Tag Archives: Lars Petersson

Posted on by

IKEA Group allocates $113 million into the retirement funds of 123,000 co-workers

Conshohocken, 2017-Dec-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA Group co-workers around the globe will receive a special thanks from the company as part of the IKEA Tack! retirement fund. IKEA recently announced that Tack!, which means ‘thank you’ in Swedish, will allocate $113 million* total into the retirement funds of 123,000 IKEA co-workers throughout its corporate, retail and distribution centers. For U.S. co-workers, each will receive $1,403 into their Tack! retirement fund.

“At IKEA, no matter where you work in our organization you are contributing to our success and continued growth. We believe it’s important to recognize our co-workers for their hard work and loyalty and celebrate our successes together,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. President. “Our contribution to each co-worker’s Tack! retirement fund is just one way we can show our gratitude and demonstrate our commitment to being a great place to work.”

The global funding is divided between all IKEA Group countries, based on each country’s proportion of the total salary and wages. Every co-worker gets the same amount regardless of position or salary, and part-time co-workers are rewarded in proportion to their hours worked. Tack! was introduced in 2013 and since then the IKEA Group has paid out $600 (€509) million globally.

IKEA U.S. has been recognized as an employer-of-choice for its outstanding co-worker benefits including parental leave policy and minimum wage structure. The company has recently received these awards: FORTUNE 2017, Best Companies to Work For; FORTUNE 2017, 50 Best Workplaces for Diversity; Glassdoor 2017 Best Places to Work; 2017 PEOPLE Companies that Care; Fatherly: The 50 Best Places to Work for New Dads in 2017; and three Glassdoor 2017 Awards: Best Places to Work, Highest Rated CEOs, Best Places to Interview.

About IKEA 
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 392 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 46 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, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

*€96 million euro = $113 million U.S. dollars at a conversion of $1.18 to one euro ** The global funding is divided between all IKEA Group countries, based on each country’s proportion of the total salary and wages. The payout is dependent on the total results of IKEA Group during the previous financial year.

Contact:
IKEA U.S. Press Office
press.us@ikea.com
1-866-329-4532

Source: IKEA Group

Posted on by

IKEA provides update on impact of Hurricane Harvey

Houston, TX, 2017-Sep-06 — /EPR Retail News/ — As the impact of Hurricane Harvey has unfolded, we have been saddened by its impact on our co-workers and neighbors. But we’ve also been touched by the heroic acts and the community spirit of those involved in the rescue and recovery efforts. As a member of the local community, we believe it’s important for IKEA to be a part of these efforts, too.

At IKEA, we are one big family. And like family, we have come together to support one another. There are over 400 co-workers working in our Houston store and our Baytown Distribution Center. We’ve heard many stories of these co-workers bravely helping one another. We are also supporting our co-workers by:

  • providing temporary housing;
  • continuing to pay all co-workers for the time our Houston locations have been closed;
  • providing financial assistance through our WeCare Co-worker Emergency Relief Fund; and
  • giving co-workers free meals at our staff café for the next two weeks.

The IKEA family also extends into the community. To play our part in helping the community recover, we are working with our partners at the American Red Cross, Save the Children, FEMA and the Houston Food Bank. This includes:

  • creating care packages for the American Red Cross which consist of everyday home items, such as sheets, pillows, towels, and toys to help families get back on their feet;
  • donating products to Save the Children to create child-friendly spaces in rescue centers which enable children to play, socialize, and begin to recover after a disaster;
  • offering FEMA the use of our parking lot as a command center and the IKEA restaurant as a disaster relief station where FEMA workers can meet families in need of assistance; and
  • coordinating a volunteer day at the Houston Food Bank where IKEA co-workers can take part in recovery efforts.

We’re glad to have welcomed our co-workers and customers back into our store on Friday, September 1st. This is part of getting back to the normalcy of our everyday lives. Yet for many of us, our everyday lives continue to be impacted because we must rebuild our homes. To help right now, IKEA is extending our 15% co-worker discount to all customers who shop in the Houston store from September 1st to October 2nd. Come on by, we’ll be happy to have you.

Togetherness is at the heart of the IKEA culture. We will be together with our co-workers, customers, and the community in the next months and years as we rebuild after this terrible storm.

Sincerely,
Fredrik Rabe, IKEA Houston Store Manager
Lars Petersson, IKEA US President

For more information about what’s happening in IKEA Houston, like our limited hours and 15% discount, visit the IKEA Houston local store page, www.ikea.com/us/en/store/houston

 SOURCE: Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
Posted on by

IKEA breaks ground for its future Milwaukee-area store slated to open Summer 2018 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

OAK CREEK, WI, 2017-Jul-03 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz, local officials, and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today (06/28/2017) officially broke ground for its future Milwaukee-area store that is slated to open Summer 2018 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until then, local customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores: Chicago-area IKEA Bolingbrook and IKEA Schaumburg, and Twin Cities-area IKEA Bloomington, MN; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

The 291,000-square-foot future IKEA Oak Creek and its approximately 1,000 parking spaces will be built on 29 acres at the northwestern corner of Interstate 94 and Drexel Avenue, approximately 12 miles south of downtown Milwaukee. IKEA has contracted with Pepper Construction to build the project, and store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. In addition, IKEA will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many Milwaukee-area customers who currently can shop only at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “The store also will attract new customers from throughout Wisconsin who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not had a chance yet to shop at IKEA.”

The future IKEA Oak Creek will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Oak Creek also will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should begin looking online next year at IKEA-USA.com, where they can apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior design, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Among its total coworkers, IKEA Oak Creek also will offer more than 50 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

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 390 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 44 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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, x6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA to open its Columbus, Ohio store on June 7

Columbus, OH, 2017-Jun-02 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today (May 31, 2017) announced that when its Columbus, Ohio store opens on June 7, it will recognize loyal, enthusiastic customers by giving away thousands of dollars in gift cards and merchandise – including an iconic EKTORP sofa for each of the first 44 adults in line, and a POANG armchair for the next 100. Other highlights include a free mattress for the first 44 adults on Thursday, June 8 and Swedish Food shopping spree for the first 44 on Friday, June 9. Customers may begin lining up at 9 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 5 – 48 hours before the store’s opening at 9 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 7. Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, Columbus City Council President Pro Tem Priscilla Tyson, Deputy Chief of Mission for the Swedish Embassy Göran Lithell, IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson and store manager David Garcia will officially open the store.

IKEA Columbus is the Swedish company’s second store and restaurant destination in Ohio, 44th in the United States, and 397th worldwide. (The state’s first IKEA store opened in Cincinnati-area West Chester in 2008.) The 354,000 square-foot future IKEA Columbus store, with 1,100 parking spaces, was built on 33 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce. The store reflects the unique architectural design for which IKEA is known worldwide, and includes one of Ohio’s largest rooftop solar arrays – consistent with the solar presence at 90% of U.S. IKEA locations – as well as three electric vehicle charging stations.

