How real is the furniture monopoly in OKC?

[cedbled]

As I checked my losing lottery tickets tonight,I saw a live video of Chino Hills, California where the ticket was sold.... What's that I see in the distance? An IKEA of course. So,I look up demographics and confirm that they only outnumber our metro (on paper) by a mere 200I people, falling well short of the 2 million magic number I always heard about.
Other things I find funny:
-directions closed
-dane design closed
-Jude and Jody/Oklahoma plywood discount is open as ever
-IKEA is aggressively opening in New locations, including Memphis, and A second one in Dallas
-we have no problems attracting clone stores (west elm, arhaus,etc)
-the Ashley lazy boy crap is on the March, and couldn't be doing better

The real question is how much did mattress brothers pay our commerce people to sabotage
anybody else got any better explanation?

[u50254082]

MB does have quite a hold on the state. But, I think it's for good reason:

I just don't see a lot of the home owners in OKC preferring to buy more stylish but cheaper construction furniture. I know not ALL IKEA stuff is made of MDF or cheap pine, but some folks just want a piece that can last a lifetime.

I'm probably wrong, but I always saw IKEA as starter furniture (excluding their high end cabinet solutions). It's affordable, packs well so you can buy a lot at once (for those without trucks/SUVs), and lasts OK for 1 or 2 moves but eventually you'll chip a veneer or get some water damage and the piece is toast.

IKEA's other home products are awesome, though. I am still using a set of their cook ware I bought years ago as it is very heavy stainless steel and just lasts. They also sell wooden clothes hangers for dirt cheap.

[Uptowner]

IKEA is making a high end line as of now. Similar to what target has done in as many months. My last ikea trip I bought a $1200 leather couch that was a good representation of a $$$$ knoll. Also a $1000 bed frame made of solid mahogany. Again cheap, mahogany!!!

[cedbled]

i agree; I've got the $2100 configuration leather sectional, and couldn't be happier, even with a 3 year old trying his best.
Also, even if you don't care for the big items, who doesn't love the bottom floor, with all the loose odds and ends you can't find anywhere else?

it's disgusting how OKC is always last on the stuff that would benefit EVERYBODY, not just those who have a certain taste.

Also: what good does having furniture that "last's forever" do, when you'll eventually sell or give it away cause you don't wanna look at it forever? ha

[SoonerDave]

I'll give you one more perspective on IKEA - we went to the big store in north Dallas (well, not Dallas, but whatever large suburb the place is in). The place was novel, to be sure, huge, without question - but I was just dumbstruck to find some of the *worst* quality stuff there that was decidedly *not* cheap - some sofas, chairs, took a look underneath, and said to myself "You've got to be kidding me." It's no accident that's the most heavily marketed, front-end stuff, molded to get people to buy a bunch of stuff for a small apartment - have to believe that's the high margin stuff - and then get stuff like cheap coat hangers et al on the way out.

The place is *clearly* designed to cater to a fill-up-a-new-space crowd, not so much someone who might want to pick up a few odds and ends. The place is too cavernous to go in for a quick couple of items, and the layout is deliberately byzantine to KEEP you in there as long as possible.

It's a novel place, to be sure, but you'd better darned well do your homework, know what's well made and what's crap, plan accordingly, and see what you can find. It's not all bad or all great - like all things, reality is in the middle of the spectrum somewhere. It'd be nice to have here in OKC, but I *strongly* suspect they want a heavy apartment/small space density in most of their locations, and while our apartment count is (seemingly) always increasing, I'm not sure it has hit the density IKEA wants to achieve the "churn" of customers they probably depend upon over a several-year cycle....

[adaniel]

Are you seriously comparing the retail offerings of a suburb of Los Angeles (18 million +) to Oklahoma City (1.4 million)? Where did you get that their metro is equal to ours? Even considering that Chino is *technically* part of the Riverside/San Bernadino/Inland Empire MSA, that is still well in excess of 4 million people. Ironically Mathis Brothers has two locations in this area, the only ones outside of OK.

The only and I mean only reason Memphis is getting an IKEA is because it is a nearly 6 hour drive to the next nearest location in St Louis. This is IKEA's first foray into a smaller market. It will be interesting given how awful Memphis's retail demographics are. I would know...half my dad's family lives there.

[SoonerDave]

i agree; I've got the $2100 configuration leather sectional, and couldn't be happier, even with a 3 year old trying his best.
Also, even if you don't care for the big items, who doesn't love the bottom floor, with all the loose odds and ends you can't find anywhere else?

it's disgusting how OKC is always last on the stuff that would benefit EVERYBODY, not just those who have a certain taste.

Also: what good does having furniture that "last's forever" do, when you'll eventually sell or give it away cause you don't wanna look at it forever? ha

Because the converse caters to our society's throwaway model - but pricing is gravitating toward long-lasting pricing for garbage products. Quality endures. Crap enures.

[Just the facts]

IKEA is opening a store in Jacksonville. Exact same demographics as OKC and 4 other IKEA's within 5 hours. I am not an IKEA fan though.

