August 14, 200618 yr Looks like Ikea is comming to West Chester. The original Enquirer article said "Swiss furniture retailer Ikea." Must be why those stores are all blue and yellow: Swiss flag colors! They seem to have caught their mistake and updated the on-line edition to "Swedish."
August 14, 200618 yr Here is the article ManorBorn was referring to........................ IKEA coming to West Chester BY JENNIFER EDWARDS AND MIKE BOYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITERS WEST CHESTER TWP. – Trendy Swedish furniture retailer Ikea is building their Ohio store in this Butler County suburb. Ikea will build a 300,000 or 350,000 square-foot store on a large vacant parcel adjacent to southbound Interstate 75 off Muhlhauser and Allen roads, Township Trustee George Lang said today. Ikea, township and county officials are expected to make the announcement Tuesday at an 11 a.m. press conference at the township hall, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Rd. “It will be huge. Assuming that tomorrow Ikea announces a West Chester location, that’s a major coup for West Chester because of the specialty type of retailer they represent,” Lang said. “This will be their only store in the entire state so I am assuming they are drawing from hundreds of miles to attract customers there.” With 250,000 Ohio customers, Ikea has been looking at Cincinnati for a store site, a company spokesman said earlier this summer. But it’s also looking at Columbus, Cleveland and most other major U.S. markets, Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth has said. The privately held chain opened its 28th store in June in Canton, Mich., near Detroit. MORE: http://www.enquirer.com
August 14, 200618 yr yay! at last this fun if silly thread can come to an end! i am glad to hear this, but lets be real here, at 230+ stores the "news" of ikea finally coming is kind of deflating.
August 14, 200618 yr I think it is great news and shows that Cincinnati is a competitive retail market which can draw the most sought after retailers.
August 14, 200618 yr Cincy's Channel 9 News just confirmed Ikea coming to West Chester. Sorry but I'm truely geeked even if this means I am one.
August 14, 200618 yr I wish it were inside Hamilton County...but I'll take what we can get. I am glad that the Cincy market was chosen over the other possibilities!
August 14, 200618 yr from clev the pee dee chimes in: Reports say Ikea's picked Cincinnati 12:37 p.m. According to news reports, Ikea will announce tomorrow that it's building an Ohio store ... in suburban Cincinnati. Local government officials there told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the trendy housewares chain will put up a store in West Chester Township along Interstate 75. Ikea itself declined to comment. Ikea stores in the Pittsburgh and Detroit areas already bracket Cleveland to the east and west. In part because its stores draw shoppers from far away, that helped to make a Cincinnati location likely, as The Plain Dealer reported in June. MORE: http://www.plaindealer.com
August 14, 200618 yr It looks like they will have to widen Union Center sooner than they thought and now maybe I-75 to 10 lanes.
August 14, 200618 yr By the time they actually widen i-75 to ten lanes, it will need 20 lanes. West Chester is probably the most ideal place for them; I wouldn't expect them to put it in the inner city, that would be too awesome. I see this as being bad for Cincinnati but great for the metro area.
August 14, 200618 yr Do they really think that they would not pull a nice profit if they located in Cleveland as well as Cincy? I would spend a lot at Ikea, but I'm not going to drive to Pittsburgh for their furniture. Seems like an odd business strategy. I hear you. the only advantage of it not coming to Cleveland is I will have more original stuff than most people in town. But like wimwar I am sure not going to Pitt everytime I need some IKEA. I will just go with out.
August 15, 200618 yr Definitely congratulations for the Tri-State! I, of course, was pulling for one here, but at least with IKEA going to northern Cincinnati, it'll be much easier than making the drive out to Pittsburgh. Can't wait to hop in the ColDayMobile for some Swedish meatballs!
August 15, 200618 yr :roll: Why west chester??!! Oakley would have been my choice, right next to the new jungle jims. Guess I'll never go now.
August 15, 200618 yr This placement isn't affirmatively bad for Cincinnati. IKEA stores are HUGE. There just isn't anyplace in the city that it could go, without prohibitively expensive sitework. So I seriously doubt that IKEA was even considering anything in the city limits. And there aren't many furniture stores in the city that this will draw business from. It just offers another furniture option for folks looking to furnish their homes without spending too much money. Some of the stuff looks pretty nice, even designer, but in the end it's all particleboard, plastic, and thin veneer.
