It looks like it might come down to population densities and highway access.

^But doesn't OSU have something like 10,000 dorm rooms? That would drop that 60,000 down significantly.

Yeah, but those 10-20k dorm students need futons, rugs, lamps, end tables, towels, candles, cocktail shakers, shower caddies and whatever other accessories IKEA has.

 

When they move out of the dorms they would be looking for desks, beds, sofas, and some of the larger ticket items.

 

It's a big market.  I routinely see parents drop hundreds of dollars at the Lennox Target without batting an eye when they drop thier kids off at school.

 

I don't know what college kids you know, but as a student at OU I don't know anyone who has the room/money to go buying futons and end tables and all that crap (plus candles aren't allowed on college campuses). College students have the cheapest of the cheap and most of them don't have all that junk because it doesn't fit. I don't know a single person who has Ikea furniture (or much furniture at all) in their dorm room, so I doubt the student population will have anything to do with their decision.

^ thank you I agree. while inexpensive I actually think Ikea is  more for the post college urban crowd  (although compliments come from people as old as 50's! and my 13 year old step daughter actually thinks we are cool)that like cool design with money to spare to rock and roll. College kids are more Target and what ever if vomit and/or Starbucks proof.  I love clean lines and retro style of IKEA  but am I going to pay $7000 for a table and chairs and sacrifice my travel??? Hell no.

Columbus speaks for itself however, I don't know why you can't have three in the state.

 

Because they won't.  Ohio will get only one at least initially.  Ikea knows they are a draw, if you pop one up in every major town across the state you become "normal" or "marginal".  Cheesecake Factory is loosing their draw not that they had one like Ikea, but they did have one for a restaurant.  You grow too quick and saturate a nation and all it has the reverse effect on a culture.  They are playing it smart. 

what is all this talk about putting it downtown in one of the cities. If anyone knows IKEA, all their stores are in the burbs, even in Chicago. They want a huge store with a lot of parking near an urban center. I have never seen one in a downtown area.

^ I just got back from Europe and they are the same way there.  In Germany & Belgium, they were in the middle of nowhere in farmland between two distant cities.

I think the company likes putting out it's free advertising(local media, discussion, etc) before it enters markets. So far i think it's doing the job.

I don't know what college kids you know, but as a student at OU I don't know anyone who has the room/money to go buying futons and end tables and all that crap (plus candles aren't allowed on college campuses). College students have the cheapest of the cheap and most of them don't have all that junk because it doesn't fit. I don't know a single person who has Ikea furniture (or much furniture at all) in their dorm room, so I doubt the student population will have anything to do with their decision.

Have you ever been to the desk and mattress place on State St. during move-in week?  It's awash with parents dropping $200 on cheap desks and futons.  That's what my dad did for me when I moved from James Hall to my off campus house.

 

The point of IKEA is that it's cheap and made of particle board.  It isn't built to last, but it looks good when it's new...perfect for a college kid.  You can get a desk there for under $100. 

 

You probably don't know a single person at OU that has IKEA furniture because they don't want to drive over 3 hours to buy it.  That's just silly.

I love clean lines and retro style of IKEA  but am I going to pay $7000 for a table and chairs and sacrifice my travel??? Hell no.

Find me a table Ikea for $7000.  Ha!

 

I just checked online, and the average price is about $199.  Some are as cheap at $59 and the most expensive is $449. 

 

I guess people just don't know what IKEA is all about.  It's not pottery barn...it's fancier designs on Walmart and Target quality stuff.

I love clean lines and retro style of IKEA  but am I going to pay $7000 for a table and chairs and sacrifice my travel??? Hell no.

Find me a table Ikea for $7000.  Ha!

 

I just checked online, and the average price is about $199.  Some are as cheap at $59 and the most expensive is $449. 

 

I guess people just don't know what IKEA is all about.  It's not pottery barn...it's fancier designs on Walmart and Target quality stuff.

my point was that the IKEA table is NOT $7000...but at a Dwell magazine type table would be that much elsewhere. maybe I did not articulate myself well! you could (but should not) buy a household full or furniture at Ikea for $7000.

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=norwood+cincinnati+ohio+&ie=UTF8&ll=39.166071,-84.456121&spn=0.006513,0.010064&t=h&om=1

 

I dont know if this would be a big enough site, but this would be a great location for and ikea.

I don't know what college kids you know, but as a student at OU I don't know anyone who has the room/money to go buying futons and end tables and all that crap (plus candles aren't allowed on college campuses). College students have the cheapest of the cheap and most of them don't have all that junk because it doesn't fit. I don't know a single person who has Ikea furniture (or much furniture at all) in their dorm room, so I doubt the student population will have anything to do with their decision.

Have you ever been to the desk and mattress place on State St. during move-in week?  It's awash with parents dropping $200 on cheap desks and futons.  That's what my dad did for me when I moved from James Hall to my off campus house.

