RENTON, WA, 2015-11-02 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Renton Mayor Denis Law, city officials, and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground where it is constructing a new store in Renton, WA adjacent to its current Seattle-area store. Until the new store opens in Spring 2017, customers can continue to shop at the existing IKEA store.
The 398,000-square-foot current Seattle-area IKEA store is located on 29 acres in Renton, near State Highway 167, approximately 11 miles southeast of downtown Seattle. Built in 1979, the original, single-level structure previously had been utilized as a warehouse for aerospace electronics until IKEA converted it to be a retail store in October 1994. The future 406,000-square-foot new Renton store will consist of two levels, provide nearly 1,600 convenient parking spaces, and offer a more current layout. IKEA has contracted with Deacon Corp. to build the store, and plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide.
“We are pleased to be breaking ground today on our commitment to extend our Seattle presence with a new and updated store that will provide an enhanced experience for our many loyal customers,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This new store also will help us introduce the latest version of the unique IKEA concept to Seattle-area consumers who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had the chance to visit the current Renton store.”
An updated Seattle-area IKEA store will feature the same 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a larger restaurant for serving Swedish specialties. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby-care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. IKEA now also offers a product picking and delivery service, and an IKEA FAMILY loyalty program. In addition to the already 350 Renton coworkers as part of the global IKEA family, IKEA will generate even more annual sales and property tax revenue to the city and local schools.
During the construction period, IKEA will be providing additional parking nearby on weekends for customers and shuttling them to the store. Customers can find detailed information about parking directions, shuttle plans and construction updates available at IKEA-USA.com/Seattle and @IKEA_Seattle.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 370 IKEA stores in 47 countries, including 41 in the U.S. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSA, @IKEAUSANews, or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.
Contact: Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500
SOURCE: Inter IKEA Systems B.V.