IKEA Announces Its Entry into the Las Vegas Market With New Store to Open in the Summer of 2016
Las Vegas, Nevada will soon join the exclusive club of US metropolitan areas able to boast the rather elusive title of being home to an IKEA store. That title doesn’t come easily, as Bloomberg Business Week informs us, IKEA presently has 38 stores in 21 states with limited plans for expansion and no plans to build stores in every state.
Bloomberg Business Week goes on tell us that IKEA uses relatively straight forward calculations when determining which markets it finds to be desirable areas in which to expand, and the Las Vegas area only recently made the mark. IKEA has been looking at the Southern Nevada market for over a decade, and according to IKEA company spokesman, Joseph Roth, the Swedish furniture retailer has delayed efforts to expand in the area sooner because of difficulty in securing a large piece of land. IKEA purchases its land and has obtained a 26 acre site located at I-215 and Durango Dr. on which it will locate a 351,000 square foot store complete with 1,300 parking spaces. Aside from land requirements, Bloomberg Business Week informs us that IKEA looks at expanding into markets with at least 2 million people within a 40 to 60 mile radius. The Las Vegas, NV area only recently met that requirement.
IKEA’s decision to locate a store in Southern Nevada will also have a positive impact on the local economy, as CBS Las Vegas tells us, the international retailer expects to employ around 300 people as soon as the summer of 2016 when the Las Vegas area store is scheduled to open. The Inquisitr further informs us that IKEA will also be increasing its minimum wage for all of its U.S. based workers by 17% in time for the new store’s opening. IKEA will serve as another retailer at which southern Nevadans can spend money, as IKEA projects that it will have an estimated 101,000 customers in the Las Vegas area. IKEA has good reason to announce robust expectations regarding its projected new customer base. According to Bloomberg Business Week, IKEA grew its U.S. stores’ sales by 6.7% last year and increased its e-commerce sales by a whopping 65% last year. Predictably, CBS Las Vegas tells us that IKEA is excited about its new venture. IKEA’s U.S. CFO, Rob Olson, stated that, “We look forward to continue growing our western U.S. presence with IKEA Las Vegas” and, “This accessible location would provide the already 101,000 Las Vegas-area customers a store of their own and introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers throughout Clark County and Southern Nevada.”
In only a few short months, Las Vegas area residents will have access to all the do-it-yourself Swedish furniture offered at reasonable prices they can handle. IKEA intends to make a solid entrance into its new market, and early indications support the perspective that it will succeed.
