The Unofficial IKEA Web Journal

“ROUND ROCK, Texas, Sept. 7 — IKEA, the world’s leading home
furnishings retailer, today announced that its future Round Rock, TX store will
open at 9:00 AM on Wednesday, November 15, 2006. IKEA Round Rock will be the
Swedish Company’s third store and restaurant destination in Texas and 29th in
the U.S. (The closest IKEA stores are in the North Texas city of Frisco, and in
Houston).

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“IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, expressed its appreciation to the
Orlando [FL] City Council for the body’s approval of a proposed IKEA store in
Central Florida increasing the Swedish retailer’s planned presence in Florida
and the Southeastern U.S. This City Council approval today follows the Municipal
Planning Board’s recommendation last month to approve plans for the store.
Pending permits, construction of the future IKEA Orlando can begin later this
year, with an anticipated opening in Fall 2007…a store is (also) slated to
open Summer 2007 in the South Florida city of Sunrise.

IKEA is thrilled
and honored at the support voiced by the Orlando City Council in favor of our
opening a store in the area next year, said David Iemolo, real estate manager
for IKEA. While we already knew many in the area were IKEA customers, the
outpouring of interest since we announced our plans plus this approval by the
City makes us feel so welcome.

The plan approved in an unanimous city
council vote allows IKEA to build a 309,000 square-foot store, with its 1,200
parking spaces, on 22 acres off Eastgate Drive, south of Conroy Road, across
from the southeastern end of The Mall at Millenia. The future IKEA Orlando will
reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known
worldwide.

Besides offering nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items,
IKEA Orlando will feature three model homes, 50 room settings, 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 will include a Children’s IKEA area in the
showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the
store.”

Furniture World

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Two months after Michigan’s first Ikea store opened in
Canton, it can still feel like opening day on weekends as a DJ plays
tunes in the parking lot, hot dog vendors whip up quick 50-cent lunches
and a good parking spot is hard to find.

Betty and John Shnell of
Sylvan Lake found that Sunday morning wasn’t too crowded. They took
their two kids, Giulia, 8, and Alvaro, 10, to the store to pick out a
new bedroom set for Giulia after dining at Ikea’s restaurant.

“I heard it was crowded,” Betty Shnell said. “You would have to take a bus and I didn’t want to come.”

So the Shnells just waited for a Sunday morning because “everyone’s at church right now,” John said.

Ikea
hasn’t kept all the success to itself. Its mere presence has made other
retailers feel more confident about Michigan’s shaky economy and two
new shopping centers and a Costco are planned for Michigan Avenue, not
far from the store at Ford and Haggerty.

“Ikea is kind of a super
catalyst. It is on a corridor that was already strong, but now Canton
is really on the radar screens of retailers looking at southeast
Michigan,” said Dave Long of CB Richard Ellis. The real estate
development company is lining up national retailers for a
500,000-square-foot shopping center at Michigan Avenue and Morton
Taylor in Canton. Long said he couldn’t announce any retailers yet but
he expects the center will start construction next summer if all goes
well with signing tenants.

“Retailers have this caution over the state’s economy,” Long said.

“THAT GRAND OPENING FEELING: Ikea remains a draw”
By Greta Guest
The Detroit Free Press

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“IKEA International A/S is recruiting nearly 300 new employees for its new Round Rock store opening this fall.

The store will be the Swedish home furnishing company’s third store in Texas and 29th in the U.S.

“We are thrilled to offer interested job seekers in the area diverse
positions with limitless opportunity at a global company,” says Jeff
O’Shaughnessy, store manager of IKEA Round Rock. “At IKEA, we realize
that the opportunity to be able to do the things in life that bring
success and happiness is extremely valuable to our coworkers.”

Prospective employees can apply for almost 300 positions available in
home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety
and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse,
stock replenishment, and approximately 60 food service positions.”

Austin Business Journal

Reminder:  Positive Fanatics is not officially affiliated with IKEA.
Please direct your applications to the store
website/offices.

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“The lingonberries soon will be here.

Ikea on Tuesday broke ground for its new store at Cascade Station near
Portland International Airport. The 280,000-square-foot future Ikea
Portland is expected to be opened in summer 2007. The store will have
350 employees.

