One thing I have noticed about this thread (and the internet in general) is if you don't like something / aren't interested in something, then why do you have to post to tell us that? I'm not interested in model trains, but I don't spend my time posting that I am not interested in them. It's very frustrating to see new posts in a thread I am interested in only to find out someone took the time to tell us they aren't interested. Or the thread gets hijacked......

That's not necessarily the best comparison. Anyone who is even remotely interested in OKC CRE has an opinion about whether IKEA (and In-N-Out Burger, HEB, Roll Em Up Taquitos, etc.) will eventually site a location in the metro. Those opinions are relevant to the thread even if you may not share them.

WheelerD, with respect, that's not what SoonerInfiniti was claiming.

"It's not my style." "I think it's throwaway furniture." Etc. is a different type of post than an analysis of whether OKC has the demographics or population to support a store. I would be very interested to hear someone in CRE offer an opinion that OKC will or won't get one of these retailers because of what they know about the company's financial health, expansion plans, or demographics. That's a different kettle of fish than "I personally don't like IKEA."

I wonder if the reason that Oklahoma City metro doesn't have an IKEA is that it is too spread out? Milwaukee's is located just south of their metro area. I would bet there are smaller cities that have them.

With Costco's success in OKC, I am surprised they haven't at least opened up a smaller store.

I wonder if the reason that Oklahoma City metro doesn't have an IKEA is that it is too spread out? Milwaukee's is located just south of their metro area. I would bet there are smaller cities that have them.

With Costco's success in OKC, I am surprised they haven't at least opened up a smaller store.

Bingo.

lol wut

Definitely North OKC somewhere. That would be closer for those from Wichita and Tulsa.

I made several trips to IKEA in Frisco and Grand Prairie in the past 3-4 months. I always see cars upon cars with Oklahoma plates. It's about damn time, IKEA. Nashville not having one is a head scratcher. They were slated to get one; had a location picked and everything, but IKEA cited a change in business model and such.

They have a lot to work to do, though. Their e-commerce strategy is piss poor for a worldwide company like they are.


Ikea’s e-commerce was already pretty bad. During COVID-19, it absolutely fell apart (https://www.fastcompany.com/90547486/ikeas-e-commerce-was-already-pretty-bad-during-covid-19-it-absolutely-fell-apart)

I remember a few cities that were slated to get IKEAs but their "model" changed and cancelled the plans-- like you said Nashville. Also Carey NC and Fort Worth, TX ( DFW's 3rd IKEA if it actually happened).

Any updates? Lol wishful thinking

No, and I think we can give up on them coming here for the foreseeable future.

I recently went to their location in Frisco and had forgotten how much I don't like their stuff. I used to shop there a lot when I first moved to California but you can buy much better quality for less elsewhere, especially with the rise of online stores like Wayfair. Target actually has some decent things, particularly online.

And of course, you can buy almost everything at IKEA online.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2023/04/20/ikea-opening-new-stores-us/11688192002/

Maybe it’s time for OKC?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2023/04/20/ikea-opening-new-stores-us/11688192002/

Maybe it’s time for OKC?

Craving Swedish meatballs 😋

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2023/04/20/ikea-opening-new-stores-us/11688192002/

Maybe it’s time for OKC?

i heard that even some of the pickup locations they are looking at will have the restaurant part. so you can plan to go eat there when you have some show up from your orders. i would be okay with OKC just getting one of those.

It's time they put one here. OKC and Nashville are the two largest cities in the US without one. Nashville had one planned before IKEA brought the axe to it back in 2018.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2023/04/20/ikea-opening-new-stores-us/11688192002/

Maybe it’s time for OKC?

Any idea how we can reach out and let them know we want one here? :)

17995

One is coming

One is coming

To Tulsa :tongue:

I would love for one to come to OKC, but depending on how IKEA enters markets, the location in Frisco doesn't help. If you go there on a weekend a 25-40% the parking lot is Oklahoma plates.

Tulsa would pull from OKC, Northwest Arkansas and maybe even Joplin/Springfield or Wichita.

Okc pulls Tulsa, Wichita, Amarillo. And, it’s own population is by far the biggest of those.

I don’t think Tulsa will get it. IKEA would select NWA before Tulsa.

OKC + Tulsa + Wichita + Amarillo + Ft Smith has 3.8 million people
Tulsa + OKC + Wichita + NWA + Joplin + Ft Smith has 4.4 million people

That said, I think OKC gets IKEA first.

Irrelevant given Nashville doesn’t have one but yes I’d agree OKC gets one first and I’d be surprised if Tulsa gets one but TBH they should. It would do well.

