IKEA Stoughton Progresses as Blue Walls Start to Appear; Swedish Retailer's First Massachusetts Store to Open Fall 2005 Along Route 24

Business Wire, April 18, 2005

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Penn. -- IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, today noted that steel framing has been completed and installation of blue composite panels has begun on its future store opening this fall in Stoughton, MA. Located in Merchant's Park along Route 24 at the Avon-Stoughton boundary, the future 346,000 square-foot IKEA Stoughton will be the first IKEA store and restaurant destination in the Boston area. (The closest IKEA store opened last summer in New Haven, CT and draws customers from throughout New England.) Besides 500 construction jobs, more than 400 coworkers will join the IKEA family when the new store opens.

"Now that the store's structure is formed and the blue paneling is going up, we are proud that we are still on our way to a grand opening next fall," observed Joseph Roth, IKEA public affairs director. "With the roof already going up and now the blue panels, we hope to be fully enclosed by springtime."

IKEA currently has more than 210 stores in 32 countries, including 22 in the U.S., where other stores are being planned in: Atlanta, GA; Bolingbrook, IL; Brooklyn, NY; Canton, MI; Dublin, CA; Frisco, TX; Somerville, MA; and West Sacramento, CA.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, 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. IKEA has been named - for two years in a row - to Working Mother magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," and recently to Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For." 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. For information about working at IKEA, please visit http://JobsAt.IKEA-usa.com.