IKEA in Triangle? (Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro: bankrupt, university, income)

[Nelson919]

Something else to consider... It might not be true that a piece of furniture constructed from particleboard with wood veneer is necessarily lower quality than solid wood furniture.

Here is a simple IKEA 12" x 24" cabinet door, Liljestad, consisting of solid oak construction:
IKEA | Built-in kitchens | AKURUM/RATIONELL system | LILJESTAD | Door (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10086098 - broken link)


And here is a different style IKEA cabinet door, Solar, in the same size. This one is made of particleboard and beech veneer.
IKEA | Built-in kitchens | AKURUM/RATIONELL system | SOLÄR | Door (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10139407 - broken link)

These two products are pretty much identical in every way except for the materials used for construction. Why is the Solar door more expensive?

[al_roethlisberger]

Well, I think you'd have to ask IKEA why those two doors are different prices *shrug*

But in general, from personal experience, solid wood is going to hold up to use longer than consumer "particle board" based products. It is true that there are a variety of composite products on the market for construction, etc. that are very durable even in comparison to solid wood products, but these aren't used in household furniture.

Along with susceptibility to water swelling and delamination, particle board products also have a tendency to deflect(bend) under stress over time much more easily than comparable solid products. This is most often noticed in cheap particle board based shelving. Of course, full width thick solid edging as is used in some of IKEA and other manufacturer's products can help with this problem to some degree. If anyone here has ever had particle board flooring get wet or overloaded, you know to what I am referring. Solid wood is generally much more resilient.

As far as the "bang for buck" arguments, I certainly recognize that IKEA does have some affordable and "stylish" furniture and gadgets available, but I would counter that even at their pricing one can find similar quality furniture at "Target" and not pay the IKEA brand "premium". You may simply not be able to find an entire room styled to match each other, that is true.

Another testimonial I have from a friend who outfitted his daughter's college apartment with IKEA was that "the IKEA shine has worn off" for them as well. As soon as they tried to disassemble and move most of the "particle board cr@p", most of it broke in the move

But as with all things, YMMV

As I said, I find IKEA to be something of an adventure and fun, but I'm not too sold on the absolute value in their products. I think many are being sold a brand premium, although I'm also sure that we can pick and choose numerous products from IKEA that are quite good. Of all the cheapo stuff I bought over the years that broke, the steel bunk-bed we have for the kids has proven absolutely indestructible and was very affordable

Al

[GucciLittlePiggie]

we own a good amt of ikea and target furniture. both are modern and inexpensive, but ikea is vastly superior in quality. target stuff has scratches, parts that don't line up, places with uneven stain, etc. ikea much less so. usually well engineered. i dont need most furniture to last 30 years, as i will want to update the stuff way before that. it's a lot more feasible to redo a living room if you don't have to spend 10k to do it.

[al_roethlisberger]

I guess that's true, but then again we tend to buy antiques and used quality furniture via Craigslist, so $10k for furniture would be a shock to our system no matter what

But don't get fooled, IKEA isn't always really all that cheap, depending on model or "line". By the time I paid for all the extra parts to make my desk look like what was displayed, it was $800

As far as the quality, it also really depends on what "model" or "line" of IKEA furniture you buy. As I said, we have a bunk bed that is really great that has held up for years. On the other hand I've had some IKEA shelving that wasn't any better than what you'd get at Wal-Mart *shrug*

Again, I'm not down on IKEA, but I do think a lot of the hype is engineered by IKEA by controlling demand through these regional stores. I remember when the new IKEA opened in East Palo Alto, you'd think Disneyland had moved there

Al

[GucciLittlePiggie]

well yes, people do act like it's some sort of paradise with amazingly deals and the rest. you're right, some of it isn't that cheap and a lot is marketing i am sure. a lot of things bother me about the store. (pay for the bags, the big deal between debit and credit cards and cash, the way the cashiers will not even help you bag, the way they are out of 20% of their merchandise on any given day, the way they sell only furniture but delivery is insanely expensive..you either need ski racks or a pickup truck to get real furniture). i just think it fills a nice niche with the style. and i LIKE putting together furniture.♠

[gsoboi78]

I'm going to dig up this old thread because........One can argue that the Triad should have been the location for IKEA. There are several good reasons for it. It's true the Triad isn't the most populated metro in the state, however the Triad and Triangle are roughly the same size. But lets look at the Triad. Here are solid reasons for why IKEA should have opened in Greensboro, North Carolina's 3rd largest city.