August 15, 200618 yr IKEA on the way Swedish megastore adds to area's retail clout BY MIKE BOYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER Will the arrival of a big blue and yellow IKEA home furnishings megastore in West Chester put the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky market on the retailing map? Aileen Senneff thinks so. Senneff, 37, moved to Fort Mitchell 14 months ago from the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, which has one of the unique Swedish retailer's stores - which at an average of 300,000 square feet are about the same size as 5½ football fields. "Schaumburg is the suburban shopping center of Chicago," she said. "Every kind of store you could want is there. "If IKEA is coming to Cincinnati, that says something,'' says Senneff, who shopped at the Schaumburg IKEA for seven or eight years. "Cincinnati must be pretty important as a retail shopping area. They don't put IKEAs in the middle of nowhere." In Schaumburg, she said, IKEA's arrival triggered a flurry of new development as other retailers and restaurants flocked to be nearby. MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/BIZ01/608150324
August 15, 200618 yr Anyone have any idea when this will be open? I mean, all they have to do is ship in the pre-measured and drilled particle board walls from Sweden and paint them blue and yellow, right?
August 15, 200618 yr West Chester Ikea store to open in fall 2007 Cincinnati Business Courier - 8:39 AM EDT Tuesday Swedish retailer Ikea confirmed Tuesday that it plans to build a store in West Chester, at Allen and Muhlhauser roads, south of the Union Centre exit from Interstate 75. Construction should begin on the 339,000-square-foot store this fall, Ikea said in a news release. The store is expected to open in fall 2007, with an inventory of 10,000 items, three model homes and 50 room settings. A children's play area and a 300-seat restaurant featuring Swedish cuisine will be included. The store will employ about 400 and expects to draw customers from across the region, including Columbus, Indianapolis, Dayton, Lexington and Louisville, Ikea said in the release. The West Chester Ikea will be the first built in Ohio. The retailer operates 237 stores in 34 countries, with 28 in the United States. Currently, its nearest stores are in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Canton, Mich. MORE: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/
August 15, 200618 yr ^300,000 or 350,000 square-foot? Jeebus thats a large store - and on a greenfield <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off>
August 15, 200618 yr ^300,000 or 350,000 square-foot? Jeebus thats a large store - and on a greenfield <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off> I belive Ikea does have a better record of workers rights. In fact it has been periodically named in the top 100 companies for women to work. But still they get super cheap stuff from asia like the other boxes.
August 15, 200618 yr IKEA to build at West Chester site Post staff report Hundreds waited outside Michigan's first IKEA store when it opened in June in Canton Township west of Detroit. The home furnishings giant is expected to build its first Ohio store in West Chester Township. A new IKEA home furnishings store in West Chester will become one of the most popular shopping spots in Greater Cincinnati, predicts the president of the board of trustees of West Chester Township. "IKEA will draw customers from hundreds of miles," said George Lang. "For their grand opening, I believe people will camp out a week ahead of time. That's just how special this store is." http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060815/BIZ/608150371
August 15, 200618 yr Ah yes, and the Cin-Day area takes another step towards becoming one. Funny, both areas, are covering this story and expressing how this is going to be great for their respectives areas, though neither cincy or dayton mention each other in their articles.....which is ironic, b/c I think there would be NO Ikea in West Chester without the other one's metro population. Cincy by itself probably wouldn't draw Ikea....Dayton by itself definitely wouldn't, but you put the 2 together and WOW....now you have the makings for the ideal place to put such a store...it's too bad the 2 cities can't figure that out, market the area as such and lure more retail and businesses to the area... :|
August 15, 200618 yr <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off> That is interesting isn't it??? is anyone going to stand up and say why this is such a good thing..HOW ON EARTH is this not another big box
August 15, 200618 yr <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off> That is interesting isn't it??? is anyone going to stand up and say why this is such a good thing..HOW ON EARTH is this not another big box Lets build one downtown. That way we have big ass trucks parked in the right lane in the middle of congested traffic while we're all loading our furniture into it while dodging groups of pedestrians walking past. No but seriously; the store is frickin gi-normous and you're dealing with big furniture. They're building on the site to whatever their specific standards are; I doubt the big vacant buildings we have in the inner city would meet their criteria. They also tend to go to where the money is and money is definitely in the northern suburbs.