If OKC gets a full store, they may do a "Plan & Order" store in NWA, kinda split the difference here.

Will this company have a location here? It is hard to say. I have had people in stores I wanted to see here tell me they were planning Oklahoma City locations because most people insist on telling a person what they want to hear instead of the truth. As it turns out, usually, no location comes here.

This one in particular? I doubt it. Why? With the domination of the brothers Mathis, Bob Mills, et al, major chains will not invest in Oklahoma City because they know they can not make a profit here.

Do not hold your breath.

IKEA is not in the least intimidated by Mathis Bros. Besides, they are WAY different kinds of stores with WAY different appeal. IKEA will always get theirs.

OKC + Tulsa + Wichita + Amarillo + Ft Smith has 3.8 million people
Tulsa + OKC + Wichita + NWA + Joplin + Ft Smith has 4.4 million people

That said, I think OKC gets IKEA first.

The OKC area of dominant influence is the 45th largest in the US and Tulsa's is 59th. And, it's own MSA is about 40% larger than Tulsa's. And, it is growing faster. Tulsa median household income is appx $7,000 less than OKC. By all objective measures, OKC is the dominant economic area.

OKC is closer to the IKEA distribution center in Houston. They might even open up another distribution center in N Texas to serve all 4 area locations.

OKC is closer to the IKEA distribution center in Houston. They might even open up another distribution center in N Texas to serve all 4 area locations.

Is the KC location served by the Houston distribution center?

The OKC area of dominant influence is the 45th largest in the US and Tulsa's is 59th. And, it's own MSA is about 40% larger than Tulsa's. And, it is growing faster. Tulsa median household income is appx $7,000 less than OKC. By all objective measures, OKC is the dominant economic area.

This is beautifully said

Good question. I don't know.

So I looked it up.

Oklahoma City's population within a 150 mile radius is 4,243,414 with a growth rate of +5.9%
Tulsa's population within a 150 mile radius is 5,675,178 with a growth rate of +6.6%

And for IKEA purposes a good portion of OKC's 150 mile radius is in north Texas and closer to Frisco than OKC.
OKC's population within 150 miles excluding the part of the radius in Texas is 3,833,739

At a 25 mile radius OKC has 1,459,380 people to Tulsa's 1,034,123. That's an easy choice for OKC, but not the 150 mile radius. It will come down to what is more important to IKEA, the immediate area or the larger regional area.
https://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

I still say it's probably Oklahoma City, but I can certainly see them in Tulsa. I will guess that one of the cities gets a location this time and the other gets a smaller order point location.

So I looked it up.

Oklahoma City's population within a 150 mile radius is 4,243,414 with a growth rate of +5.9%
Tulsa's population within a 150 mile radius is 5,675,178 with a growth rate of +6.6%

And for IKEA purposes a good portion of OKC's 150 mile radius is in north Texas and closer to Frisco than OKC.
OKC's population within 150 miles excluding the part of the radius in Texas is 3,833,739

At a 25 mile radius OKC has 1,459,380 people to Tulsa's 1,034,123. That's an easy choice for OKC, but not the 150 mile radius. It will come down to what is more important to IKEA, the immediate area or the larger regional area.
https://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

I still say it's probably Oklahoma City, but I can certainly see them in Tulsa. I will guess that one of the cities gets a location this time and the other gets a smaller order point location.

This is a great point. If located in Tulsa, then IKEA could grab the OKC, Tulsa, and rapidly growing NW Arkansas (Bentonville/Fayetteville/Springdale) markets together.

Edit: forgot Ft. Smith and Joplin too.

So I looked it up.

Oklahoma City's population within a 150 mile radius is 4,243,414 with a growth rate of +5.9%
Tulsa's population within a 150 mile radius is 5,675,178 with a growth rate of +6.6%

And for IKEA purposes a good portion of OKC's 150 mile radius is in north Texas and closer to Frisco than OKC.
OKC's population within 150 miles excluding the part of the radius in Texas is 3,833,739

At a 25 mile radius OKC has 1,459,380 people to Tulsa's 1,034,123. That's an easy choice for OKC, but not the 150 mile radius. It will come down to what is more important to IKEA, the immediate area or the larger regional area.
https://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

I still say it's probably Oklahoma City, but I can certainly see them in Tulsa. I will guess that one of the cities gets a location this time and the other gets a smaller order point location.

I'm actually a bit surprised those numbers are as close as they are. The western side of the state kills OKC when using measurement like this. Tulsa is definitely centered in a more populated region overall.

