Tampa Beach goers recently found another of IKEA’s creative ad campaigns had washed up on their shores .

Wonder how many  people took advantage of some of the shade?  And Where do you thinkn they got those ENOURMOUS bottles?!  Nice sand scuplture too…

Get ready!  It’s another IKEA USA store in the south!  IKEA Tampa, to be the largest IKEA in Florida, is scheduled to open its doors on May, 6th, 2009 at 9am.  IKEA fans can begin lining up at 9am on Monday, May 4th in advance of the opening!

From the Tampa Bay Business Journal, IKEA Tampa to Open Its Doors on May 6th:

We’ve already received some interest in blogging about the opening and at/from the opening – if you’re interested, just email us at Submissions@positivefanatics.com.  Look forward to hearing from you!

Let’s hope so!  By the way…we’re looking for local guest bloggers who would be interested in blogging about the upcoming opening of the IKEA Tampa location in Ybor City.  Interested?  Contact us!

TAMPA, Fla. – (Business Wire) IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it has begun the recruitment process for its future Tampa store, set to open Summer 2009 in the Ybor City-area. Candidates interested in working at the future IKEA Tampa – the Swedish company’s 3^rdstore and restaurant destination in Florida, 6^th in the Southeast, and 37^th in the United States – should look online (www.IKEA-USA.com) for all available positions at the future store. Candidates without access to a home computer are encouraged to visit a local library for online computer access.

“We are thrilled to offer interested jobseekers diverse positions with limitless opportunity at a global company,” said Monica Varela, store manager of the future IKEA Tampa. “At IKEA, we realize that the ability to do the things in life that bring success and happiness is extremely valuable to our coworkers.”

While IKEA Tampa progresses through construction and outfitting, a variety of positions are open to local residents. Prospective coworkers are welcome to apply for the nearly 400 diverse positions as postings are available in: home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Also, setting itself apart from other retailers in the area, IKEA Tampa will offer – among the 400 total positions to be hired for the store – approximately 75 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

Named in FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (three consecutive years), Working Mother magazine’s annual list of the “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” (four consecutive years) and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (five consecutive years), IKEA places value and emphasis on coworkers’ personal lives and the importance of a work/life balance.

Drawing from the company’s Swedish heritage, IKEA is committed to a flexible workplace that emphasizes a work/life balance and provides professional opportunities to people from all life situations. If an IKEA coworker needs to take time off to find a nursing home for an aging parent, be home to kiss their child before bed or have flexible scheduling to best juggle caring for a newborn, one can do so without worrying about risking their career aspirations.

IKEA offers family-friendly initiatives and diverse workplace benefits including full medical/dental insurance to coworkers working 20 hours or more per week with eligibility for domestic partners and children. Coworkers working less than 20 hours still are eligible for medical and dental insurance.

Other benefits include: vacation, paid maternity/paternity leave and paid time off for child adoption, tuition assistance, 401(k) match, professional development, training and mentoring programs and, of course, a discount on IKEA purchases. The organization puts career opportunity into the hands of the individual, encouraging coworkers to consider assignments within different functions, at other IKEA stores or even in other countries. IKEA prides itself on the fact that an opportunity to work at IKEA truly can evolve into a career, and also can serve as a gateway to global experience as well.

Under construction on 29 acres along Adamo Drive at 22^nd Street and the Crosstown Expressway, the 353,000 square-foot IKEA Tampa will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, three model homes, 50 room settings, a supervised children’s play area, a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features will include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. Also, IKEA will generate significant tax revenue for state and local governments. When IKEA Tampa opens in Summer 2009, the new store will welcome 400 coworkers to the IKEA family of more than 11,000 coworkers in the United States and 130,000 globally.

Until the 353,000 square-foot IKEA Tampa opens, customers can shop at existing Florida stores in Orlando and Sunrise or atwww.IKEA-USA.com. Other stores in the Southeast are located in Atlanta, GA and Woodbridge, VA, with a store opening February 18, 2009 in Charlotte, NC.

IKEA believes home is the most important place in the world and, since its 1943 founding in Sweden, has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. As part of this commitment to create a better everyday life for the many people, IKEA incorporates environmentally and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, strives to be an employer of choice, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. The unique and family-friendly IKEA shopping experience currently can be found at more than 290 IKEA stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the U.S., where other new stores are being planned in: Centennial, CO; Charlotte, NC; and Somerville, MA. To visit the IKEA Web site or for information about working at IKEA, please go to http://www.IKEA-USA.com.

