IKEA Continues Midwest Expansion by Submitting Plans to Open a Milwaukee-Area Store Summer 2018 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin

05 Mayo 2016, 00:00 AM EDT

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today announced it
is submitting plans to the City of Oak Creek, Wisconsin for a store that
would increase the Swedish company’s presence in the Midwestern U.S. as
its first store in the state. Pending approvals, construction of IKEA
Oak Creek could begin in Spring 2017, with an opening in Summer 2018.
(Nearby IKEA stores are: Chicago-area IKEA Bolingbrook and IKEA
Schaumburg, and Twin Cities-area IKEA Bloomington, MN.)

Located approximately 12 miles south of downtown Milwaukee, the
295,000-square-foot proposed IKEA store and its approximately 1,200
parking spaces would be built on 29 acres at the northwestern corner of
Interstate 94 and Drexel Avenue. Store plans reflect the same unique
architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. IKEA
also will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its
current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S.
locations.

“We are excited at the possibility of growing our Midwestern U.S.
presence with a Milwaukee-area store,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars
Petersson. “A location in this retail corridor would provide our already
206,000 Milwaukee-area customers their own store and introduce the
unique IKEA shopping experience to others throughout Wisconsin.”

IKEA Oak Creek would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items,
50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised
children’s play area, and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish
specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as
well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a
‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas
throughout the store, and preferring parking. In addition to the more
than 500 jobs that are expected during the construction phase,
approximately 250 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new
store opens. IKEA Oak Creek also would provide significant annual sales
and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.

Drawing from its Swedish heritage and respect of nature, IKEA strives to
minimize its operations’ carbon emissions because reducing its
environmental impact makes good business sense. IKEA evaluates locations
regularly for conservation opportunities, integrates innovative
materials into product design, works to maintain sustainable resources,
and flat-packs goods for efficient distribution. U.S. sustainable
efforts include: recycling waste material; incorporating key measures
into buildings with energy-efficient HVAC and lighting systems, recycled
construction materials, warehouse skylights, and water-conserving
restrooms; and operationally, eliminating plastic bags from the
check-out process, and selling only LED bulbs/fixtures. IKEA U.S. has
installed electric vehicle charging stations at 13 locations and solar
arrays at 90% of its locations, and owns two wind farms in the U.S.

Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of
good design and function at affordable prices. There are currently more
than 380 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 41 in the U.S. IKEA has
been ranked among “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further
investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in
two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and
supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more
information see IKEA-USA.com,
@IKEAUSANews,
@IKEAUSA
or IKEAUSA on Facebook,
YouTube,
Instagram
and Pinterest.