 

The point of IKEA is that it's cheap and made of particle board.  It isn't built to last, but it looks good when it's new...perfect for a college kid.  You can get a desk there for under $100. 

 

You probably don't know a single person at OU that has IKEA furniture because they don't want to drive over 3 hours to buy it.  That's just silly.

 

What hall did you stay in that didn't include a desk? I still think college students have no room/money for furniture, and if they ARE going to get some, they're going to Target.

I think there was a IKEA placed in an urban area in Atlana....is it called atlantic station. They just did a redevelopment there and i think they had an IKEA store with underground parking instead of a lot....pretty cool if i remember correctly

That's what my dad did for me when I moved from James Hall to my off campus house.

 

What hall did you stay in that didn't include a desk?

 

I still think college students have no room/money for furniture, and if they ARE going to get some, they're going to Target.

 

Some will, some won't.  IKEA is, in many cases, cheaper than Target.  In most cases, it looks way cooler.  If I were trying to furnish a dorm room, or an off-campus apartment, that would be one of the first places I would go (assuming that there's one nearby).

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=norwood+cincinnati+ohio+&ie=UTF8&ll=39.166071,-84.456121&spn=0.006513,0.010064&t=h&om=1

 

I dont know if this would be a big enough site, but this would be a great location for and ikea.

 

I hear you man but I can't see an Ikea on the Norwood Lateral.  Some where around the Center of Cincinnati would be more attractive but I don't think there is a parcel of land big enough for their footprint.

I think the company likes putting out it's free advertising(local media, discussion, etc) before it enters markets. So far i think it's doing the job.

 

I'd say. You people are out of control with this Ikea stuff! All I need is Norton's Furniture on Payne so I have a comfy sofa to sit my ass while watching my 15 minutes of TV each morning.

Those graphics Dffly posted makes me think Cincy is the likely choice.  From what I recall of the Chicago one, Indy is within the Chicago delivery area for Ikea, so the larger circles are probably the max in distance for their market area.

 

And a site off of I-75 or I-71 would be where they would be going, or someplace visible from the beltway.

 

Union Centre would be my put, but someplace of of I-71 would work to.

 

 

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=norwood+cincinnati+ohio+&ie=UTF8&ll=39.166071,-84.456121&spn=0.006513,0.010064&t=h&om=1

 

I dont know if this would be a big enough site, but this would be a great location for and ikea.

 

I hear you man but I can't see an Ikea on the Norwood Lateral.  Some where around the Center of Cincinnati would be more attractive but I don't think there is a parcel of land big enough for their footprint.

 

 

I dont know what the lot size is, I was just thinkning about the highways and location.

The norwood location wouldnt fight with anyother location and would open up the south, plus it would be right in the middle of both I75 & I71 plus I74.

Would you say Union Centre or would you say Monroe area?  Union Centre is logical due to I-275 and I-75 but Monroe has JESUS!!!

yeah, that big sod farm next to the Jesus.

 

 

Someone should photoshop the Ikea logo in between the Jesus' outstreched hands.

I think there was a IKEA placed in an urban area in Atlana....is it called atlantic station. They just did a redevelopment there and i think they had an IKEA store with underground parking instead of a lot....pretty cool if i remember correctly

 

there is one going up in red hook, brooklyn too.

 

they typically build them in burbs, but they can build urban ikea's too when they want to.

 

 

I'm guessing Ohio's first Ikea store will be somewhere in southern Delaware County around that Polaris place.

I'm guessing Ohio's first Ikea store will be somewhere in southern Delaware County around that Polaris place.

 

I'm guessing YOU'RE FIRED!!!

Driving through the Dublin area on that US 33 expressway and the Cols beltway this weekend...that would be good Ikea country, too.

Keen on Ikea

Home-decor retailer’s new store in Michigan has central Ohioans pining for one of their own

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Jeffrey Sheban

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Is Ikea coming to Ohio? It’s a simple question with a murky answer. Spokesman Joseph Roth simply won’t say, a luxury borne of the fact that consumers, developers and communities clamor for Ikea, which has just 28 stores in the United States.

 

The company, founded in 1943, opens only three to five stores a year nationally, but the average in the Midwest is one a year, he said. And that slot was just taken by Canton, Mich., a Detroit suburb that is home to the newest Ikea in America. That store and one in Pittsburgh are the nearest to the Buckeye State. But just because Ohio is between two states with Ikeas doesn’t mean Ohio is next in line, he added.

 

Ikea places its stores in population centers and especially on the East and West coasts. The first U.S. store opened in Philadelphia in 1985. Atlanta has the only store in the southeast and Seattle is the sole location in the Pacific Northwest.

 

MORE: http://dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/29/20060629-G1-01.html

 

From the Middletown Journal:

 

Middletown woman has been hooked on company since 2001.

By Cameron Fullam

 

Speculation over whether or not IKEA, an international furniture company with a cult-like following, is considering West Chester Twp. as the location for its Ohio debut has one local woman especially excited.

