Details Finalized for Alternate Transportation Options as IKEA Brooklyn Prepares for June 18 Opening

Business Wire,  May 14, 2008  

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- IKEA, the world's leading home furnishings retailer, today announced that it has finalized the details for the full offering of transit options available to IKEA Brooklyn customers when the store opens on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. It will be the Swedish company's 1st store and restaurant destination in New York City, 4th in the New York-New Jersey area, and 35th in the United States. Until the 346,000-square-foot IKEA Brooklyn opens, customers can shop at IKEA stores in Elizabeth, NJ (to where IKEA currently offers free shuttles from Port Authority); Hicksville, NY; Paramus, NJ; or at www.IKEA-USA.com.

"We are thrilled that our plan to make IKEA Brooklyn accessible for our many customers is now set to go for the variety of planned alternative transportation options," said Mike Baker, store manager of the future IKEA Brooklyn. "Now we are focused on hiring and training new coworkers, as well as on transforming the building's interior into a furnished IKEA store."

The 346,000-square-foot IKEA Brooklyn is located on 22 acres along the Erie Basin waterfront in Red Hook, south of the BQE/Gowanus Expressway and southeast of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Details for transit options to IKEA Brooklyn include the following:

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Bus - The routes of both the MTA B61 and B77 bus lines have been extended to stop in front of IKEA Brooklyn. Customers can consult regular bus schedules for designated times. Bus stop locations at IKEA will be marked with signs.

IKEA Shuttle from Subway Stations - IKEA will operate a free shuttle every 15 minutes from subway stations at 4th Avenue/9th Street and Smith/9th Street for visitors riding the F, G, M, or R trains. A similar service on a different route will be offered to visitors taking the 2, 3, 4, 5, M, N or R trains to Court Street/Borough Hall. All routes will have signage, indicating a stop for the shuttle to IKEA Brooklyn, and will run every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Water Taxi from Pier 11 - IKEA has contracted with New York Water Taxi to provide free water taxi service from lower Manhattan's Pier 11 across the East River to IKEA Brooklyn. This service is available every 40 minutes, seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

A Choice of Delivery Options - IKEA Brooklyn will offer same-day or next-day courier service (for smaller items) and home delivery (for larger items) options so customers can transport their purchases to their home. There also will be Enterprise rent-a-van service available on-site, as well as Zip Cars and approximately 1,400 parking spaces.

IKEA Brooklyn will present 48 different room settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children's play area, and a 450-seat restaurant - with views of the lower Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty - serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries or salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a 'Children's IKEA' area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. IKEA Brooklyn also will offer home delivery, kitchen installation and design consultation services. The project includes a 6.5-acre public waterfront esplanade, created 500 construction jobs and, on June 18, will welcome more than 500 new coworkers into the IKEA family.

There currently are more than 275 IKEA stores in 36 countries, including 34 in the U.S. Other new stores will open in: Charlotte, NC; Somerville, MA; and Tampa, FL. 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 ranked in FORTUNE's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list (three years in a row), Working Mother magazine's annual list of "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" (four years in a row) and Training magazine's annual "Top 100" ranking of companies that excel at human capital development (five years in a row). IKEA incorporates environmentally friendly and socially responsible efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. For more information about IKEA, please go to www.IKEA-USA.com.

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