The June 7 ceremony also will include Delaware County Commission President Jeff Benton raising the U.S. flag, Honorary Swedish Consul General for Malou Monago raising the Swedish flag and Westerville Mayor Kathy Cocuzzi raising the state flag of Ohio. Individual store coworkers will sing the respective American and Swedish national anthems, and “America the Beautiful” prior to the opening remarks. Entertainment for customers waiting in line will begin at 6 a.m. EDT on opening day. “Just as the IKEA store concept will introduce a new way of shopping for the home, we want customers waiting in line to visit our store to enjoy the unique experience too,” said David Garcia, IKEA Columbus store manager. Store visitors will have opportunities to enjoy benefits from the grand opening of IKEA Columbus, including:

Wednesday, June 7, 2017
• Rest Assured – The first 44 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on June 7, 2017 will receive a free EKTORP three-seat sofa, honoring our 44th U.S. store.
• Take a Seat (And We Mean Take It!) – The next 100 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on June 7, 2017 will receive a free POÄNG armchair.
• For the (Truly) Young at Heart – The first 100 children (17 & younger) in IKEA Columbus on June 7, 2017 will receive a free FAMNIG heart-shaped soft toy.
• Pick a Card, Any Card – The first 2,500 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on June 7, 2017 will receive a random prize envelope with IKEA Gift Cards ranging from $10 to $250, or a “Buy One, Get One Free” cinnamon bun, hotdog or soft-serve frozen yogurt voucher.
• Happy Birthday to You and Us – The first 100 adults (18 & older) bringing proof to IKEA Columbus on June 7, 2017 their birthday is the same as the store’s will receive a gift card in the amount of $44, a tie-in corresponding to IKEA Columbus as the 44th U.S. IKEA store.
• Enter our Home, Enter to Win – From June 7 through June 11, 2017, visitors to IKEA Columbus may enter a drawing to win one of ten $1,000 IKEA Gift Cards through the IKEA FAMILY loyalty program. IKEA is matching the prizes (a total of $10,000) with a donation of home furnishings to The Homeless Families Foundation, a local organization that provides housing assistance and educational services to homeless families living in Columbus.

Thursday, June 8, 2017
• Sleep Like Royalty – The first 44 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on Thursday, June 8, 2017 will receive a free queen-sized HAUGESUND mattress.
• Cozy Comfort – The next 100 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on Thursday, June 8, 2017 will receive a free ALINA “sleep set” of bedspread and cushion covers and two FJADRAR pillows.
• Kid’s Best Friend – The first 100 children (17 & younger) in IKEA Columbus on June 8, 2017 will receive a free GOSIG golden dog soft toy.

Friday, June 9, 2017
• Cook (& Store) Like a Pro – The first 44 adults in IKEA Columbus on Friday, June 9, 2017 will receive a free 365+ 6-piece cookware starter set and a FORTROLIG food container storage set.
• It’s in the Bag! – The next 44 adults (18 & older) in IKEA Columbus on Friday, June 9, 2017 will receive freezer bags filled with five different Swedish meals, complete with beverages and desserts, from the store’s Swedish Food Market.
• A Cold Sweet-ish Treat – The first 100 children (17 & under) in IKEA Columbus on Friday, June 9, 2017 will receive a voucher for a soft-serve frozen yogurt that day at the Exit Bistro.

Wednesday, June 7 – Sunday, June 11, 2017
• Play Big If You’re Little – Balloon artists, entertainment and face-painting will enhance the family-friendly fun at IKEA Columbus from June 7 through June 11, 2017.

ADDITIONAL OFFERS AT IKEA COLUMBUS
IKEA Columbus is a fun day out for the family with:
• Småland, a supervised children’s play area (for children 37”-54” in height) that replicates the look of a typical Swedish farmhouse and forest;
• Additional play areas throughout the store, offering activities for kids shopping with parents;
• A “Children’s IKEA” area in the Showroom that also offers fun, interactive play; and
• Attention-to-detail amenities such as family-friendly parking, strollers and baby care rooms.

No shopping on an empty stomach at IKEA Columbus because:
• The IKEA Restaurant opens 30 minutes earlier than the store for a full hot breakfast, including scrambled eggs, potatoes, turkey sausage and Swedish pancakes for only $2.00.
• The 450-seat restaurant also offers a diverse menu featuring lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert, including Swedish specialties such as the popular IKEA Swedish meatballs (as well as chicken or veggie versions), seafood plates, pasta, chicken, salads, sandwiches, and vegetarian dishes too.
• Menu choices for kids include a child’s portion of Swedish meatballs, chicken fingers or macaroni and cheese, while baby food and bibs are available for even younger visitors.
• The Swedish Food Market offers Swedish delicacies, snacks and treats, and frozen Swedish meatballs (the same ones available in the Restaurant) to purchase and then prepare at home.
• The Exit Bistro serves hot dogs, pizza, cinnamon buns, frozen yogurt, sundaes and beverages.

IKEA Columbus shopping conveniences include:
• Free design appointments with a furnishings consultant;
• IKEA catalogs, measuring tape, pencils, store maps, yellow shopping bags and 3 types of carts;
• Same-day shopping satisfaction with products in easy-to-transport flat-pack boxes that benefit the customer and the environment;
• 26 checkout lanes to ensure efficient customer purchasing;
• Warehouse picking, home-delivery, assembly, and kitchen planning and installation services; and
• 2017 IKEA Catalogs, focused on how food-related activities help bring people together through everyday life in and around the kitchen.

When IKEA Columbus opens, there will be 397 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 44 in the U.S. 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. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and strives to be an employer of choice. 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, x6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA U.S. is one of the 2017 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

Conshohocken, PA, 2017-Mar-10 — /EPR Retail News/ — It was announced today that IKEA U.S. is one of the 2017 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For, according to global research and consulting firm Great Place to Work® and Fortune.

IKEA U.S. is grateful to have been selected by Great Place to Work® and Fortune for the second year in a row for the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list. The companies on this list are based on employee ratings of their workplace culture; including the level of trust they feel towards their leaders, the pride they take in their jobs, and the camaraderie they experience with co-workers.

“I am very pleased to thank our 15,000 US co-workers for their outstanding contributions in making IKEA a great place to work, and earning a place on the FORTUNE 100 Best list this year,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA US President and CEO. “Our vision to create a better everyday life for the many people, especially our co-workers, has not wavered or changed. It is our backbone and provides a clear framework, guiding us in everything we do. When we remain true to our values – and make decisions and take actions that are consistent with them – we can build long term relationships with our customers and our co-workers.”

IKEA U.S. has recently been recognized among stakeholders, the media and customers for its new parental leave policy. As of January 1, 2017, IKEA has been offering an expanded parental leave benefit for all co-workers who are welcoming a child into their families providing up to 4 months paid time off.* Additionally in January 2015, IKEA implemented a new minimum wage structure based on the local living costs instead of the cost of labor. In January 2016, IKEA raised local minimum wages again. The average minimum hourly wage is $11.87 and all IKEA stores have a minimum wage above $10 per hour. The average hourly pay rate is $15.45/hour.

IKEA U.S. has also been recognized by Glassdoor (October 2016) for Best Companies for Vacation and Paid Time Off; FORTUNE (December 2016) for 50 Best Companies to Work for Diversity and Inclusion; the Human Rights Campaign for 100% index which measures an LGBTQ inclusive workplace, and others.

“The 100 best workplaces are at the vanguard of an emerging movement,” said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work®. “It’s a movement of great workplaces for all—for people of all backgrounds, geographies and job titles. The 100 best and those that join them are enjoying better business outcomes even as they build a better society.”

In his editor’s letter, Alan Murray, Editor-in-Chief of Fortune, writes: “With each passing year, this list has become more popular and, we think, more important… In a world where companies are no longer measured by the size of their factories or the reach of their storefronts, human capital has become an ever more important determinant of value. The companies that make our list are there, by and large, by choice. They know their business depends on their ability to attract great people.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and 2017 winners continue to show that a high-trust culture fuels better business results. Great Place to Work research shows that list winners keep outperforming the stock market, beating industry rivals when it comes to talent retention and demonstrating higher levels of productivity than peers.

See the full list here: http://for.tn/2mJQvIB

*Co-workers who have been with IKEA for over one year can take a combined three months of parental leave, receiving 100% of their base wage for the first 6 weeks of parental leave and 50% for an additional 6 weeks. Three or more years, co-workers can take a combined four months of parental leave, receiving 100% of their base wage for the first 8 weeks and 50% for an additional 8 weeks.

Contact: IKEA U.S. Corporate PR Director, Mona Astra Liss, 610.834.0180, ext. 5852
Mona.Liss@IKEA.com

About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work produces the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For®” and a series of Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists, including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industries. Great Place to Work® provides executive advisory and culture consulting services to businesses, non-profits, and government agencies in over 50 countries across six continents.

