IKEA celebrates 30 years since opening its first U.S. store on June 12, 1985 in Plymouth Meeting, PA

IKEA U.S. thanks its co-workers and customers for helping IKEA to grow and become the leader in life at home

Conshohocken, PA, 2015-6-10 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA celebrates a milestone this week, 30 years since opening its first U.S. store on June 12, 1985 in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Now there are 40 IKEA stores nationwide, with more openings planned for the near future. Growth has been significant over this 30 year span. The U.S. now represents 12% of IKEA worldwide business, and IKEA directly or indirectly supports 36,500 U.S. jobs.

“Back in 1985, when IKEA U.S. opened its first store in Plymouth, PA, few people in the U.S. knew how to pronounce IKEA, how to assemble flat pack furniture, or what a LACK table was,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA US President. “Now we are pleased to say that during these past 30 years IKEA has experienced steady growth due to the tremendous contribution of our co-workers and the great interest of Americans in our home furnishings, and our unique IKEA shopping experience. And we see this as just the beginning. We want to be accessible to more Americans in the future by opening new stores, improving existing stores, developing our service offer, and growing our e-commerce business,” added Petersson.”

IKEA celebrates 30 years in the U.S., some highlights include:

IKEA U.S. employment contributions with just 40 stores:

IKEA 2014 operations supported 36,135 jobs; Direct jobs 15,034 and indirect jobs 21,101
IKEA has been a stable source of employment. Even in difficult economic times 2008-2009, IKEA employment saw just a 4% decline (due only to attrition) while employment in the furniture retail industry fell 14%.

(for more information, read here… http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pressroom/product_news_current/index.html

IKEA U.S. economic contributions:

In FY 14, IKEA direct, indirect and induced contributions

was $5.4 billion (2010-2014)

IKEA FY 14 investment in US was $658 million; 5 year total investment
IKEA has 18 suppliers in 11 states(for more information, read here… http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pressroom/product_news_current/index.html

Iconic IKEA products costing less today than in 1985:

BILLY bookcase $82 in 1985; today $59.99
POANG chair $148 in 1985; today $69
LACK side table $25 in 1985; today $9.99
KLIPPAN sofa $395 in 1985; today $299

(for more information, read here… http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pressroom/product_news_current/index.html

IKEA takes the lead:

First major retailer to stop using plastic bags by 2008.
First major retailer to announce it will sell only LED lights by fall 2016

For more information, please contact:
Mona Astra Liss, IKEA US Corporate PR Director, Mona.Liss@IKEA.com, 610.834.0180, ext. 5852

About IKEA Group
The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. There are currently 315 IKEA Group stores in 27 countries. Additionally, there are 40 IKEA stores run by franchises. There are 40 IKEA stores in the US. In FY 14, IKEA Group had 716 million visitors to the stores and 1.5 billion visitors to IKEA.com. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, please visit www.IKEA.com, facebook.com/IKEAUSA, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA, http://pinterest.com/IKEAUSA/, www.youtube.com/IKEAUSA, www.theshare-space.com, www.theshare-space.com/en/Blog