IKEA coming to Nashville. (Memphis: buy, construction, elementary school)

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

The new urban stores are apparently not the same as what’s in St Louis. Theyre talking about stopping building mega big boxes, so basically no more showroom. If they do build a urban one for Nashville, itll be much smaller than what youd think. Apparently no meatballs either.



Memphis has a better location. They were able fill a giant hole in Deep South with the Memphis store.

I was writing about the location not necessarily the store size. The location in St. Louis is in a growing urban area within walking distance of a major university.

Memphis is a phenomenal location for that type of retail and yes they do fill a need in the midsouth.

It would be nice to see Ikea markets become a stand alone bodega type place to spread the joy of the swedish meatball to everyone throughout the land!

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

Memphis has a better location. They were able fill a giant hole in Deep South with the Memphis store.

Yeah, I get that, but wouldn't they have been able to fill a giant hole in the mid south if going to Nashville first too?
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that the Nashville market is not only larger than the Memphis market, but the households in Nashville have higher disposable income overall, and more households overall, in general. I'm wondering if they just got a good land deal in Memphis they couldn't pass up, and just went ahead and built it first.

Anyway, I hope Nashville still gets their store. I'm sure IKEA won't just bypass them.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Yeah, I get that, but wouldn't they have been able to fill a giant hole in the mid south if going to Nashville first too?
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that the Nashville market is not only larger than the Memphis market, but the households in Nashville have higher disposable income overall, and more households overall, in general. I'm wondering if they just got a good land deal in Memphis they couldn't pass up, and just went ahead and built it first.

Anyway, I hope Nashville still gets their store. I'm sure IKEA won't just bypass them.

I don't think per capita income was their only deciding factor. How many ikea's are within 5 hrs of Memphis? How many are within 5 hrs of Nashville? Look at the demographic of those people and what portion would be likely Ikea shoppers. Memphis lacks retail except Walmart.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Yeah, I get that, but wouldn't they have been able to fill a giant hole in the mid south if going to Nashville first too?
I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that the Nashville market is not only larger than the Memphis market, but the households in Nashville have higher disposable income overall, and more households overall, in general. I'm wondering if they just got a good land deal in Memphis they couldn't pass up, and just went ahead and built it first.

Anyway, I hope Nashville still gets their store. I'm sure IKEA won't just bypass them.

Not only did IKEA find cheap land in Memphis, IKEA chose Memphis because desperate Memphis gleefully gave IKEA millions of dollars.

What It Really Cost to Bring IKEA to Memphis - Memphis magazine

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by JMT

Not only did IKEA find cheap land in Memphis, IKEA chose Memphis because desperate Memphis gleefully gave IKEA millions of dollars.

What It Really Cost to Bring IKEA to Memphis - Memphis magazine

Ahh. That sheds some light-thanks. They were clamoring for that store (what city wouldn't)--and almost blew it with the pricing of the land incorrectly.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by JMT

Not only did IKEA find cheap land in Memphis, IKEA chose Memphis because desperate Memphis gleefully gave IKEA millions of dollars.

What It Really Cost to Bring IKEA to Memphis - Memphis magazine

Cities pay to be cool. Nashville may not be doing this to get ikea but it does pay a lot to be an it city.

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I don't think per capita income was their only deciding factor. How many ikea's are within 5 hrs of Memphis? How many are within 5 hrs of Nashville? Look at the demographic of those people and what portion would be likely Ikea shoppers. Memphis lacks retail except Walmart.

I'm not saying it was the only deciding factor, but it definitely is one of them.

There aren't many IKEA stores in general in the US. So for one to locate in Memphis is big--and before Nashville--even bigger.
For example, there are no IKEAs in Nashville of course, New Orleans, Birmingham, Louisville, Oklahoma City, San Antonio (one is planned there), Raleigh/Durham (one was just scrapped), Rochester, NY, Providence, etc, or in other words, similar-sized Memphis cities.

So Memphis really landed a prize here and that's a great thing.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

I'm not saying it was the only deciding factor, but it definitely is one of them.

There aren't many IKEA stores in general in the US. So for one to locate in Memphis is big--and before Nashville--even bigger.
For example, there are no IKEAs in Nashville of course, New Orleans, Birmingham, Louisville, Oklahoma City, San Antonio (one is planned there), Raleigh/Durham (one was just scrapped), Rochester, NY, Providence, etc, or in other words, similar-sized Memphis cities.

So Memphis really landed a prize here and that's a great thing.

This was a big one. TBH, I live 1.5 miles from an ikea and bought shower curtains and a cheap pot and pans set. The pot and pan set fell apart within a month. I am not as big of a fan as I thought I would be. I see it as a paradise for recreational shoppers and college students with good food options. I personally wouldnt purchase anything else from that store.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

This was a big one. TBH, I live 1.5 miles from an ikea and bought shower curtains and a cheap pot and pans set. The pot and pan set fell apart within a month. I am not as big of a fan as I thought I would be. I see it as a paradise for recreational shoppers and college students with good food options. I personally wouldnt purchase anything else from that store.

I agree with you. The furniture is low on quality and terribly over priced. It is mostly for modernists or college types. Nashville has plenty of both which is why it will do well here when/if it comes. As to It being a regional draw, I think it will pull at a lot away from the Memphis store and some from the Atlanta and Cincinnati stores. I am still not sure if the state can/will support two stores.

[lluvia]

I like their accessories but hate putting things together so any big ticket item like furniture is a no go with me. And yes, it is cheaply made.