ABOUT IKEA
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 392 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 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, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

SOURCE: IKEA Systems B.V.

Posted on by

IKEA US to install more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations bringing the total to 32 locations by early Spring

Conshohocken, PA, 2017-Mar-06 — /EPR Retail News/ —  IKEA US is in the process of installing more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations bringing the total to 32 IKEA locations by early Spring. The Three Blink® electric vehicle (EV) charging stations* reflect the IKEA goal to be carbon free, as EVs have zero tailpipe emissions.

“Installing EV charging stations reinforces our ongoing commitment to sustainability,” said IKEA US President, Lars Petersson. “As the leader in life at home, IKEA realizes a focus on sustainable transport of people can help empower customers to live sustainably while helping the needs of EV drivers.”

To charge an EV, drivers can tap their Blink InCard (RFID card) to the reader below the screen, initiate the session directly from the Blink Mobile application, or use a guest code provided via the Blink Mobile app, BlinkCode.com, or Blink Customer Support (888-998-2546). Once the session is initiated, drivers can plug the charger into the EV, and then shop and eat at their leisure in the store while their vehicle is charging.

By 2020, IKEA will be 100% renewable – producing as much renewable energy as we consume using renewable sources. IKEA is a leader in energy and resource independence. Providing EV charging stations for IKEA visitors exemplifies a further commitment to a small carbon footprint.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect for nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions; this is not only good for the environment but good for the business.

IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs its goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycling construction materials, water-conserving restrooms. And operationally; eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and selling only LED bulbs. IKEA US has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

IKEA was recently appointed a No. 11 position on the national U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Top 100 list of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership. In addition, IKEA also appears fourth on the Top 30 Retail list, and No. 10 on the Top 30 On-Site Generation list.

The EV program is a partnership with Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTC: CCGI), the owner of the Blink Network and Blink EV charging stations, and the largest provider of EV charging services with thousands of public EV charging stations in 36 states and two countries.
*these EV charging stations are level 2.

ABOUT IKEA
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 392 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 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, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest

Contact:

Mona Astra Liss
IKEA
Corporate PR Director
610.834.0180, ext. 5852

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA ranked No. 11 on EPA’s National Top 100 list of the largest green power users; fourth on the Top 30 Retail list

Conshohocken, PA, 2017-Feb-28 — /EPR Retail News/ — Today (February 27, 2017), IKEA announced that it appears as No. 11 on the national U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Top 100 list of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership. In addition to IKEA’s spot on the National Top 100 list, IKEA also appears fourth on the Top 30 Retail list, and No. 10 on the Top 30 On-Site Generation list.

IKEA is using more than 793 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which represents more than 100 percent of its total power needs. In addition, IKEA is generating green power from on-site solar and fuel cell energy systems. IKEA’s choice to use green power is helping to advance the green power market and support clean renewable energy alternatives.

Green power is zero-emissions electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact hydro. Using green power helps build demand for the development of new renewable energy capacity nationwide and helps users reduce their carbon footprints.

“We are proud to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for our green power use,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA US President and CEO. “By making the choice to use clean, renewable energy, our organization becomes more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the United States that using green power is a sound business decision and an important tool in reducing one’s carbon footprint in the fight against climate change.”

According to the U.S. EPA, IKEA’s green power use of more than 793 million kWh is equivalent to the electricity use of nearly 73,000 average American homes annually.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. is in the process of installing 32 electric vehicle charging stations at its US stores locations, has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The Partnership currently has approximately 1,400 Partner organizations voluntarily using billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies; small and medium sized businesses; local, state, and federal governments; and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

ABOUT IKEA
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 392 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 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, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact:
IKEA
Name: Mona Astra Liss, Corporate Public Relations Director
Phone Number: 610.834.0180, ext.5852
Email: mona.liss@ikea.com

U.S. EPA
Name: Melissa Klein
Phone Number: 202-343-9207
Email: Klein.Melissa@epa.gov

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

City Council of Norfolk approves IKEA’s proposal for its Hampton Roads store

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2017-Feb-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, expressed its appreciation to the City Council of Norfolk, Virginia for its unanimous approval this afternoon of plans for the Swedish company’s Hampton Roads store that would increase the IKEA presence in the southeastern U.S. as its second store in the state. Pending remaining approvals and permits, construction could begin in Summer 2017, with an opening in Summer 2018. Until then, local customers can shop at IKEA stores in Woodbridge, VA and Charlotte, NC, or online at IKEA-USA.com.

Located centrally within the Hampton Roads area and eight miles east of downtown Norfolk, the 331,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and 1,200 parking spaces would be built on nearly 19 acres at the northwestern corner of Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are humbled by the support from Norfolk officials and staff in favor of an IKEA store on land included on the City’s regional growth plan,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. “IKEA Norfolk will bring the unique IKEA shopping experience closer to Hampton Roads shoppers who have not been to an IKEA store or are not able to visit frequently.”

IKEA Norfolk would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Norfolk also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for state and local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 15 locations, has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

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 390 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKE

Contact:
Joseph Roth
Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA announces plans for its third Dallas-Fort Worth-area store

IKEA announces plans for its third Dallas-Fort Worth-area store

 

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2017-Feb-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, has submitted a proposal to the City of Fort Worth, Texas for the Swedish company’s third Dallas-Fort Worth-area store and sixth in the state. Pending necessary approvals and agreements, construction of an IKEA Fort Worth could begin Spring 2018, with an opening Summer 2019. Until then, Metroplex customers can shop at Collin County’s IKEA Frisco, online at IKEA-USA.com, or in Grand Prairie as of Fall 2017. Two other Texas stores are located in Houston and Round Rock, and a San Antonio-area store is planned to open Summer 2019 in Live Oak.

Located approximately 10 miles north of downtown Fort Worth, the 289,000-square-foot proposed IKEA Fort Worth and its 900 parking spaces would be built on 27 acres at the southwestern corner of Interstate 35W and N. Tarrant Parkway. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also would evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are thrilled with our success in North Texas since opening our first store 11 years ago, so we are excited to propose a Fort Worth store to grow our Dallas-area reach,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This proposed Fort Worth store would complement our Dallas-area presence in Frisco and soon in Grand Prairie by bringing the unique family-friendly shopping experience even closer to customers in the western part of the Metroplex.”

The proposed IKEA Fort Worth would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 325-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, more than 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the proposed store opens. The proposed IKEA Fort Worth also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 16 locations, has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

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 390 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 43 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact:
Joseph Roth
Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Source: IKEA

###

Posted on by

35,000 retailers and more than two dozen industry leaders to gather for NRF’s 106th annual Retail’s BIG Show

Washington, 2017-Jan-11 — /EPR Retail News/ — More than two dozen industry leaders will be featured keynote speakers as close to 35,000 retailers from around the world convene in New York City beginning this weekend for the National Retail Federation’s 106th annual Retail’s BIG Show.

“The level of expertise and insider insights that industry leaders and brand executives will bring to this conference will make this year the most impactful in the show’s history,” NRF Senior Vice President for Research and Strategic Initiatives Ellen Davis said. “Each one of these visionaries and pioneers was handpicked to challenge, inspire and encourage attendees to redefine their brand, explore opportunities, enhance customer experience both in-store and online and constantly embrace change.”

The three-day conference opens on Sunday, when Macy’s Chairman and CEO Terry J. Lundgren, HSNi CEO and NRF Foundation Chair Mindy Grossman, Ashley Stewart Executive Chairman and CEO James Rhee and Walmart U.S. President and CEO Greg Foran will participate in a session titled “Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: How Retailers Are Attracting and Retaining Talent.” The session will discuss how retail employment has grown by half a million jobs since 2012 and is expected to grow by nearly another 1 million by 2022.

Also on Sunday, Deloitte LP Wholesale and Distribution Leader Rod Sides will moderate a session titled “From Data to Delight: An Insight-Driven Revolution of the In-Store Experience.” Sides will be joined by GameStop International Executive Vice President and President Mike Mauler and The Vitamin Shoppe CEO and Chief Health Enthusiast Colin Watts, who will share statistics that matter in measuring and shaping the most impactful experiences with their customers.

