Building on 15 Years of Success as a Regional Draw, Pittsburgh's Biggest Furniture Retailer Plans Store Expansion

Business Wire, Sept 1, 2004

PITTSBURGH -- Swedish Retailer IKEA Secures Off-Site Pick-Up Center to Make Way for Expanded Customer Areas in Store

IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that its Pittsburgh-area store in Robinson Township, PA will undergo an expansion of sorts -- both internally and externally. By leasing a 44,000 square-foot location in Robinson Town Centre, IKEA will be able to expand its customer-friendly self-serve warehouse where shoppers can pick out their selections for purchase. Square footage for the combined spaces will total more than 213,000 square feet.

The addition of this new, off-site, 44,200 sq. ft. Customer Pick-Up Center -- to be operational in November 2004 -- will make room for more than 3,000 products not available in the store's newly expanded on-site customer warehouse. Having the off-site facility creates room for additional inventory while also providing customers access to more items, such as popular kitchen doors and cabinets, mattresses, as well as professional and home office furnishings.

Customers -- more and more -- want to take their home furnishings home on the day of purchase, and by increasing the on-site customer warehouse 41% from 22,656 to 38,630 sq. ft., Pittsburgh customers, as of March 1, 2005, will have direct access to a greater amount of IKEA items. "I am really excited about this opportunity to expand our store's capacity," explains Jim Anastos, store manager. "We have such a loyal following both locally and regionally with customers driving 1-3 hours to see us, so this expansion helps us ensure that they can take their purchases home on the same day. Essentially, our success in recent years has created a need to acquire this new Customer Pick-Up Center."

With more than 6,000 exclusively designed items, this store in Robinson Town Centre already features one full model home, more than 30 completely decorated room settings and a supervised children's play area. There also is a 150-seat restaurant serving everything from $1.99 hot breakfasts, $0.99 Kids Meals and Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon platters. Other family-friendly features include a 'Children's IKEA' area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.

Since opening in 1989, the Robinson Town Centre store -- currently at more than 189,000 square feet -- has been providing affordable home furnishing solutions to customers throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. IKEA currently has more than 200 stores in 32 countries, including 21 in the United States, where the company is aiming to open about five new stores a year, including locations in: Atlanta, GA; Bolingbrook, IL; Brooklyn, NY; Dublin, CA; Frisco, TX; Somerville, MA; Stoughton, MA; Tempe, AZ; and West Sacramento, CA. Besides building new stores, IKEA also is investing in expansions, relocations and remodels to strengthen its presence with existing stores (i.e., Pittsburgh) too.

Since its founding in 1943, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. Recently, IKEA was named in Working Mother magazine's 18th annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" and was honored with the magazine's Family Champion award for family-friendly programs. IKEA is recognized as a socially responsible company, and continuously supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. To visit the IKEA Web Site, please go to http://www.ikea-usa.com.