IKEA

[In_Tulsa]

They why are they looking in NE Oklahoma?

Because they want to put a store in a metro. OKC played a big part in wanting to be in NE Oklahoma.

[jbrown84]

OKC played a big part in wanting to be in NE Oklahoma.

What do you mean by that?

[Oil Capital]

i know ikea was looking in alot of states for new sites. They are wanting to open like 20 new stores in ten years. They were in oklahoma and looking at some land east of tulsa by the soon to be hard rock. I know they were wanting to put an ikea somewere in ne oklahoma and a big reason is because all the booming in ark.

rofl

[Luke]

I'm guessing he's implying OKC on one side, "booming" NW Arkansas on the other and Tulsa perfectly in the middle.

[BG918]

I'm guessing he's implying OKC on one side, "booming" NW Arkansas on the other and Tulsa perfectly in the middle.

That's an interesting way to look at it, Tulsa benefiting from a growing OKC metro and NW Arkansas/I-540 corridor. Both are about an hour and a half from Tulsa.

[In_Tulsa]

That's an interesting way to look at it, Tulsa benefiting from a growing OKC metro and NW Arkansas/I-540 corridor. Both are about an hour and a half from Tulsa.

You are right on the Tulsa metro is also growing so fast right now that alot of places are looking at Tulsa right now. The BOK Center is getting alot of people from Arkansas to com to Tulsa Will see what happens it would be nice to see a meca in Tulsa. By the way alot of people I have talked to have said east Tulsa by the Hard Rock is the place to be in ten years. Stay Tuned!!!

[CuatrodeMayo]

I feel the need to join Oil Capital.

[warreng88]

I would think that Moore/Norman or north Edmond/Guthrie would be the best places for this. Either way you have three smaller and two big colleges (OU, OSU, OCU, OC and UCO) within about an hour drive.

[krisb]

Not sure about Guthrie...definitely north OKC /Edmond area.

[kevinpate]

From a total market area, Tulsa makes more somewhat sense than N OKC or Moore/Norman for a concept store which folks will flock to. Not my cup of whatever, but posts here do suggest IKEA is an event trip, where a 3 hour drive or so is not considered too far to bother.

Just pondering the result if one draws a circle around Tulsa, and one around OKC, both circles having a 160 mile radius, then compares the populations.

[nik4411]

so is there any new news on this? is ikea still putting in a location here?

[jbrown84]

This was never really happening, nik. Just rumors.

[nik4411]

oh, alright thanks.

[mburlison]

IMHO, it's a lot of hype (IKEA) but once you're there... I find it falls short. I have bought some items, and at best its good cheap furniture that will last a 'little while'. Now, some pieces better than others, some of the bed frames, mattresses are decent... the rest you truthfully may as well buy at Target. It's a wonder to me how just the "european" aspect to it has such a draw. Cheap is Cheap.

[bombermwc]

I feel the same way burlison. It's all crappy particle board furniture. The whole point of the place is that it fits in a box and you put it together later. There's nothing "good quality" about it. They do have some interesting food items that are tastey, but I can get that crap online. I don't really see what the big deal is because I can already go to any number of stores and buy cheap crappy stuff. I'd rather spend the cash and have furtniture that lasts.

That being said, apparently there are plenty people out there that like the cheap stuff. The one in Dallas is always very busy and it does create a nice tax flow. So while I would never go there, there are plenty people that do.

[metro]

Not completely true, they do have plenty of solid wood furniture as well. Also their glass, home decorating items, fabric and other things are respectable quality and value, plus it's pretty hard to find modern-euro design furniture around here, even Suburban and places have limited selection and not everyone can afford the exorbant prices.

[nik4411]

yes i have to agree with metro. i think plenty of their items are pretty good quality. and its hard to beat their prices. very affordable. for folks like me, broke college students, places like that are great. simply calling all of their stuff cheap and crappy, while your opinion, is a little overboard.

[betts]

I have a very cool, stainless steel table in my breakfast room that is Ikea. It's very sturdy and I think it's attractive. The particle board furniture doesn't have a long half life, but, if you don't have a lot of money and plan to have more in the future, it's starter furniture. You probably won't see it in antique stores in 50 to 100 years, but it is serviceable at the price.

[circuitboard]

Not completely true, they do have plenty of solid wood furniture as well. Also their glass, home decorating items, fabric and other things are respectable quality and value, plus it's pretty hard to find modern-euro design furniture around here, even Suburban and places have limited selection and not everyone can afford the exorbant prices.

I agree, Ikea is great for affordable modern furniture and I have things from Ikea from 5 years back that are still sturdy and strong. Ikea has great modern accessories and fabric that I can not find anywhere else, design or price wise.

[EBAH]

Some of there stuff is VERY cheaply made, but it is also VERY cheap to buy. Their shelving and cabinetry is where its at for me, as well as little kitchen/bath accessories. Nothing in our area even comes close to comparing for a lot of the things they have. I mean, you can buy a set of nice solid wood cutting boards for like $4, and they'll be attractive, how can you beat that.

[bombermwc]

My experience just speaks poorly for the quality of the product. I've got some living room furniture my parents bought from "The Brothers" back in the mid-80's that still looks as good as new and is going to be hanging around for a long time. You find me something at Ikea that can stand the test of now a 3rd generation's use and i'll concede (yes i said ... my kids). You don't have to spend an arm and leg to get good stuff...you just have to treat it right. But not matter what you do with particle board, it's going to fail...it's sawdust and glue. We all have some of that stuff and rotate it every time it breaks, but I'd rather go find some antique with some history (and they can still be cheap as crap) than some laminated sawdust. This stuff is out there everywhere, you just have to be willing to do the leg work to find it....and you're not going to be able to go to furniture row in a weekend either.

[bluedogok]

The majority of the products in an Ikea are not furniture, it's the other things that are needed to outfit a home. That is most of what we buy there.

[jbrown84]

Bomber, I highly doubt the demographic that wants the IKEA style is interested in mid-80's style furniture, sturdy or not. I think that's what it really comes down to. Cheap and in-style. It won't last forever, but when it breaks, something else will be in style.

[bombermwc]

The point wasn't that it was from the 80's jbrown. The point was it's good quality vs. cheap crap. I gurantee that a particle board bookshelf looks the same now as it did 15 years ago.

But just to note, you wouldn't be able to tell when we bought our furnture. It matches our entertainment center very nicely, which is less than 3 years old.

[jbrown84]

Well that's good. I think my argument holds though. People like cheap and they like in-style.