At lunch on Sunday, retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will address his record-breaking year in space and how he captivated the world while laying the groundwork for the future of space travel and exploration in a session titled “The Sky is Not the Limit: Lessons From a Year in Space.”

Shoes of Prey co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Jodie Fox and Indochino CEO Drew Green will close out Sunday with a session titled “Tailoring The 21st Century Customer Experience,” where they will discuss the future of customization, personalization and perfecting the customer experience.

On Monday, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay will open the show by discussing The State of NRF and the Retail Industry. His remarks will be followed by A Fireside Chat with Sir Richard Branson, featuring the Virgin Group founder along with Kip Tindell, co-founder and chairman of The Container Store and chairman of NRF.

Later on Monday, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and Carrie Ask, executive vice president and president of global retail at Levi Strauss & Co., will speak at a session titled “Driving Retail Transformation: How Data and Smart, Connected Technology Deliver Amazing Customer Experiences.” Krzanich and Ask will outline how the industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, and how that transformation translates to exciting new experiences for retailers and consumers alike.

Wrapping up Monday, Union Square Hospitality Group Founder and CEO Danny Meyer, Gunther T. Bright, American Express Company executive vice president and general manager for merchant services-U.S., and Phil Wahba, Fortune magazine senior retailer writer, will speak in a session titled “Setting the Table with Danny Meyer – How Focusing on Hospitality Creates Deep Customer Connections.” The session will focus on the success of Meyer’s restaurant brands from fine dining destination Gramercy Tavern to burger joint Shake Shack.

On Tuesday, the show’s final day, Macy’s Lundgren will return to the stage with Federal Reserve Bank of New York CEO William Dudley in a session titled “Evolving Consumer Behavior: A View from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.” Dudley will discuss how consumer behavior has evolved over the last 10 years with a focus on how consumer spending has been financed.

Also on Tuesday, this year’s Retail’s BIG Fast Track session will be hosted by XRC Labs founder and Managing Director Pano Anthos and Executive Director Leslie Cohen. The session will feature Joe Beninato, founder and CEO of Banter, Strypes CEO Alexa Fleischman, Perseus Mirrors co-founder and CEO Erik Skantze and ShopShops founder and CEO Liyia Wu. The program will explore how the speakers see the retail industry shifting beyond traditional approaches to everything from customer engagement and personalization to global markets and customer connectivity.

The last keynote session of the show, “Winning Today’s Socially Aware Customer,” will feature IKEA U.S. President Lars Petersson, 500 Startups Entrepreneur in Residence and Venture Partner Tristan Pollock and The Honest Company founder and Chief Purpose Officer Christopher Gavigan. This session will discuss building trust through brand authenticity and fostering genuine consumer relationships paired with a relentless focus on product excellence.

Members of the news media and accredited retail analysts can click here to register online for show, call 855-NRF-PRESS or email eventpress@nrf.com.

About NRF
NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.

Contact:

Ana Serafin Smith
(202) 626-8189
press@nrf.com
(855) NRF-Press

Source: NRF

Posted on by

IKEA submits plans to the City of Live Oak, Texas for a San Antonio-area store

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2016-Dec-01 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today (11/29/2016) announced it is submitting plans to the City of Live Oak, Texas for a San Antonio-area store that would increase the Swedish company’s U.S. presence with its fifth store in the state. Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Live Oak could begin in Spring 2018, with an opening in Summer 2019. Until then, customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores in Houston and Round Rock, or online at IKEA-USA.com. In North Texas, IKEA is represented by a store in Frisco as well as a store opening Fall 2017 in Grand Prairie.

Located approximately 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio, the 289,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its approximately 1,000 parking spaces would be built on 31 acres at the southwestern corner of Interstate 35 and Loop 1604. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are excited at the possibility of growing our U.S. and Texas presence with a San Antonio-area store,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. “This location would provide our already 180,000 San Antonio-area customers their own store and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to others throughout South Texas.”

IKEA Live Oak would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 325-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries, salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferring parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Live Oak also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing environmental impacts makes business sense. IKEA evaluates locations for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; key measures in buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, and selling only LED lighting. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 14 locations and solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two U.S. wind farms.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at affordable prices. There are currently more than 390 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact:
Joseph Roth
Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA launches ‘Let’s Play for Change’ campaign to support children’s right to play and develop

Conshohocken, PA, 2016-Nov-21 — /EPR Retail News/ — The IKEA ‘Let’s Play for Change’ campaign, which runs November 20th – December 24th, is a new IKEA good cause campaign to support children’s development and learning, through participation in sports and play. During this campaign, for every children’s soft toy, book and or small play furniture item sold, the IKEA Foundation will make a donation of $1.10* (€1 EUR) to support children’s right to play and develop in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The IKEA Foundation’s partners in this campaign are Handicap International Federation, Room to Read, Save the Children, Special Olympics, UNICEF and War Child. The programs supported by the campaign focus on children affected by disabilities, the Syrian conflict, unsafe migration, and poverty.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Children states that every child should have the right to play. Sadly not every child enjoys this right. Millions of children are on the move, making them vulnerable to discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation, according to a play insights document released by IKEA Foundation today. The insights also revealed that children with disabilities are often the most likely to be excluded from play and learning activities.

“Many children around the world lack safe spaces to play. War and disasters are forcing more children than ever before to flee their homes and make difficult and dangerous journeys. Many more miss out on the chance to play because of poverty and prejudice. Children suffer the most in a crisis situation, and we are committed to upholding and raising awareness of their rights,” commented Per Heggenes, CEO of IKEA Foundation.

“We believe every child has the right to a safe environment where their development through play is part of their everyday lives. Play sparks creativity and helps us learn and develop. The new IKEA ‘Let’s Play for Change’ campaign was established to support opportunities for children’s play, especially those in the most vulnerable communities. In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, Let’s Play for Change has the potential to change the lives of thousands of children around the world,” commented Lars Petersson, IKEA US President.

Let’s Play for Change builds on the success of previous IKEA good cause campaigns, which have raised $142.6 million (€118.8 million)**, since 2003. This is the biggest IKEA good cause campaign yet – with more products and more partners than ever before.
*Based on the current market value of One Euro = $1.10 US dollar
**Based on average of One Euro = $1.12 approximately (during the course of the 13 year campaign)

Words from the IKEA Foundation’s partners:

Handicap International Federation—in Pakistan, Thailand and Bangladesh
Provides Early Childhood Development opportunities to children with disabilities and other vulnerable children in displacement settings.

Cheryl Shin-Hua Yeam, Handicap International regional technical coordinator said:
“Children in refugee camps come from difficult backgrounds, having fled war and violence, facing poverty and poor health conditions. Play is an important tool for them to work through these issues and to be a child. Therefore we want to create inclusive communal spaces where vulnerable children feel safe and can develop through play.”

Room to Read—in Bangladesh and Indonesia
Transforms the lives of children through a high quality of education that includes teacher training, provision of learning materials and developing children in both literacy and reading.

“Room to Read will bring the joy of reading and a love of learning to tens of thousands of children in government schools in Bangladesh and Indonesia”, said Erin Ganju, CEO and co-founder of Room to Read. “Our innovative, data-driven, and cost-effective Literacy Program will effect systemic change in hundreds of communities through the establishment of libraries, training of teachers, and the capacity development of local authors and illustrators to publish locally-relevant and engaging children’s books.”

Save the Children—in Bangladesh and Ethiopia
Prevents unsafe migration of children by promoting protection, education and play for children on the move.

Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children US, stated, “Save the Children is giving children on the move a chance of a better future. The IKEA Foundation, with support from IKEA employees and customers worldwide, helps us give children the opportunity to play, receive an education and be protected from harm. Children on the move are highly vulnerable and our program intends to deliver lasting improvements to their lives.”