August 15, 200618 yr <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off> That is interesting isn't it??? is anyone going to stand up and say why this is such a good thing..HOW ON EARTH is this not another big box It is another big-box....I don't think anyone on here has stated otherwise. It is not being bashed as a big-box would because it has become the norm of development in West Chester. If Ikea were to build this same big-box structure near/in the city, you would hear a ton of outcry. Also, as was mentioned before many of the big-boxers are criticized for more than just poor building design. They are also bashed for their poor treatment of employees and their disgusting track record of abusing the communities they enter. ie. leave current location for another location a block away, and screw the community over by either refusing to release their previous building or by making it soley a one-use structure that no one else wants to use it.
August 15, 200618 yr I give Ikea a pass because of what's inside the big box: A distinct line of thoughtfully-designed, reasonably-priced products predominantly geared toward furnishing small spaces. And meatballs.
August 15, 200618 yr Looks like some of us where pretty good on guessing the city, and the rough location, too. Now the I-75 Cin-Day cooridor will have some "destination retail" other than Traders World and the Hustler Superstore.
August 16, 200618 yr Looks like some of us where pretty good on guessing the city, and the rough location, too. Now the I-75 Cin-Day cooridor will have some "destination retail" other than Traders World and the Hustler Superstore. First off, I would like to personally take the credit for calling the location :wink:...secondly, what more in destination retail is needed beyond Traders World and the Hustler Superstore :wtf:
August 16, 200618 yr <devil's advocate on> How come you all don't complain about IKEA like the other big boxes? <devil's advocate off> I think you make a valid point, but I do think that Ikea differs some from the average big box retailer. Most importantly, it is a destination. Whenever I would go to Ikea in Schaumburg, IL or Robinson Township, PA, I would make a weekend of it and stay in downtown Chicago or Pittsburgh. Another thing, is there locally owned-competition in this retail segment? There very well may be, but it seems as though all scandinavian furniture stores I have been to are quite expensive. IMHO, I doubt most of the people who are spending the big bucks on the high quality stuff would want cheap Ikea stuff. I'm sure Ikea has plenty of the negatives associated with the typical big box retailer, but I guess they have a couple things going for it that most others don't.
August 16, 200618 yr West Chester perfect for Ikea Ohio megastore plan a year in the making BY MIKE BOYER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER WEST CHESTER TWP. - Ikea's decision to locate its Ohio megastore on 56 acres off the Union Centre Boulevard exit of Interstate 75 is the culmination of more than a year of effort by developer Schumacher-Dugan Construction Inc. "Ikea was right at the top in our minds," said Larry Schumacher, president of the company, which created the 1,000-acre commerce park along the fast-growing interchange. "It's like Procter & Gamble, Liz Claiborne or General Motors (other tenants in the development). We have a high-quality development, and Ikea fits that mold," said Schumacher, who said he has shopped at the Ikea in Pittsburgh. The 339,000-square-foot blue-and-gold home furnishings mecca, to open in the fall of 2007, will employ 400, have parking for 1,400 cars and is expected to draw shoppers from hundreds of miles away. Ikea says it has tracked 100,000 customers within two hours' drive of the West Chester location who have visited their other stores. Ikea by the numbers Here's a look at Ikea's planned store in West Chester. Size: Approximately 339,000 square feet. Employees: About 400. Opening: Fall of 2007 with groundbreaking this fall. Parking: Enough for 1,400 vehicles. Merchandise: 10,000 items from more than 2,000 suppliers worldwide. Amenities: 300-seat restaurant featuring breakfast, lunch and dinner. A supervised children's area. Sales: $18.3 billion in fiscal 2005 including $2 billion in the United States. Stores: 237 worldwide including 28 in the United States. Visitors: 410 million in 2005. Employees: 53,000 worldwide. Free catalog: 160 million copies in 25 languages. Founded: 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, who grew up on a farm called Elmtaryd in the village of Agunnaryd, hence the name Ikea. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060816/BIZ01/608160327/1001/BIZ
August 16, 200618 yr I'm pleased with the site that they chose. I'm not surprised that this landed in WC. The good thing is, is that this is right outside greater Cincinnati. I can't imagine a site along I75 where this could sit within city limits, it's just too damn big. I love how people reply with negative comments on the quality of IKEA's products, but to me it's about the people that will drive from afar to come to our city just to shop at IKEA. Also, I think later on down the road that this is just a step forward in changing WC's image.
August 16, 200618 yr hmm the food isnt that amazing, its more of just a funny quirk that you got swedish meatballs at a swedish furniture store...
