store in Burbank, California. In Fall 2003, he was named store manager of IKEA Carson, also in Southern California, where he served prior to his appointment for IKEA Round Rock. Previous to joining IKEA, O'Shaughnessy worked at various other retailers in Canada. Under construction on 21.5 acres at IH-35 and University Boulevard (formerly Chandler Road) in Round Rock, TX, the 252,000 square-foot IKEA store will create 500 construction jobs and will welcome 300 coworkers into the IKEA family of more than 10,000 coworkers in the U.S. and 90,000 globally. In addition to 10,000 exclusively designed items, IKEA Round Rock will present 50 different room settings, three model homes, a supervised children's play area, and a 250-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family- friendly features will include a Children's IKEA area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. There currently are more than 235 IKEA stores in 34 countries, including 28 in the U.S., where IKEA 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; 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 is recognized as a socially responsible company, 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 .