Special Olympics—in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Thailand
Promotes, through sports and play, inclusion and development of children with intellectual disabilities.

Mary Davis, Chief Executive Officer, Special Olympics said. “It is shocking and disheartening to note that the majority of children with intellectual disabilities have little to no access to valuable services and educational opportunities, which often entrenches them and their families in a cycle of poverty and social isolation, which ultimately, hinders their human development. The Special Olympics Young Athletes program, a sports-play program designed to promote motor, social and cognitive development and inclusion for children with intellectual disabilities, offers children the opportunity to learn inclusive play in a safe environment. Thanks to our partners at the IKEA Foundation, we are able to grow our Young Athletes program and reach more children, impact more families and further break down the perceptions that exist for children with intellectual disabilities.”

UNICEF—in China, India, Indonesia and Kenya
Provides safe spaces, education and health support for children aged 0-8 to ensure early childhood development in some of the poorest communities.

“When the brains and bodies of young children are protected, nurtured and stimulated they have the best possible chance of developing fully, learning effectively, and contributing to their economies and societies when they reach adulthood. Thanks to the Let’s Play for Change campaign, we can reach even more children in China, India, Indonesia and Kenya with nurturing care programmes and help young children grow up in the enriching environments they need for optimal development.” said UNICEF Chief of Early Childhood Development Pia Rebello Britto.

War Child—in Jordan and Lebanon
Provides a safe environment to play, learn and develop for children in Jordan and Lebanon who have been affected by the Syrian conflict.

Dr. Samantha Nutt, Founder, War Child USA, added “Play is important to children everywhere but for children overcoming the brutality of war it is vital. Creating a safe space to play is the first step in allowing them to reclaim their childhood and begin to rebuild their future after the years of violence and trauma. It is wonderful that the IKEA Foundation has chosen to support these children.”

For a film about the Great Cause ‘Let’s Play for Change’ campaign, click here: https://www.ikeafoundation.org/campaigns/lets-play-for-change/

For playing HOPP, a mobile game which allows the gamer to create spaces to play in the virtual world, and move forward and avoid obstacles that get in the way of play, for free, download at ikea.com/HOPP.

About IKEA
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices. The IKEA Group operates 340 IKEA stores in 28 countries, including 42 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, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

About IKEA Foundation
The IKEA Foundation (Stichting IKEA Foundation) is the philanthropic arm of INGKA Foundation, the owner of the IKEA Group of companies. We aim to improve opportunities for children and youth in some of the world’s poorest communities by funding holistic, long-term programmes that can create substantial, lasting change. The IKEA Foundation works with strong strategic partners applying innovative approaches to achieve large-scale results in four fundamental areas of a child’s life: a place to call home; a healthy start in life; a quality education; and a sustainable family income, while helping these communities fight and cope with climate change.
Learn more at www.ikeafoundation.org and www.facebook.com/IKEAfoundation.

Contact:
IKEA US: Mona Astra, Mona.Liss@IKEA.com, 610.834.0180, ext. 5852
Handicap International Federation: Mica Bevington, mbeviington@handicap-international.us, 240.922.2550
Room to Read: Jacqueline Pezzillo, Jaqueline.pezzillo@roomtoread.org, 1.415.839.4401
Save the Children: Sambi Shrestha, sshrestha@savechildren.org, 475.999.3031
Special Olympics: Christy Weir, cweir@specialolympics.org, 202.824.0307
UNICEF: Ann Reinking, areinking@unicefusa.org, 212.922.2623
War Child: James Topham, james@warchild.ca, 416.971.7474

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA broke ground on its fifth Florida store; IKEA Jacksonville opens in Fall 2017

JACKSONVILLE, FL, 2016-Nov-05 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, Councilman Danny Becton, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today (11/03/2016) officially broke ground on its fifth Florida store. Until the future IKEA Jacksonville opens in Fall 2017, customers can shop at IKEA Orlando and IKEA Tampa or online at IKEA-USA.com. Two other IKEA stores are located in the South Florida cities of Sunrise and Sweetwater.

The 290,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its 950 parking spaces will be built on 25 acres along the northwestern corner of Interstate 295 and Gate Parkway, approximately 10 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville. IKEA has contracted with Marcobay Construction, Inc. to build the project, and store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. In addition, IKEA will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. goal of a renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many Jacksonville-area customers who currently can only shop at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “The store also will attract new customers from North Florida and Southern Georgia who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not had a chance yet to shop at IKEA.”

IKEA Jacksonville will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 325-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Jacksonville also will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should begin looking online this spring at IKEA-USA.com, where they can apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Among its total coworkers, IKEA Jacksonville also will offer more than 50 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

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 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA announces contractors for building its second Dallas-Fort Worth-area store in Grand Prairie, TX

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2016-Sep-24 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today (09/22/2016) announced contractors are hired for building its second Dallas-Fort Worth-area store, opening in Grand Prairie, TX. Pending remaining permits, this progress allows the project to continue on track for site work to commence, with groundbreaking next month and a store opening in Fall 2017, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in Texas. Until then, customers can shop at Collin County’s IKEA Frisco or online at IKEA-USA.com. (Two other IKEA stores in Texas are located in Houston and Round Rock.)

IKEA has chosen MYCON General Contractors to serve as Construction Manager for the IKEA Grand Prairie site work and store development project. MYCON is a family-owned, award-winning, industry-leading commercial contractor based in Dallas specializing in ground-up construction services for the retail, industrial, office, religious, and healthcare markets in Texas and surrounding areas. Other firms assisting with this project are: real estate brokerage Segovia Real Estate Group for site selection support; Jackson Walker for local land use counsel; Winkelmann and Associates for civil engineering; Lee Engineering for Traffic and Transportation Planning, KJWW Engineering Consultants for structural; Terracon for geotechnical services; ACIES Engineering for mechanical, electrical and plumbing design; and GreenbergFarrow as project architect.

“With a contractor onboard, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Grand Prairie,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential customers throughout central and western parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex who maybe live too far from IKEA Frisco.”

IKEA Grand Prairie will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, more than 300 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Grand Prairie also will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Located approximately 14 miles west of downtown Dallas and 18 miles east of downtown Fort Worth, the 290,000-square-foot future IKEA Grand Prairie and its 1,100 parking spaces will be built on 30 acres along the eastern side of State Highway 161 and Mayfield Road, north of Interstate-20. The additional 15 acres of land contiguous to the store eventually could be developed to accommodate opportunities for ancillary commercial or retail uses. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also is evaluating potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

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 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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
Property Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, ext. 6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA announces plans for a second store in Virginia

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA , 2016-Jun-24 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it is submitting plans to the City of Norfolk, Virginia for a store that would increase the Swedish company’s presence in the Southeastern U.S. as its second store in Virginia. Pending approvals, construction of the proposed IKEA Norfolk store could begin in Spring 2017, with an opening in Summer 2018. Until then, customers can shop at IKEA stores in Woodbridge, VA and Charlotte, NC, or online at IKEA-USA.com.

Located centrally within the Hampton Roads area, and eight miles east of downtown Norfolk, the 331,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and 1,000 parking spaces would be built on 19 acres at the northwestern corner of Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are excited at the possibility of growing our Southeastern U.S. presence with a Norfolk store,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. “A location in this retail corridor would provide our nearly 35,000 Hampton Roads customers their own store and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to others throughout southeast Virginia.”