[Plutonic Panda]

Are you seriously comparing the retail offerings of a suburb of Los Angeles (18 million +) to Oklahoma City (1.4 million)? Where did you get that their metro is equal to ours? Even considering that Chino is *technically* part of the Riverside/San Bernadino/Inland Empire MSA, that is still well in excess of 4 million people. Ironically Mathis Brothers has two locations in this area, the only ones outside of OK.

The only and I mean only reason Memphis is getting an IKEA is because it is a nearly 6 hour drive to the next nearest location in St Louis. This is IKEA's first foray into a smaller market. It will be interesting given how awful Memphis's retail demographics are. I would know...half my dad's family lives there.

Yeah. There are like 4 or 5 Ikea's in Los Angeles and it's rumored they are getting one downtown not even 10 miles or so from the one in Burbank.

[mugofbeer]

I think IKEA unintentionally fell into the urbanization and downsizing trend in most US big cities. Just like so many other reailers, dont hold your breath on them coming to OKC. However, as with other retailers, once they open, they will probably surpass expectations.

[stick47]

As for MB Furniture, I think they stand behind their merchandise as well as any retailer I've ever done business with. Yes you need to be careful what you buy. Some overprice junk there as well as some truly underpriced quality pieces. Years ago LazyBoy was a trusted brand. Nowdays I trust them to be junk and don't even look at any of their items. Ashly is improving in quality. The prices are very reasonable too. We did the entire LR on the new house with Ashley and are very happy with it. (well not the entire room.
My chair is a Smith Bros. Haggards' Fine Furniture on May sells the Amish made Smith line. they build their seating with box spring foundations so sagging is eliminated. Also the cushions are in zippered covers so if the poly fill collapses you can tumble them (no heat) in the dryer to bring them back to shape. A Smith chair will last a generation compared to 2-5 years for whatever the big stores sell.

[Questor]

I really miss Dane Design. They were sort of a very high end IKEA. Suburban is okay but they are less into the Euro style and more into contemporary. Does anyone know of any other modern options here locally?

[BBatesokc]

The herd may go to the big box stores off Reno, but personally, I can't think of the last time I ever bought any furniture from any of them (never like the styles and/or quality). I think the last time I did was when I was single and I bought a couple of pieces out of their discount room for my apartment (because the stuff I previously had probably broke during an apartment move).

I do go to Mathis Brothers though once every year - to buy Zoo passes!

Our furniture currently comes from Macy's, IO Metro, online higher end retailers, a neighbor who is an artist and makes pieces and two pieces are many years old from Dane Design and still look great (solid wood and real leather).

I love going to IKEA, but I rarely see any furniture that I'd put into my home. My parent's houses in Austin always had lots of IKEA stuff - it looked really nice, but they knew it would just be throw away whenever they went to move. They put it all on the corner and it was gone within the hour. Wife loves their kitchen stuff.

I've personally always wanted to buy one of those 10x20 type outdoor wood sheds and set it up just like those tiny rooms in IKEA and then rent it out on AirBnB as a 'stay in an IKEA display.'

[Filthy]

The herd may go to the big box stores off Memorial.....

Maybe I've been so focused on following all the other sheeple, that I haven't ever noticed any big box furniture stores off of Memorial? Which ones do you speak of?

[BBatesokc]

Maybe I've been so focused on following all the other sheeple, that I haven't ever noticed any big box furniture stores off of Memorial? Which ones do you speak of?

Meant 'Reno' and typed 'Memorial.' That's what happens when I try and multitask!

[Filthy]

Meant 'Reno' and typed 'Memorial.' That's what happens when I try and multitask!

Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure I hadn't been missing something my entire life. Although, with the upcoming Mathis Brothers facility at Memorial/Portland being built..... I guess that counts.

[whorton]

Do not pass go. . . do not collect new furniture. . .

[SouthSide]

Haggard's furniture is my go to for chairs. Wish I had purchased my couch from them instead of Drexel. Borthicks was a really nice furniture store that carried quality furniture lines. However no one in the family wanted to run the business so they closed. I think this has been true of several other local furniture stores.

[Zorba]

The herd may go to the big box stores off Reno, but personally, I can't think of the last time I ever bought any furniture from any of them (never like the styles and/or quality). I think the last time I did was when I was single and I bought a couple of pieces out of their discount room for my apartment (because the stuff I previously had probably broke during an apartment move).

I do go to Mathis Brothers though once every year - to buy Zoo passes!

Our furniture currently comes from Macy's, IO Metro, online higher end retailers, a neighbor who is an artist and makes pieces and two pieces are many years old from Dane Design and still look great (solid wood and real leather).

I love going to IKEA, but I rarely see any furniture that I'd put into my home. My parent's houses in Austin always had lots of IKEA stuff - it looked really nice, but they knew it would just be throw away whenever they went to move. They put it all on the corner and it was gone within the hour. Wife loves their kitchen stuff.

I've personally always wanted to buy one of those 10x20 type outdoor wood sheds and set it up just like those tiny rooms in IKEA and then rent it out on AirBnB as a 'stay in an IKEA display.'

Does your neighbor have a website? I'd really like to have some pieces made for me.