1) LOCATION: Greensboro is within 100 miles of both Charlotte and Raleigh. The city's central location allows easy access from all three big metros in the state (Charlotte/Metrolina, the Triad & the Triangle). Charlotte and Greensboro are about 85 miles apart and Raleigh and Greensboro are about 75 miles apart so we are talking about an hour and a half drive or less. The closer the store is to all three metros, the more customers. The city also has a superb highway infrastructure for shoppers coming to IKEA from beyond North Carolina (I-85, I-40, I-73/I-74, I-785).

2) TRADITION: Guilford county is not only the home furnishings capital of North Carolina, it's the home furnishings capital of the world with High Point's furniture market. Twice a year High Point host the world's largest home furnishings market which attracts at least 100,000 people to High Point from all around the world. There is already a set pattern of people coming to Guilford County from other North Carolina metros to shop for furniture.

3) DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING: Greensboro is close to North America's only IKEA manufacturing plant in Danville, Virginia (just a 30 minute drive north of Greensboro) Greensboro is a major distribution and logistics hub so having an IKEA store in a city that could potentially one day have an IKEA distribution center would be a plus.

4) Greensboro/Winston-Salem are college towns which fit IKEA's niche. The area is also evolving into a more sophisticated region with growing hi-tech industries and research in the area (Piedmont Triad Research Park & Gateway University Research Park) also Greensboro and particularly Winston-Salem are very trendy artsy towns.

Those are solid reasons why Greensboro should have been chosen for IKEA. By having it in Greensboro, there wouldn't be a need to have a separate one for Charlotte and a separate one for Raleigh. It would have saved the company money by having just one store centrally located within North Carolina's three big metros. Also because the prices are cheap for the most part, IKEA stores don't have to be located in really high income areas so Greensboro would be able to qualify in those regards. Greensboro has almost 300,000 people so its large enough and there is enough activity in the city for such a store for attracting a critical mass of local shoppers as well.

[adamssa36]

I would love it if there were an Ikea in the triangle! We moved here after Thanksgiving and have made the trip to Charlotte twice already. In regards to the quality of the furniture, I purchased mostly organizational type furniture to outfit my new craft room (expedits, alex drawer units, etc. ) For this use, the furniture is plenty sturdy and I actually prefer it be laminate for easier cleanup.

Where we came from (Kansas City) the nearest Ikea was 7.5 hours away so we are excited to be even this close. Having one even closer would be awesome, but I admit to being something of an organization nut so I love that stuff.

Oh, and just when we were in the process of moving, Ikea announced they were building a store in Kansas City in 2014. How's that for timing!

[h2ohzrd]

Originally Posted by gsoboi78

I'm going to dig up this old thread because........One can argue that the Triad should have been the location for IKEA. There are several good reasons for it. It's true the Triad isn't the most populated metro in the state, however the Triad and Triangle are roughly the same size. But lets look at the Triad. Here are solid reasons for why IKEA should have opened in Greensboro, North Carolina's 3rd largest city.

Uh, ok? Might have been more useful in the Triad forum. But hey, thanks for reviving a 3 year old thread

[urbancharlotte]

Before this old thread goes any further, here is exactly what IKEA looks for:

IKEA’s Store Location Criteria

• Population Density: The most basic requirement for a market is population. IKEA’s market research calls for a minimum of two million people within about 40-60 miles of a single media market. Statistical data from the US Census is used to determine whether a market is viable simply on the grounds of population density. Metropolitan Statistical Areas may be used as long as the population is in one media market.
• Per Capita Income: Although it is widely speculated that there is a minimum per capita income for a viable IKEA market, I haven’t been able to put my finger on a number.
• Brand Awareness: IKEA looks for a brand awareness in a potential market, plus both local city and community support for an IKEA is an important factor.
• Single Media Market: IKEA prefers an area where the population is in one major media market so that radio, television and newspaper ads can be targeted to one market.

Dispelling Myths about IKEA’s Criteria

• University Cities: Despite public belief to the contrary, IKEA does not favor cities with a University presence when choosing a location for a new store.
• Port Cities: Although IKEA is committed to reducing costs associated with distribution, IKEA does not favor port cities in selecting new store locations.
• Transient Military Population: Another common assumption is that IKEA would favor cities with a high transient population, such as a highly military area – not true.