The proposed IKEA Norfolk would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Norfolk also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

This project would represent the third significant investment by IKEA in the state of Virginia. Besides this proposed Norfolk store and the store in Woodbridge, there also is an IKEA furniture factory in Danville that opened in 2008.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, and selling only LED bulbs/fixtures. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations and solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at affordable prices. There are currently more than 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact:
Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Source: IKEA

Posted on by

IKEA broke ground on its future Columbus store scheduled to open in Summer 2017

COLUMBUS, OH, 2016-May-25 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, Delaware County Board of Commissioners President Barb Lewis, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground on its future Columbus store. Until the future IKEA Columbus opens in Summer 2017 as the second IKEA store in Ohio, customers can shop at stores in: West Chester, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; and Canton, MI; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

The 355,000-square-foot future IKEA Columbus and its 1,100 parking spaces will be built on 33 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce development, approximately 15 miles north of downtown Columbus. IKEA has contracted with Pepper Construction to build the project and plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many Columbus-area customers who currently can shop only at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “The store also will attract new customers from throughout Central Ohio who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not had a chance yet to shop at IKEA.”

IKEA Columbus will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 300 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Columbus also will provide significant annual property and sales tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should begin looking online this Fall at IKEA-USA.com, where they can apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Among its total coworkers, IKEA Columbus also will offer more than 50 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

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 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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, U.S. Expansion
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Posted on by

IKEA to install solar energy system atop its Memphis store opening late Fall 2016

MEMPHIS, TN, 2016-May-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced plans to install a solar energy system atop its Memphis store opening late Fall 2016. Panel installation will begin this summer, with completion expected in early Fall for what will be the largest rooftop solar array in the State of Tennessee. The 271,000 square-foot future IKEA Memphis, including approximately 800 parking spaces, will be built on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit. Until Fall 2016, Memphis-area customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores: Atlanta, GA; Frisco, TX; or St. Louis, MO; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

The store’s 250,675-square-foot solar array will consist of a 1.46 MW system, built with 4,424 panels, and will produce approximately 2,000,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 1,406 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) – equal to the emissions of 297 cars or providing electricity for 205 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents atwww.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator).

For the development, design and installation of IKEA Memphis’ customized solar power system, IKEA selected Hannah Solar, an Atlanta-based full service, certified solar integrator dedicated to providing the very best in engineering, products, installation and servicing of solar arrays. Linkous Construction is managing the site work and building of the store that will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide.

“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment with solar panels on the future Memphis store,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “At IKEA, we have a mission to create a better everyday life for the many, and IKEA Memphis can add to this goal with Tennessee’s largest rooftop solar array.”

This installation will represent the 44th solar project for IKEA in the United States, contributing to the IKEA solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation goal of more than 40 MW. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally allocated $2.5 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2020, reinforcing its confidence and investment in solar photovoltaic technology. Consistent with the goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 700,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns approximately 300 wind turbines, including 104 in the U.S.

IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, believes it can do good business while minimizing impacts on the environment. Globally, IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. Specific U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating environmental measures into the actual buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, skylights in warehouse areas, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, and selling only LED bulbs. IKEA has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 stores, with more locations planned.

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 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 42 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact: Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, ext. 6500

Posted on by

IKEA announces contractors for building its future Columbus, Ohio store

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2016-Mar-23 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced contractors are hired for building its future Columbus, Ohio store. Pending remaining permits, this progress allows the project to continue on track for site work to commence, with groundbreaking this spring and a store opening in Summer 2017, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the Midwestern United States with its second store in Ohio. Until the store opens, customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores in: West Chester, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; and Canton, MI; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

IKEA has chosen Pepper Construction to serve as Construction Manager for the IKEA Columbus site work and store development project. Having a strong Midwestern presence and a regional office based in Dublin, Ohio, Pepper is a full-service construction management, design/build and general contracting firm that has constructed several IKEA stores throughout the years. Other Ohio firms assisting with this project are: real estate brokerage CBRE for site selection support; Smith & Hale, LLC for local land use counsel; CESO, Inc. for civil engineering; KJWW Engineering Consultants for structural; Geotechnical Consultants Inc. for geotechnical services; Davey Resource Group and Stantec for environmental and ecological services; and GreenbergFarrow as project architect. Additionally, ACIES Engineering is providing mechanical, electrical and plumbing services.

“With a contractor onboard, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Columbus,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential customers throughout Central Ohio, complementing our Cincinnati-area store and growing our Midwestern U.S. presence.”

IKEA Columbus will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 300 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Columbus also will provide significant annual property and sales tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Located in the Polaris Centers of Commerce development, approximately 15 miles north of downtown Columbus, the 354,000-square-foot future IKEA store and its 1,200 parking spaces will be built on 33 acres at the northeastern corner of Interstate-71 and Gemini Place. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

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 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 41 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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.

Press Contact Information

USA CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS
Mona Astra Liss
1-610-834-0180 x 5852

USA PRODUCT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Janice Simonsen
1-610-834-0180 x 6349

USA EXPANSION
Joseph Roth
1-610-834-0180 x 6500

Posted on by

IKEA announces plans for its third San Francisco-area store in Dublin, California

IKEA SUBMITS PLANS FOR A STORE IN DUBLIN, CALIFORNIA TO OPEN SUMMER 2018 AS 3RD SAN FRANCISCO-AREA STORE AND 9TH IN STATE

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2016-Mar-19 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it is submitting plans to the City of Dublin, California for the Swedish company’s third San Francisco-area store and ninth in the state. Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Dublin could begin Spring 2017, with an opening in Summer 2018. Until then, customers can shop at the Bay Area IKEA stores in Emeryville and East Palo Alto, as well as in West Sacramento – where another store is located; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

Located approximately 35 miles east of downtown San Francisco and 23 miles east of downtown Oakland, the 339,000-square-foot proposed IKEA Dublin and its 1,150 parking spaces would be built on 21 acres at the northwestern corner of Interstate 580 and Hacienda Drive. In addition, six acres contiguous to IKEA will be developed to accommodate 52,000 square feet of opportunities for ancillary uses such as retail, restaurant and a boutique hotel. IKEA store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We continue to be thrilled with the reception afforded us in the Bay Area, so we are excited about submitting plans for IKEA Dublin to extend our reach further into the East Bay,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This proposed store would complement the presence in Emeryville and East Palo Alto, providing Tri-Valley customers their own store.”

IKEA Dublin would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 350 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Dublin also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations, and has solar arrays at 90% of its locations.

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 380 IKEA stores in 47 countries, including 41 in the U.S. IKEA has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Source: IKEA

Contact:

Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Posted on by

IKEA breaks ground on its first store in Tennessee; future IKEA Memphis opens in Fall 2016

MEMPHIS, TN, 2015-12-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground on its future Memphis store. Until the future IKEA Memphis opens in Fall 2016 as the first store in Tennessee, customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores: Atlanta, GA; Frisco, TX; or St. Louis, MO; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

The 271,000 square-foot future IKEA Memphis, including approximately 1,000 parking spaces, will be built on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit. IKEA has contracted with Linkous Construction to build the project, and store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. In addition, IKEA will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. goal of a renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many Memphis-area customers who currently can only shop at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “The store also will attract new customers from throughout the Mid-South who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not had a chance yet to shop at IKEA.”

IKEA Memphis will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 225 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Memphis also will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should begin looking online in the new year at IKEA-USA.com, where they will be able to apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Among its total coworkers, IKEA Memphis also will offer more than 50 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

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 has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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.

Posted on by

IKEA U.S. greets its co-workers happy holiday with Roku 2 streaming media player

Conshohocken, PA, 2015-12-10 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA co-workers across the U.S.1 received a Roku 2 streaming media player as a ‘thank you’ holiday gift. This was another opportunity for IKEA to show gratitude to its co-workers and say ‘happy holiday’. Just a few days prior, IKEA Group thanked its co-workers with a contribution of $1,182 * into their Tack! Retirement funds.

“IKEA is a great place to work and we’re always looking for ways to make a positive contribution to our co-workers’ lives. With our annual holiday gift, it’s another token of appreciation and gratitude to each and every co-worker. No matter what the level or position, every member of the IKEA team is important and contributes to our success,” commented Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. President. “This year we are giving co-workers a gift that the entire family can enjoy.”