Keep in mind that north OKC is almost halfway between OU & OSU and is very near UCO, by far the 3 biggest universities in the state.

And college kids and those just out of college are huge markets for IKEA.

This is a great point. If located in Tulsa, then IKEA could grab the OKC, Tulsa, and rapidly growing NW Arkansas (Bentonville/Fayetteville/Springdale) markets together.

Edit: forgot Ft. Smith and Joplin too.

If you raise it to 250 we can claim Dallas and you can claim Kansas City. You can prove whatever you want by using you own metrics. But if you use area of dominant influence, Tulsa still ranks well below OKC. Sorry Tulsans try so very hard to make themselves superior.

If you raise it to 250 we can claim Dallas and you can claim Kansas City. You can prove whatever you want by using you own metrics. But if you use area of dominant influence, Tulsa still ranks well below OKC. Sorry Tulsans try so very hard to make themselves superior.


Except Dallas and Kansas City already have Ikea locations. And both area larger with more influence than Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

And you are wrong:
OKC 250 miles: 16,770,142
Tulsa 250 miles: 20,074,431

Except Dallas and Kansas City already have Ikea locations. And both area larger with more influence than Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

And you are wrong:
OKC 250 miles: 16,770,142
Tulsa 250 miles: 20,074,431

We get it, you want one in Tulsa, not OKC.

We get it, you want one in Tulsa, not OKC.

Sure, why not? why is that offensive? I still expect it will go to OKC.

But if it does go to Tulsa it will likely be in Jenks, which they were looking at years ago. By the Simon outlet mall.

I think the “college kids” demographic for IKEA is a bit overblown. Anytime I go to IKEA (pretty frequently) it seems the most common demographic is 25-40 year old professional types either as a couple or with a small family. IKEA isn’t the super bargain anymore, they have really added to their more expensive lines. I can drop $1000 in IKEA and leave with just a few items now.

The $19 chairs and $49 dining tables (which I furnished my first humble studio apartment with) are a smaller and smaller part of their catalog.

OKC makes sense just because it's the crossroads for a lot of interstates and it's easy to tap into all that existing distribution network. I wouldn't rule out a potential Tulsa store also just so they can be closer to Tulsa and all of southern Missouri. They be fine with A Kansas City, St Louis, and OKC store though. Just depends on what their strategy is. Sounds like they want to build pickup locations all over the place so I would also expect another distribution facility to be built potentially on Oklahoma.

Except Dallas and Kansas City already have Ikea locations. And both area larger with more influence than Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

And you are wrong:
OKC 250 miles: 16,770,142
Tulsa 250 miles: 20,074,431

I love Tulsa and live here but no matter how much you want it…there is absolutely no logical argument for us getting one before OKC does. Population? OKC. Population growth rate? OKC, Young professional population/growth: OKC, Urban residents: OKC, Location: Convergence of 3 interstates vs. 1 interstate (a turnpike…so you have to pay to conveniently get here)...advantage OKC. Medium to large colleges (over 10k): OKC- OU (20-30 minutes), OSU (1 hour to 1.5 hours), UCO (10-20 minutes). Tulsa: OSU (1 hour), Arkansas (2 hours).

This just isn’t the right market for ikea and I’m not even sure OKC is but it’s much closer.

The bottom line: IKEA has been looking in the OKC market.

Not sure if they are going to do something here but they've been in town before and have recently talked to Chisholm Creek and others.

i'm not holding my breathe that they will open a full sized store here (it would be nice) but i would settle for the order store as long as i dont have to then pay a bunch of money to get the crap. If i have to pay more under that model, i'm not going to use it. The weight of their products makes shipping unrealistic.

I still get some things there off and on, even in my 40s. The bookshelves have come a long way over the years and you can get some nicer looking stuff than just the plain ole Billy Bookcase. I even ended up with a few duvet covers the last time i went through the Frisco/Plano one. Fitting that stuff in the car for a long drive home is a bit of a pinch. So having an option in town would be great. I'm just not thinking that in the post-covid world, that there's as much of a draw for the full mega box store.

I'm ancient and I still buy from them. Particularly the Milsbo and Detolf for indoor greenhouses.

Except Dallas and Kansas City already have Ikea locations. And both area larger with more influence than Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

And you are wrong:
OKC 250 miles: 16,770,142
Tulsa 250 miles: 20,074,431

I wasn’t wanting to include them… just saying gerrymandering your area can produce results to prove what you want to prove. It’s easy to imagine your own boundaries to manipulate the numbers.