Is IKEA Coming To ... [My Town]? » IKEA FANS | THE IKEA Fan Community

When it comes to "Population Density", the only such area in NC/SC that has 2 million people within a 40-60 mile radius of a single city is Charlotte. This info can be found by simply looking at CSA populations in the US.
List of Combined Statistical Areas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When it comes to "Single Media Market", this knocks the Triangle and Triad out of the running from the start. News stations are in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, and Durham. Major newspapers are in each of those cities as well. Also, those cities aren't in the same metropolitan statistical areas (haven't been since 2003 when the rules changed). Lastly, when we look at radio markets, we can see that there is only one in the Carolinas that has 2 million listeners.
Arbitron Radio Market Rankings - Fall 2012

Looking at the Myths...
Those 3 myths look as though they were designed to be a direct response to areas such as the Triangle and Norfolk/Virginia Beach. I ran across an online petition (awhile back) that has many folks in the Triangle begging for an IKEA. One of the biggest reasons cited was (take a guess) the Universities. Well, IKEA has made it clear in writting that University areas doesn't mean a thing to their business model.

After looking over what it is IKEA wants (and don't want), I'd say they will open up a second store in Atlanta loooooong before they open up another store in NC. Just being honest...

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by gsoboi78

I'm going to dig up this old thread because........One can argue that the Triad should have been the location for IKEA. There are several good reasons for it. It's true the Triad isn't the most populated metro in the state, however the Triad and Triangle are roughly the same size. But lets look at the Triad. Here are solid reasons for why IKEA should have opened in Greensboro, North Carolina's 3rd largest city.

1) LOCATION: Greensboro is within 100 miles of both Charlotte and Raleigh. The city's central location allows easy access from all three big metros in the state (Charlotte/Metrolina, the Triad & the Triangle). Charlotte and Greensboro are about 85 miles apart and Raleigh and Greensboro are about 75 miles apart so we are talking about an hour and a half drive or less. The closer the store is to all three metros, the more customers. The city also has a superb highway infrastructure for shoppers coming to IKEA from beyond North Carolina (I-85, I-40, I-73/I-74, I-785).

2) TRADITION: Guilford county is not only the home furnishings capital of North Carolina, it's the home furnishings capital of the world with High Point's furniture market. Twice a year High Point host the world's largest home furnishings market which attracts at least 100,000 people to High Point from all around the world. There is already a set pattern of people coming to Guilford County from other North Carolina metros to shop for furniture.

3) DISTRIBUTION & MANUFACTURING: Greensboro is close to North America's only IKEA manufacturing plant in Danville, Virginia (just a 30 minute drive north of Greensboro) Greensboro is a major distribution and logistics hub so having an IKEA store in a city that could potentially one day have an IKEA distribution center would be a plus.

4) Greensboro/Winston-Salem are college towns which fit IKEA's niche. The area is also evolving into a more sophisticated region with growing hi-tech industries and research in the area (Piedmont Triad Research Park & Gateway University Research Park) also Greensboro and particularly Winston-Salem are very trendy artsy towns.

Those are solid reasons why Greensboro should have been chosen for IKEA. By having it in Greensboro, there wouldn't be a need to have a separate one for Charlotte and a separate one for Raleigh. It would have saved the company money by having just one store centrally located within North Carolina's three big metros. Also because the prices are cheap for the most part, IKEA stores don't have to be located in really high income areas so Greensboro would be able to qualify in those regards. Greensboro has almost 300,000 people so its large enough and there is enough activity in the city for such a store for attracting a critical mass of local shoppers as well.

Seriously? Who cares? It's been built and open in Charlotte for YEARS! Get over it. GSO/WS also doesn't have the 2 MILLION people that Ikea required when they built the store in Charlotte. And seriously it's like an hour and half to Ikea from WS. Heck of a lot closer than many parts of the country are. And if you haven't noticed, Ikea's aren't in college towns. They're in LARGE CITIES that may or may not have a large college presence. Charlotte isn't a college town. Yes, it has UNC, but it's not primarily a college town like Oneonta, NY or Chapel Hill, NC are. Although, Chapel Hill isn't all about the college anymore. As for furniture mecca known as High Point, what does that have to do with Ikea? You ever see a $10K sofa with silk fabric there? And lastly, call Ikea and complain to them. Lecturing us does NOTHING!