With thousands of home visits each year, IKEA understands life at home including how new media technology is impacting our home entertainment lifestyles. The Roku 2, a leading web TV device 2, makes it easy to watch a wide range of free channels, subscribe to popular streaming services – like Netflix and Hulu Plus – rent the latest TV episode, or own a major blockbuster. CNN.com’s recent ‘Guide to the Holidays’ listed the Roku 2 on their ‘Great gadget gifts for $100 or less.’

1. Includes all regular and part-time IKEA U.S. co-workers. Does not include hires after November 27th, 2015 or seasonal co-workers. *Plus an additional $140 in ‘re-allocation’ from co-workers who left IKEA before working three full years. Total is $1,322. All full-time co-workers within a country will receive the same amount regardless of unit, position, or salary level. Part-time co-workers will receive a proportional amount in relation to hours worked. Global goals need to be met first for Tack! contributions. The annual funding is divided between all IKEA Group countries, based on each country’s proportion of the total salary and wages. Eligibility for Tack! is based on an IKEA co-worker being actively employed with IKEA for a full fiscal year (September 1-August 31). Money is vested after working three full years and available at retirement age (59 ½.) If a co-worker leaves before working three full fiscal years in a row, the money in their Tack! fund will be removed and re-allocated to other eligible co-workers. 2. Web TV is the genre of original television content produced for broadcast via the World Wide Web, accessible through Wi-Fi.

For further information, please contact: Mona Astra Liss, 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 328 IKEA Group stores in 28 countries. Additionally, there are 40 IKEA stores run by franchises. There are 41 IKEA stores in the U.S. In FY 15, IKEA Group had 771 million visitors to the stores and 1.9 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

SOURCE: IKEA Systems B.V.

Posted on by

IKEA hired contractors for for building its future Memphis store

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2015-11-26 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced contractors now are hired for building its future Memphis store. Pending remaining permits, this progress allows the project to continue on track for site work to commence, with a groundbreaking next month and a store opening in Fall 2016, increasing the Swedish retailer’s presence in the Southeastern United States. Until the store opens, customers can shop at IKEA stores in Atlanta, GA or Frisco, TX; or online at IKEA-USA.com. Also, a St. Louis store opened recently on September 30, 2015.

IKEA has chosen Linkous Construction Company to serve as Construction Manager for IKEA Memphis site work and store development project. Memphis-based Linkous has built nearly 40 million square feet of commercial, industrial and institutional projects in the past three decades. Other Memphis firms involved with this project are: real estate brokerage CBRE, site selection support; Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz as well as Burch Porter & Johnson for local land use counsel; Kimley-Horn & Associates, traffic consultant; Pangean CMD Associates, geotechnical and environmental services; and Brophy-Heineke & Associates also for environmental services. Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow provided civil engineering services and is the project architect.

“With a contractor onboard, plans can proceed towards opening the future IKEA Memphis,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This store will provide a more convenient IKEA shopping experience for current and potential customers throughout Tennessee and the Mid-South, growing our IKEA presence in the Southeastern U.S.”

IKEA Memphis will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 225 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Memphis also will provide significant annual property and sales tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Located in the Wolfchase corridor, 15 miles east of downtown Memphis, the 271,000-square-foot future IKEA store and nearly 1,000 parking spaces will be built on 35 acres along the southwestern side of Interstate-40 near the Germantown Parkway exit. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also is evaluating potential on-site power generation to complement its current renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

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 has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. 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, U.S. Expansion
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

SOURCE: Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

Posted on by

New IKEA store in Renton, WA adjacent to its current Seattle-area store to open in Spring 2017

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.

Posted on by

IKEA to install a solar energy system atop its Las Vegas store opening Summer 2016

LAS VEGAS, NV, 2015-11-02 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced plans to install a solar energy system atop its Las Vegas store opening Summer 2016. Panel installation will begin this winter, with completion expected in spring for what will be the largest single-use rooftop solar array by a retailer in the State of Nevada. The 351,000 square-foot future IKEA Las Vegas, and 1,300 parking spaces, currently is under construction on 26 acres along the northern side of the 215 Beltway at Durango Drive, near Sunset Road. Until Summer 2016, Las Vegas-area customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores: Covina, CA; Tempe, AZ, or Draper, UT; or online at IKEA-USA.com.

The store’s 240,504-square-foot solar array will consist of a 1.14 MW system, built with 3,620 panels, and will produce approximately 1,750,000 kWh of electricity annually for the store, the equivalent of reducing 1,207 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) – equal to the emissions of 254 cars or providing electricity for 166 homes yearly (calculating clean energy equivalents at www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html).

For the development, design and installation of IKEA Las Vegas’ customized solar power system, IKEA selected Helix Electric, an award-winning electrical contractor and industry leader specializing in design-build and complex electrical projects in the U.S. for more than 30 years. R&O Construction is managing the site work and building of the actual store that will reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide.

“We are excited about furthering our sustainability commitment with solar panels on the future Las Vegas store,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “At IKEA, we have a mission to create a better everyday life for the many, and IKEA Las Vegas can add to this goal with Nevada’s largest rooftop solar array.”

This installation will represent the 43rd solar project for IKEA in the United States, contributing to the IKEA solar presence atop nearly 90% of its U.S. locations, with a total generation goal of 40 MW. IKEA owns and operates each of its solar PV energy systems atop its buildings – as opposed to a solar lease or PPA (power purchase agreement) – and globally has allocated $1.9 billion to invest in renewable energy through 2015, reinforcing its confidence and investment in solar photovoltaic technology. Consistent with the goal of being energy independent by 2020, IKEA has installed more than 700,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns approximately 300 wind turbines, including 104 in the U.S.

IKEA, drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, believes it can do good business while minimizing impacts on the environment. Globally, IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. Specific U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating environmental measures into the actual buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, skylights in warehouse areas, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, and selling only LED bulbs. IKEA has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 stores, with more locations planned.

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 has been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact: Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, ext. 6500

Posted on by

IKEA plans to open its second Dallas-Fort Worth-area store and fourth in Texas

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2015-10-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it is submitting plans to the City of Grand Prairie, Texas for the Swedish company’s second Dallas-Fort Worth-area store and fourth in the state. Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Grand Prairie could begin Summer 2016, with an opening in Fall 2017. Until then, customers can shop at Collin County’s IKEA Frisco or online at IKEA-USA.com. (The two other IKEA stores in Texas are located in Houston and Round Rock.)

Located approximately 14 miles west of downtown Dallas and 18 miles east of downtown Fort Worth, the 293,000-square-foot proposed IKEA Grand Prairie and its 1,250 parking spaces would be built on 32 acres along the eastern side of State Highway 161 and Mayfield Road, north of Interstate-20. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are thrilled with the reception afforded us after entering North Texas more than 10 years ago, so we are excited to submit plans for IKEA Grand Prairie to extend our Dallas-area reach,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “This proposed store would complement our Metroplex presence established in Frisco and bring the unique family-friendly shopping experience closer to customers in other parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.”

IKEA Grand Prairie would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, more than 300 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Grand Prairie also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations, has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

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 has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact: Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Posted on by

IKEA plans to open a store in Jacksonville, Florida in Fall 2017

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA, 2015-10-9 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it is submitting plans to the City of Jacksonville, Florida for a store that would increase the Swedish company’s presence in the southeastern U.S. with a fifth store in the state. (There are currently IKEA stores in the Central Florida cities of Orlando and Tampa as well as the South Florida cities of Sunrise and Sweetwater.) Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Jacksonville could begin Summer 2016, with an opening in Fall 2017.

Located approximately 10 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville, the 294,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its 1,200 parking spaces would be built on 25 acres along the northwestern corner of Interstate 295 and Gate Parkway. Store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.

“We are excited at the possibility of growing our southeastern U.S. presence with this proposed Jacksonville store,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. “This proposed location in an emerging retail corridor would provide our already 110,000 Jacksonville-area customers their own store and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers throughout North Florida, Southern Georgia and beyond.”