There’s a reason OKC area is expanding faster.

They’re go to NWA before they locate in Tulsa I’d imagine. But they’ll going to build in OKC.

There's a nice area ready for it in Moore next to Costco. Just saying, it doesn't always have to go all the way up on Memorial. Or for that matter, Norman has room in University Park.

Every IKEA I have ever seen (except one) has acres and acres of parking on the periphery. If that is to be the case with any future OKC location, then I hope it is located in a suburban area with quick highway access. I would not, for example, want it in Chisholm Creek, because the amount of parking necessary would completely destroy the vibe they are attempting to create with that development. Someone mentioned Oak in a different thread, that doesn't work for the same reason.

I do think the Kilpatrick corridor is the correct place demographically but I shudder at the jarring nature of all that parking. Perhaps it would work east of Costco if the access roads were improved. Or maybe along the I-35 corridor south of the turnpike.

The one exception I referenced above is in St. Louis, where by some miracle of miracles the city managed to convince them to locate right in the heart of the city with a big parking garage. There's still too much surface parking for the location but there is talk of breaking it up into development parcels. I don't know if I trust OKC to get that right.

West OKC/Yukon has a ton of land with I40 and the Kilpatrick going right through and 15 min from I44. With airport Td and the Kilpatrick the south and North metro can get there pretty easily.

West OKC/Yukon has a ton of land with I40 and the Kilpatrick going right through and 15 min from I44. With airport Td and the Kilpatrick the south and North metro can get there pretty easily.

Don’t you think it would more likely be on the Tulsa/Wichita/Joplin side of the city than the Amarillo side?

Couple of older yet interesting articles that give some insight into how Ikea comes to their location decisions. Of course, this thinking could be totally different near a decade later but I’d imagine there is some similitude.

http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2013/06/04/an-ikea-here-well

https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2014/12/16/ikea-nashville-give-hope/20495909/

IKEA's announcement about eight new stores without naming the locations is savvy, since it gives IKEA the opportunity to pull states, cities, and counties into lucrative incentive bidding wars. As this article about the incentives granted to IKEA in Memphis says "... IKEA is highly successful in receiving subsidies from American governments. According to The New York Times, IKEA has been awarded $21 million in seven government grants in four states in about eight years, and Good Jobs First even puts that amount at $32.5 million."

Source: What It Really Cost to Bring IKEA to Memphis: A look at how Memphis and Shelby County played the game (https://memphismagazine.com/features/what-it-really-cost-to-bring-ikea-to-memphis/)

So I looked it up.

Oklahoma City's population within a 150 mile radius is 4,243,414 with a growth rate of +5.9%
Tulsa's population within a 150 mile radius is 5,675,178 with a growth rate of +6.6%

And for IKEA purposes a good portion of OKC's 150 mile radius is in north Texas and closer to Frisco than OKC.
OKC's population within 150 miles excluding the part of the radius in Texas is 3,833,739

At a 25 mile radius OKC has 1,459,380 people to Tulsa's 1,034,123. That's an easy choice for OKC, but not the 150 mile radius. It will come down to what is more important to IKEA, the immediate area or the larger regional area.
https://www.statsamerica.org/radius/big.aspx

I still say it's probably Oklahoma City, but I can certainly see them in Tulsa. I will guess that one of the cities gets a location this time and the other gets a smaller order point location.

Tulsa really underperforms as a regional retail center anymore and it's a shame because it has the perfect location almost equally between NWA and OKC. It's also slightly closer for Wichita/SW Missouri to get to Tulsa than KC. It's too bad a regional connection from Tulsa to Wichita has never happened, upgrading 75 to Bartlesville then split toward Wichita would be nice to have. The market to draw into Tulsa has so much potential and you highlighted it well (1 million + more than OKC) and that will only continue to expand. The population center of Oklahoma in the past several decades keeps moving closer to Tulsa and not OKC.

Tulsa's MSA size has always been understated because Muskogee, Pryor, Bartlesville all get cut out because of "commuting patterns" because they aren't bedroom communities - unlike a Guthrie, El Reno or Shawnee is in comparison. OKC exurbs don't have big employers like a ConocoPhillips in Bartlesville or Port of Muskogee or MidAmerica. The big draw in for say Shawnee is more so Tinker for example and El Reno would be the airport and industrial centers along I-40 in OKC, so the commuting patterns from those areas are more traditional for Census designations.

