IKEA

[BG918]

I think the best location for them would honestly be along Memorial Rd. on Kilpatrick, Fritts Farm or along I-35 in Norman by the airport.

Also, isn't KC getting an Ikea?

Yes, it is opening this fall on I-35 in Merriam, Kansas, about 10 miles from downtown Kansas City. For Tulsa that will be slighly closer than driving to Frisco (about 4 hours each way). St Louis is also building one. So all of Missouri and eastern/central Kansas will be within a 2-3 hour drive of IKEA, and central/southern Oklahoma is already within a 2-3 hour drive from Frisco.

[warreng88]

I think the best location for them would honestly be along Memorial Rd. on Kilpatrick, Fritts Farm or along I-35 in Norman by the airport.

Also, isn't KC getting an Ikea?

Don't know. Didn't see anything on their website.

[amaesquire]

Kansas City is getting one -- it's already under construction and should open this fall.

Ikea appoints manager of new Merriam store - KansasCity.com

[RodH]

Ikea announced this week that they will open a store in Memphis in the fall of 2016. The store will be located on 35 acres at I-40 and Germantown Parkway and will be 269,000 square feet. It will not be the largest nor the smallest Ikea in the country but is suppose to represent a new prototype for mid-sized cities. I think that this is good news for those who want Ikea to locate here. Memphis and OKC are almost the same size and OKC is growing faster. In the article I read the Ikea spokesperson kept repeating that the right location became available and that is why Memphis got their store now before Nashville.

[bchris02]

Impressive. Memphis is an awesome city but it really surprises me they are getting IKEA before Nashville.

Hopefully if Oklahoma gets an IKEA it goes to OKC. If I was IKEA I would probably either try to go between Moore and Norman or on I-35 across from Frontier City.

[bluedogok]

More than likely Memphis got it because of a better incentive package. That why they are in Frisco, Round Rock and Centennial and not Dallas, Austin or Denver.

[zachj7]

Wow thats impressive. Memphis metro is like 1.4 million. I didn't know IKEA went into such small markets...

[bchris02]

Wow thats impressive. Memphis metro is like 1.4 million. I didn't know IKEA went into such small markets...

The Memphis metro has 1.34 million people. OKC should pass it up within the next couple of years. It's a pretty impressive city though that pulls its weight.

Given OKC's history at attracting national retail I am not going to get too excited about the prospects of one here yet, but it's good to see them expanding into mid-size markets. As a single guy I love shopping at IKEA and did quite frequently when I lived in Charlotte.

[Plutonic Panda]

The Memphis metro has 1.34 million people. OKC should pass it up within the next couple of years. It's a pretty impressive city though that pulls its weight.

Given OKC's history at attracting national retail I am not going to get too excited about the prospects of one here yet, but it's good to see them expanding into mid-size markets. As a single guy I love shopping at IKEA and did quite frequently when I lived in Charlotte.

I believe OKC's metro is already at 1.4

[zachj7]

You'd think St. Louis, Las Vegas, Indy, San Antonio would be higher on the list than OKC... or Memphis for that matter. I think IKEA in OKC is probably around 2020... Tulsa 2019

[bchris02]

Memphis is the only major city in the Mid-South region and is the "city" for people in three different states. They don't have a Tulsa competing with them and larger cities are 3+ hours away in all directions. That creates quite a bit of appeal for retailers like IKEA that tend to thrive off regional draw.

I wonder if IKEA will end up in San Antonio at all being that they are in Austin.

[stlokc]

There is an IKEA under construction in St. Louis. Interestingly, it's one of the few in America (from what I understand) that is going into an urban location. Near St. Louis University. Incentives a plenty.

[bluedogok]

There is an IKEA under construction in St. Louis. Interestingly, it's one of the few in America (from what I understand) that is going into an urban location. Near St. Louis University. Incentives a plenty.

Pretty much the basis of the site selection process.

[stlokc]

Yeah, especially so in St. Louis. When it became clear IKEA was looking here, the city moved heaven and earth to make sure it was located in an old, but gentrifying urban spot. It was a typical city vs. suburbs battle and it was a real coup for the city to land it. It helped tremendously that it's very near St. Louis Univ and Washington Univ, who together have about 30,000 students. It's actually in the "innovation district," live, work, play, all that.
I don't remember what the incentives were, but it's already paying dividends in terms of residential and retail development near the site.