 

Jen Segrest of Middletown is the creator of OHIKEA.com, a Web site dedicated to encouraging the company to bring its famous blue and yellow store and its flat packed, ready-to-assemble furniture to the Buckeye State.

 

Segrest was drawn to the furniture maker in 2001 through ads in design magazines. The ads led her to the catalog, the catalog led her to the nearest store — in Chicago — and she’s been hooked ever since. “It has the design aesthetic you just don’t see walking into Wal-Mart or Meijer. And you’re not paying through the nose for it, it’s all very well made,” she said.

 

MORE: http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/06/29/mj062906IKEAfoloWC.html

It also figures it needs about two million people to support one store.

 

Well that settles it.  One store for each metro in Ohio.

Shesh, when is Urban Ohio going to get this type of news coverage? ;)

 

Jen are you still lurking?  Are you enjoying your 15 minutes of fame?

IKEA is so 2004, anyway.

 

It's like Wal Mart for people who don't listen to country music.

It looks like the OHIKEA person is in the know of something. She is even throwing out a date 2008 for a store in West Chester. Please Please Please let this be true.

^ She's not exactly unbiased.  She's been "foaming at the mouth crazy" over getting a store for years and would obviously like to see one in her back yard.  I'm kind of done with this whole IKEA thing.  All of this talk/worship, and their management philosophy are making me dislike them and thier particle board furniture.

^ lmao -- hear, hear!

^ She's not exactly unbiased.  She's been "foaming at the mouth crazy" over getting a store for years and would obviously like to see one in her back yard.  I'm kind of done with this whole IKEA thing.  All of this talk/worship, and their management philosophy are making me dislike them and thier particle board furniture.

If you don't care about IKEA, why are you taking the time to post on this subject?

I used to care.  Now I'm completely turned off on the whole thing.  The hype might grow on some people, but it's really turning me off on them.  That and the strange growth philosophy at the company.  At some point you have to turn hype into profits.

OHIKEA is saying we could hear as early as this Tuesday, unbiased or not.

Their growth strategy is their business.  They don't think like an American company.  They are international and have a lot of markets to tend to.  They will grow where they want to and where is best for their business.  IKEA is a super-regional draw and frankly they are looking at a 100 to 150 mile radius which means they are looking at way more than 2 million people.  They are probably considering about 4 to 6 million in a trade area.

went to IKEA again today.... bought some kitchenware, pots, mirrors etc... seem to be going there at least once a month... I was heading for whole foods and it was down the street...

 

by the way, it's about a 45 minute drive for me... and well worth it...

btw when you get about five years older than ikea age you will be shopping at west elm. after that its abc carpet and home.

Well Cincinnati is already home to Ohio's first "West Elm".  Although I wish it was located on Elm and not Kenwood.

Well Cincinnati is already home to Ohio's first "West Elm".  Although I wish it was located on Elm and not Kenwood.

 

How cool would that be to have "West Elm" actually located on Elm St!  I may actually consider shopping there if they did that!  ;)

in a way that's too bad because of the three, west elm sucks the most. it's an upper end ikea, but they just don't have very much merch variety.

 

an ikea, wherever they put it, will be a much better fit and more useful. ditto an abc someday for the older crowd.

 

is this true that according to our ikea fanatic we may find out something tomorrow? if so, congrats to her, nice scoop.

btw when you get about five years older than ikea age you will be shopping at west elm. after that its abc carpet and home.

 

so i should take your advice and get my wife to stop looking at ikea stuff and just go right to teh abc carpet and home stuff, becuase then we wont have to re buy everything in a couple of years.

^ hmm, maybe so it might save you guys some money and bother.  :laugh:

 

i heard that it's called cradle to grave retail marketing or something like that. btw sorry i dk what comes after abc i'm not the target we're not there yet! prob ethan allen or barcalounger/lazboy - lol!

^ I have wanted a leather recliner from potery barn for the last 2 years, but i cant drop 2k on a recliener just yet.

btw when you get about five years older than ikea age you will be shopping at west elm. after that its abc carpet and home.

 

Just curious...what is ikea age?

btw when you get about five years older than ikea age you will be shopping at west elm. after that its abc carpet and home.

 

Just curious...what is ikea age?

 

Ikea age is when the MOMs that are shopping are still real HOT...

It's probably more like ...old enough to where you can afford a couch that's brand new and young enough to where you don't have to decide between spending your money on cat food or prescription pills...

 

Regardless, you don't wanna go to a giant store like that with any woman... not unless you like wasting your entire day.

I have to agree that IKEA is just a Wal Mart for richer people. It's going to be out in some suburban development, not in an urban area. If it is, then I'll give a shit.

btw when you get about five years older than ikea age you will be shopping at west elm. after that its abc carpet and home.

 

 

 

Just curious...what is ikea age?

 

Ikea age is when the MOMs that are shopping are still real HOT...

 

so 20 - 45 :)

i'd say more like mostly 20-30ish.