Muskogee and Bartlesville are about 40 miles "as a bird would fly" from downtown Tulsa with MidAmerica 35 miles and El Reno, Guthrie, etc. are 30ish miles from downtown OKC, Shawnee 35 miles. If you added Mayes, Muskogee, and Washington the Tulsa MSA would be closer to 1.25 million and you also have Tahlequah and Grand Lake not that much further away which are both sizable 'exurban/rural' population areas too. Grand Lake is about 40,000 people with a lot of very wealthy retirees and others with strong connections to Tulsa. The regional population around Tulsa is not that much smaller than OKC - Census categorization doesn't always tell the full story of a region. Western Oklahoma is stagnant in population growth to put it nicely. Mayes and Muskogee I wouldn't be surprised if in the next Census in 2030 are officially added to the MSA especially with Panasonic and Port of Inola developments - that entire eastern area will become a lot more integrated. Tulsa's MSA in 2030 could very well be in excess of 1.5 million. Mayes County will easily double in population if Panasonic and the other deals materialize.

Tulsa would be a better location for an Ikea from a regional perspective since they are really looking to make the stores more of a distribution hub. It's also right in between the Frisco location and the KC location. I doubt Oklahoma in general is at the top of their radar in this round of expansions. I'd bet they are looking closer at markets like Nashville, New Orleans, Raleigh-Durham, NW New York (Buffalo, Syracuse or Rochester). I could see them opening up a pick-up location like they have now in Albuquerque and Nashville in OKC or Tulsa or both. Eventually if they keep expanding Oklahoma will get a location but not sure if it'll happen this round. If both St. Louis and KC can have stores and support them on their own I don't see why eventually both Tulsa and OKC could have stores.

i want to say OKC a plan and order point but a full sized store is not out of the question ether if one were to come there are 2 areas it could go in 1 is near the Kilpatrick turnpike near Edmond if they wanted a south side location West of the Moore Costco or South of the Mission Point Apartments would be good spots

i want to say OKC a plan and order point but a full sized store is not out of the question ether if one were to come there are 2 areas it could go in 1 is near the Kilpatrick turnpike near Edmond if they wanted a south side location West of the Moore Costco or South of the Mission Point Apartments would be good spots

Both are great.

Moore/Norman has OU students who live on and around campus, the Memorial Road corridor/south Edmond is filled with apartments and would offer quicker access for those from Tulsa, OSU Stillwater, and Wichita on the north side.

Both are great.

Moore/Norman has OU students who live on and around campus, the Memorial Road corridor/south Edmond is filled with apartments and would offer quicker access for those from Tulsa, OSU Stillwater, and Wichita on the north side.
South metro is more likely.

South metro is more likely.
That’s why Costco went there first, right?

I think Moore is 100% opposite of their target demographic. If it went south it would go as close to Norman as possible, if not Norman itself.

“Cheap” European furniture won’t sell on 19th street.

This is a north side deal.

According to IKEA they are shifting from large stand-alone stores surrounded by acres of parking to mixed use development and urban stores. I would prefer something like this.

https://youtu.be/RU6DJZ3DwUU

I think Moore is 100% opposite of their target demographic. If it went south it would go as close to Norman as possible, if not Norman itself.

“Cheap” European furniture won’t sell on 19th street.

This is a north side deal.

This is a “all side” deal.

Instead of over simplistic descriptions of their demographics, here is a fairly simple little bit deeper explanation: https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/marketing-case-studies-tutorial/ikea-marketing-strategy-case-study#:~:text=SpecialistExplore%20Program-,Ikea%20Target%20Audience,34%2Dyear%2Dold%20adults .

That’s why Costco went there first, right?
Well I’ve been told something is happening so I guess we’ll see.

According to IKEA they are shifting from large stand-alone stores surrounded by acres of parking to mixed use development and urban stores. I would prefer something like this.

https://youtu.be/RU6DJZ3DwUU

Great video! (I watched maybe the first five minutes) It goes without saying that OKC is not Toronto, but an urban-format store like this in Midtown would be a win on so many levels.

Great video! (I watched maybe the first five minutes) It goes without saying that OKC is not Toronto, but an urban-format store like this in Midtown would be a win on so many levels.
The amount of delusion on this board is mind boggling. Maybe a Midtown store would be successful but not without a sh!t ton of parking so why build it there in the first place? I agree the NW part of the city would make the most sense. But then again I have next to no experience in developing these types of projects so what the hell do I know… other than the fact OKC is a car oriented city and developments here have zero relevance with those in Toronto.

I’ll also be interested to see if IKEA keeps up with these urban developments with their new stores. Target recently announced they will be moving away from their City, smaller format stores and go back to big box retail which is what makes the most sense and is better.