[Spartan]

The Stl project is really a game changer for ikea I think. The other urban loc that comes to mind is Atlantic Yards in ATL.

It was announced this week that Columbus is getting an ikea finally. So OKC certainly has to be on the next ten year list. Luckily I remember talking about ikea to OKC on the interwebs for the last fifteen years....

[bchris02]

With Memphis getting one, OKC is certainly possible. I also think this is a retailer that will see OKC's larger market size as preferable over Tulsa's concentrated demographics.

[venture]

The Stl project is really a game changer for ikea I think. The other urban loc that comes to mind is Atlantic Yards in ATL.

It was announced this week that Columbus is getting an ikea finally. So OKC certainly has to be on the next ten year list. Luckily I remember talking about ikea to OKC on the interwebs for the last fifteen years....

It is interesting that they were negotiating a land deal in Cleveland and now they are going to C-Bus instead. I wonder if Ohio might actually end up with 3 in the end.

[Spartan]

So the Cleveland site was supposed to be the old American Greetings HQ in Brooklyn, and Brooklyn was (still is?) geared up with incentives. The Columbus site is Polaris (compare to Memorial Road on steroids). I'm wondering if it was a site consideration.

With Memphis getting one, OKC is certainly possible. I also think this is a retailer that will see OKC's larger market size as preferable over Tulsa's concentrated demographics.

It's a cheap retailer, plus Cleveland has higher incomes than Columbus, yet they went with the smaller metro that is more centrally located, with much higher growth.

[Soonerinfiniti]

A second store in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area? Grrr......

Ikea to build a store in Grand Prairie | | Dallas Morning News

Interesting they said they like one store per 2 million people. Doesn't look good for OKC......

[bchris02]

A second store in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area? Grrr......

Ikea to build a store in Grand Prairie | | Dallas Morning News

Interesting they said they like one store per 2 million people. Doesn't look good for OKC......

Oklahoma City is a smaller market than IKEA typically goes into. They are experimenting in Memphis with the possibility of entering smaller markets, though that store will be scaled down from a full-sized IKEA. If it does well, Oklahoma City could eventually be on the radar.

[betts]

I believe I heard IKEA is putting a store in Jacksonville, a city about as close to OKC as you can get.

[AP]

I believe I heard IKEA is putting a store in Jacksonville, a city about as close to OKC as you can get.

You heard right. IKEA coming to Jacksonville in fall 2017

[Geographer]

The new IKEA in Grand Prairie is about 20 minutes from my house...woo! I don't have to drive across the metroplex to Frisco anymore for the $1 breakfast

[TU 'cane]

With Memphis getting one, OKC is certainly possible. I also think this is a retailer that will see OKC's larger market size as preferable over Tulsa's concentrated demographics.

I wonder if the fact that the Tulsa-OKC distance being 100 miles effects these decisions? If so, they're looking at approximately 2.4 million people (approximate est. 1.4 in OKC and just under 1 in Tulsa) that they can potentially reach in a 100 mile stretch.

Anyway, Tulsa seems like it could be the "type" of city to get an IKEA first (we did get the TJ and Costco announcements first), but if they operated purely on population then we obviously know that goes to OKC. I'd be excited either way because IKEA is really talked up by those who've been there.
And you know I'm all about the diversity and market choice.

[bchris02]

Anyway, Tulsa seems like it could be the "type" of city to get an IKEA first (we did get the TJ and Costco announcements first), but if they operated purely on population then we obviously know that goes to OKC. I'd be excited either way because IKEA is really talked up by those who've been there.
And you know I'm all about the diversity and market choice.

The attributes that make Tulsa more attractive to national retailers than OKC probably wouldn't be as applicable for IKEA as they are for Costco and Trader Joe's. IKEA is a destination store and looks at overall market size and demographics rather than the number of high-income rooftops within a 5-10-15 mile radius. Hopefully this means if IKEA came to Oklahoma it would come to OKC and not Tulsa. If IKEA does come to Oklahoma, it will likely only open one store, so if they choose Tulsa, OKC will probably never get one and vice versa.