The home furnishings retailer, which has a store in Renton, Wash., in October 2005 announced its plans to come to Portland.

The Ikea Portland will present 50 different room settings, three
complete homes, a supervised children’s play area, and a 250-seat
restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with
lingonberries or salmon plates, as well as American dishes.
Family-friendly features include a children’s Ikea area in the
showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout
the store.”

Portland Business Journal

Photo: POVA

Reminder:  Positive Fanatics is not officially affiliated with IKEA.
Please direct your applications to the store
website/offices. Good luck!

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“Large furniture retailer IKEA plans to opens its doors in Round Rock this fall, several months ahead of schedule.

The
global superstore was originally scheduled to open its
252,000-square-foot store in Round Rock off of Interstate Highway 35
and Chandler Road in spring 2007.

Joseph Roth, a spokesman for IKEA, said the project is ahead of schedule despite the rainy weather earlier this year.

“The city has released the permits when they said they would,” Roth said. “Literally, everything has been moving smoothly.”

If IKEA’s store opens three to six months early, it could mean an extra 20
percent to 30 percent in sales-tax revenue for the city of Round Rock,
said David Kautz, the city’s assistant manager and chief financial
officer.

Last year, the city of Round Rock approved a $5 million
deal with IKEA to provide incentives in sales- and property-tax breaks.
The city also waived fees related to the construction of the store.

The Round Rock store is the third IKEA to open in Texas with stores located in Houston and Frisco…”

Farran Powell
The Daily Texan

LINK

[Thanks to Bea in Round Rock for the news!]

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After a crazy opening week, its time to relax:

“Journeys bring power and love
Back into you. If you can’t go somewhere,
Move in the passageways of the self.

They are like shafts of light,
Always changing, and you change
When you explore them.”

- Rumi

[via Whiskey River]

*OUTSIDE THE BOX. An occasional series of thoughts and images. A breathing space. Because we can’t be shopping all the time:) Submissions are welcome.

Thanks everyone for sending news tips and pictures on the Canton store opening. We really appreciate it. Have a great weekend. See you all on Monday!

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crz mama l took this at the kid’s play area. More at FLICKR

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. IKEA  of Canton, Michigan on the horizon.

Green_eyed_girl on FLICKR

“This was our “camp site”.

yes, we are all full of contradictions, and it was because of the
extremity of this one, that sarahanne and i indeed spent the night in
the parking lot… and the adventure began…”

Muppster @ FLICKR

Share your photos with IKEA fans all over the world. Simply go to FLICKR and tag your photos “ikeacantonmichigan ” We will feature the best images here on Positive Fanatics.

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Audrey Seilheimer, from Canton, is the first customer to enter the IKEA store.

Photo: Davd Coates/The Detroit News

Read full article here
Detroit Free Press event blog

Store Openings IKEA Canton, IKEA Grand Opening, IKEA Michigan, IKEA Store Opening, ikea usa

Associated Press reports on the IKEA Canton, MI opening:

“CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.  — Hundreds of
screaming, arm-waving shoppers stormed Michigan’s first IKEA store
Wednesday, unable to pass up the spectacle of opening day and the
combination of functional furniture and low prices.

The doors
opened at 8:45 a.m. — 15 minutes earlier than expected — and the
hysteria began as the Swedish home furnishings giant opened its 28th
U.S. location.

n the time before the opening, prospective
shoppers ate complimentary doughnuts, donned blue-and-yellow visors and
enjoyed the stylings of a live band playing Motown hits.

IKEA
North America President Pernille Lopez presided over an opening
ceremony in the parking lot that featured the official “sawing of the
log” ceremony and the raising of the Swedish, American and Michigan
flags.Employees pounded inflatable noisemakers together as
shoppers entered the 311,000-square-foot store that is located in
Canton Township, 30 miles west of Detroit.

The excitement was such that some of those waiting outside the store had been there since Monday.The
company has been working with authorities in five jurisdictions –
Canton, the neighboring communities of Plymouth and Westland, Wayne
County and the state to control traffic on opening day. And it showed.Officials directed traffic and signs on Interstate 275 cautioned motorists to take it easy on their way to Canton.”

LINK

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