IKEA Jacksonville would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA Jacksonville also would provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources, and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the check-out process, phasing-out the sale of incandescent light bulbs, facilitating recycling compact fluorescent bulbs, and sells only LED bulbs. IKEA U.S. has installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations, and has solar arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

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 48 countries, including 41 in the U.S. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @IKEAUSA or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.

Contact: Joseph Roth, Expansion Public Affairs
(610) 834-0180, x 6500

Posted on by

IKEA officially broke ground for its new, larger store in Burbank, California

BURBANK, CA, 2015-9-4 — /EPR Retail News/ — With company representatives, Burbank Mayor Bob Frutos, City Council members, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground where it is constructing a new, larger store in Burbank, California, less than one mile away from the company’s oldest store in the Western United States. Until the new, roomier store opens on the new site in Spring 2017, customers can continue to shop at the existing IKEA Burbank. (Nearby IKEA stores are in Carson, Costa Mesa and Covina.)

The current 242,000-square-foot IKEA Burbank, the first IKEA store in California and sixth in the U.S., opened November 1990 on 6.4 acres along I-5 at San Fernando Boulevard. The future 456,000-square-foot store and its more than 1,700 convenient parking spaces will be built on 22 acres west of San Fernando Boulevard and south of Providencia Avenue, providing customers with improved accessibility. IKEA has contracted with VCC Construction to build the store, and plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. Just as the existing store has a solar photovoltaic array atop its roof, IKEA hopes to install a similar solar energy system atop the relocated store. In addition to the nearly 400 Burbank coworkers already part of the global IKEA family, the new store will generate even more sales and property tax revenue yearly for the City and local schools.

“We are pleased to be breaking ground today on our commitment to extend our Burbank presence with a new, larger and updated store that will provide an improved experience for our many loyal customers currently shopping at IKEA Burbank,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA US president. “This new IKEA Burbank store also will help us introduce the latest version of the unique IKEA concept to Southern Californians who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had the chance to visit an IKEA store.”

The new, more spacious IKEA Burbank will feature a larger quantity of the nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a larger (600-seat) restaurant 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 offers a product picking and delivery service and an IKEA Family loyalty program, and has begun visiting homes in areas where it has stores so design solutions can better reflect local living situations and needs.

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 360 IKEA stores in 47 countries, including 40 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.

###

 

Posted on by

IKEA stores in US will only sell LED bulbs and lighting to enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home

Survey shows in 2015, 64% of Americans purchased at least one LED light bulb for their household, compared to 49% in 2012 *

Conshohocken, PA, 2015-8-11— /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA announced today that as of September 1, 2015, all IKEA stores will only sell LED bulbs and lighting to enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home. This bold move was announced in 2012 and IKEA is pleased it has met its commitment. Since 2013, IKEA U.S. customers have purchased 7.6 million LED bulbs, helping them collectively save nearly $3 billion in energy costs. **

According to a study* conducted by IKEA U.S. in 2012 and again in 2015, consumers are more open to purchasing LED bulbs and lighting:

  • In 2015, 64% of Americans purchased at least one LED light bulb for their household, compared to 49% in 2012. And in 2015, 51% of Americans have purchased several LED bulbs for their home, up from 39% in 2012.
  • Still there is an opportunity to improve Americans’ understanding of the benefits of LEDs. 68% of Americans still do not know that LED bulbs can last an average of 20 years and 34% don’t realize that LEDs use less electricity than other bulbs.

“LED is a light revolution. With household electricity bills continuing to rise rapidly and global energy consumption increasing, the LED lighting will have a big impact. Building on our belief that everyone should be able to afford to live more sustainably at home, we will make sure our LED prices are affordable for the many,” says Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Group.

LED is a light source which uses 85 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and can last up to 20 years. LED offers high quality light and solutions for different lighting between warm or cool light. IKEA makes the switch affordable by offering the LEDARE E26 2-pack of 400 lumen/40 watt LED bulbs for $4.49, which lasts 20,000 hours – longer than most other low cost options. IKEA also offers a 600 lumen/60W dimmable bulb for $4.49 and a 1000 lumen/75W dimmable bulb for $10.99. IKEA LED bulbs are mostly all dimmable in all shapes and sizes, and all with high quality.

“At IKEA, we believe that everyone should be able to afford to live a more sustainable life at home and save money on their energy bills. Also using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Changing a light bulb may seem like a small action but many small actions can lead to a big change,” commented Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. President. “Note that if one million people changed one bulb each into an LED this would be equivalent to taking 6,700 cars off the road or planting 17 million trees per year. That’s significant,” Petersson added.

IKEA is also working to reduce its use of energy and to use more renewable energy. The goal is to produce as much renewable energy as the total energy IKEA consumes globally by 2020. As of the end of 2015, IKEA renewable energy investments in the U.S will produce four times more energy than IKEA uses in U.S. operations. Recently, the IKEA Group and IKEA Foundation committed $1.12 billion to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and to support communities most at risk. This follows an IKEA Group commitment to invest $1.9 billion in renewable energy by the end of 2015.

Contact: Mona A. Liss, IKEA Corporate PR Director ~ Mona.Liss@IKEA.com, 610.834.0180, ext.5852

*Survey Methodology Notes

The IKEA survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 nationally representative Americans, ages 18 and older, in July 2015, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

** Source: Energy Information Administration – EIA; calculated based on US Energy Information Agency retail price of electricity data www.iea.org; Statistics- International Energy Agency; National Electricity Grid Information; www.census.gov/United States Census Bureau

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

###

Posted on by

IKEA US to again raise its minimum hourly wage in existing stores effective January 1, 2016

Conshohocken, PA, 2015-6-30 — /EPR Retail News/ — IKEA US announced today that it will again raise its minimum hourly wage in existing stores. Effective January 1, 2016, the average minimum hourly wage paid in IKEA US stores will increase from $10.76 to $11.87, a $1.11 or 10.3% increase. This is $4.62 above the current federal minimum wage.

In June 2014, IKEA US announced its new minimum wage structure, which bases minimum hourly wages on local living costs for co-workers. The basis for the local living costs is the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which takes into consideration housing, food, medical and transportation costs plus annual taxes.* This is a departure from determining wages based on the local competitive situation and is centered on the needs of the IKEA co-worker.

“IKEA not only seeks to understand life at home in order to offer our customers a great home furnishings offer, we also seek to understand our co-workers lives and needs in order to make IKEA a great place to work,” commented Lars Petersson, IKEA US President. “This latest wage increase is just the most recent in a series of investments grounded in our commitment to have a positive impact on our co-workers lives.”

Petersson continues, “This is not only the right thing to do for our co-workers, it’s also good for business. One year ago when we announced our new minimum wage structure based on local living conditions, we hoped it would contribute to reducing co-worker turnover. Now six months after the implementation, I am pleased to see that we are pacing to reduce co-worker turnover by 5 points in FY15.”

As a result of today’s announcement, 42 of 43 IKEA US retail locations will have an increase in their minimum wage and approximately 32% of IKEA US hourly retail co-workers will benefit from the change. As of January 2016, all five US distribution centers and all non-retail locations will also have minimum wages above the local living wage, and no co-worker will have a minimum hourly wage below $10.00.

In addition to investing in co-worker compensation, IKEA US is addressing co-workers’ feedback and needs by considering ways to deliver more full-time schedules and increased schedule predictability. Although IKEA US currently provides co-workers with their schedules three weeks in advance, the company is seeking ways to make scheduling even more predictable.

IKEA currently employs 15,000 co-workers in its 40 US stores, five distributions centers and three non-store locations. The company has announced new locations in St. Louis, Memphis, Columbus and Las Vegas.

* The rate used is a single person with no children. Based on the MIT Living Wage calculator http://livingwage.mit.edu. Rate applies no matter what the hours per week a co-worker works. ** According to an independent evaluation (Towers Watson BENEVAL)

Contact: Mona A. Liss, IKEA 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

Posted on by

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