Remember – Positive Fanatics is not affiliated with IKEA. Please refer to the instructions above for applying for a job!

The Ikea rising near Ybor City, in the Tampa Bay area, now has the familiar blue walls, a store manager and enough qualified candidates in the hopper to fill all 53 management jobs. The Swedish furniture giant says the 353,000-square-foot building, which will be the biggest Ikea in Florida, is on schedule for a summer opening.

The store will be the chain’s first with an expanded Swedish foods department after a successful test in Boston.

The hiring process starts this winter for the other 350 full- and part-time jobs. The company points to its website, ikea.com, for dates when applications will be accepted.

353,000 square feet of IKEA goodness! That’s equivalent to about 32,800 square meters, or one IKEA College Park. For comparison, IKEA Elizabeth in New Jersey is 32,700 m2 and IKEA Seattle is 32,500 m2.  The closest IKEA to the new Tampa location is 66 miles away – IKEA Orlando is a measley 28,700 m2.  The largest IKEA in the US is IKEA Schaumburg at 40,000 m2.  Want to know the size of your IKEA store?

Tampa Bay, are you excited? Let’s hear from you! Summer 2009 is the intended opening – as good a time as any for a campout. Are you planning on being in line? We’ll bring you more information on the exact opening date when we have it. It’ll be a Wednesday!

Please note: Positive Fanatics is not affiliated with IKEA. Please direct all inquiries about job openings, positions available or hiring at IKEA to Jobs at IKEA

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Dec 10, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced the appointment of Monica Varela as store manager for its future store on track to open Summer 2009 in Tampa, FL. It will be the Swedish company’s 3rd store and restaurant destination in Florida, 6th in the Southeast, and 37th in the United States. Until the 353,000-square-foot future IKEA Tampa opens in Summer 2009, customers can shop at existing Florida IKEA stores in Orlando and Sunrise or at www.IKEA-USA.com.

“We are very excited about opening a store in the Tampa Bay area, where there are many IKEA customers as well as others who may not know us yet but are anxious for us to open,” said IKEA North America president Pernille Lopez. “Monica’s retail store experience with IKEA, as well as her product life-cycle management expertise, has prepared her for managing this store in Tampa.”

“IKEA recognizes the strong customer base for us in the Tampa Bay area, so I am pleased about providing these 100,000 customers with a store of their own,” Varela said. “Also, I look forward to introducing new customers to our unique family-friendly shopping experience and wide selection of stylish, functional and affordable home furnishings.”

Varela, who relocated to the Tampa area from South Florida, started at IKEA after working at several department store chains. A native of Havana who grew up in Barcelona and Philadelphia, Varela joined IKEA in 1989 as U.S. sales manager responsible for textiles. In 1997, she moved to France to be a commercial/supply manager within the IKEA Distribution Services team. Two years later, Varela joined IKEA Spain as the country sales leader, and then as assistant store manger for sales at a Madrid-area IKEA store. In 2004, Varela returned to the U.S. as assistant store manager for sales at IKEA Elizabeth (NJ) near New York City. Three years later, Varela was named deputy store manager at IKEA Sunrise (FL) where she served until now becoming store manager of IKEA Tampa.
Under construction on 29 acres along Adamo Drive at 22nd Street and the Crosstown Expressway, near Ybor City, IKEA Tampa will present 50 different room settings, three complete model homes, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries or salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. IKEA Tampa also will offer services such as home delivery, furniture assembly, kitchen installation and in-store consultations.

Additionally, IKEA Tampa brings job creation, with 400 coworkers joining the IKEA family when the new store opens. Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should look online ( www.IKEA-USA.com) for all positions available at the future IKEA Tampa store, where they soon 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. Also, setting itself apart from other retailers, IKEA Tampa will offer – among the 400 total positions to be hired for the store – approximately 70 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Cafe Bistro and coworker cafeteria.

There currently are more than 285 IKEA stores in 36 countries, including 35 in the United States, where other new stores are being planned in Centennial, CO; Charlotte, NC; and Somerville, MA. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (three years in a row), Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” (four years in a row) and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100″ ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (five years in a row). IKEA incorporates environmentally friendly and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. For more information about IKEA, and about working at IKEA, please go to www.IKEA-USA.com.

SOURCE: IKEA Press Release

Please Note:  Positive Fanatics is not affiliated with IKEA.  If you are looking for a job with IKEA, please visit: http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/jobs/join_us/index.html