August 16, 200618 yr Ok here is why I like the stupid place: My wife and I will go out of our way and visit an Ikea even if it is completely impractical (like we flew to the destination where an Ikea is nearby and we have to rent a car or take public transportation to get to there). To us it feels like a mini trip to Europe. We love Europe, anything Europe, and we especially like to buy stuff in Europe because the stuff there even though it is basically the same stuff here it is differrent in its own little quirky design way. Same thing goes with the food. The Restaurant at Ikea in Cincinnati will be the same one in Stockholm except we will have an ice dispenser. With that being said if you like to shop and eat in Europe you'll like to shop and eat in Ikea. As a matter of fact the Ikea coffee is so good we buy it by the case so we will not likely run out before our next Ikea adventure. Like chocolate the Europeans have this weird knack of taking things from the western world and making them better. I was in line with a fellow Ikea shopper and we both had a large quantity of coffee ready to purchase in line and she explained that she had gotten hooked on that really expensive Gevalia stuff but she was glad to have found the Ikea coffee because it was better and much cheaper. Yes 2.50 a bag that makes several pots of coffee.
October 2, 200618 yr Does anyone know the exact spot this store will be located? I didn't see any IKEA signs on-site. I drove around the area a few times, but i couldn't find it.
October 2, 200618 yr Based on the discriptions I've seen, I think the site is on Mulhauser just past Allen (coming from UCB). S.Dugan graded a large swath of land that stretches to the interstate and has a HUGE retention pond on the south side.
October 25, 200618 yr Deal upgrades roads for a new Ikea BY JENNIFER BAKER | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER WEST CHESTER TWP. - Road improvements for the coming Swedish home-furnishings store Ikea, which is expected to draw shoppers from hundreds of miles, will total $2 million and be paid for by the company, West Chester Township and Butler County, according to an agreement Tuesday by all three parties after weeks of negotiations. Ikea's recent decision to locate its Ohio megastore on 56 acres off the Union Centre Boulevard exit of Interstate 75 is expected to increase West Chester's appeal - and traffic congestion by adding thousands more cars a day. The 350,000-square-foot blue-and-gold home furnishings mecca will have parking for 1,400 cars. MORE: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWS01/610250355/1056/COL02
December 10, 200618 yr This store is going to be amazingly busy. No other IKEA stores are close. Yeah...I would expect so. I would also think that this store will rule out any possible stores in IN, KY, or WV. This is just by the way that the map is drawn out, and the way that the population is distributed. As for it being West Chester IKEA...I am not surprised by this. Look at Chicago even, 2 stores and neither one is a 'Chicago' store. When people travel to the West Chester IKEA they are not going to pay attention to how the company designates their store names...they will call it what they are familiar with. Therefore, actual people traveling to this IKEA will refer to their trip as going to Cincinnati.
December 10, 200618 yr looks like they need one in st louis or kc Nashville could possibly work for that region as well, and how about the Denver area getting the shaft.
December 10, 200618 yr I like your enthusiasm, but I think that Denver would get the nod over Helena :laugh:
December 10, 200618 yr Those pictures are from the photo op that IKEA had with all the West Chester officials. If the store is officially known as the West Chester IKEA, I highly doubt there will be a sign with West Chester on it, just IKEA.
December 12, 200618 yr This store is going to be amazingly busy. No other IKEA stores are close. Yeah...I would expect so. I would also think that this store will rule out any possible stores in IN, KY, or WV. This is just by the way that the map is drawn out, and the way that the population is distributed. As for it being West Chester IKEA...I am not surprised by this. Look at Chicago even, 2 stores and neither one is a 'Chicago' store. When people travel to the West Chester IKEA they are not going to pay attention to how the company designates their store names...they will call it what they are familiar with. Therefore, actual people traveling to this IKEA will refer to their trip as going to Cincinnati. The talk from the business community in Indianapolis is that IKEA will be coming to Indy, but it will be a few more years before they make that move. I think IKEA is focusing on getting stores into regionals, then they will create sub regions for their next building wave. Many retailers and restuarants have this strategy. Crate and Barrel, Nordstrom and Cheesecake Factory all do this. With that said, I am not trying to say that IKEA will be in every town of 1 million or more all across the US.
February 21, 200718 yr If you want up-to-the minute news on the WC IKEA then you have to check out this OHIKEA website/fanclub thing. This person is constantly giving updates and news info on the project and others around the nation. I was searching for more recent info on this project and I stumbled upon this website...like I said is a must see. http://www.verybigdesign.com/ikea/
Create an account or sign in to comment