Swedish success story: IKEA going strong as five-year mark approaches

The big blue and yellow building so eagerly awaited during its construction is gearing up for a major birthday celebration marking five years of operations in June. IKEA, the Swedish-based furnishings store, is very pleased with its decision to call Canton its home.

The Canton store, located on Ford and Haggerty roads, is one of 38 American stores in the chain. There are 280 stores in 26 countries. As the sole Michigan location, the Canton store is a destination shopping event, not only for locals but people throughout Michigan, Ontario and parts of Ohio. Before the store in Cincinnati, Ohio opened last year, the Canton store also drew shoppers from Kentucky and Tennessee.

James Organ, deputy store manager, said the Canton store has met and exceeded all corporate expectations, even in the bleak economic times.

He says there is much to celebrate.

“IKEA has delivered very positive results. More than 300 people are gainfully employed, with no layoffs when the economy went sour. We offer well-designed furniture at great prices. The Canton IKEA has a steadily growing market share,” Organ said.

Canton was one of the cities looked at and its cultural diversity, accessibility to major freeways and the good relationship with local government is what played a role in the final decision.

“It made sense to open a store in this area. Detroit is in the top 10 in the country for furniture spending. People in this market spend a lot of money on their homes,” Organ said.

IKEA is a 311,000-square-foot building, with two levels and 1,300 parking spaces on a 21-acre parcel. Showrooms and model houses are located on the second floor. Also on the upper level is a 300-seat restaurant. The main floor houses Smaland, a supervised children's play area, the unassembled furniture stock to take home, 17 checkout lanes and packaged Swedish food.

IKEA designs all its items at the headquarters in Sweden. Cost is a key component in deciding to put an item on the market. Packaging is the other, Organ said.“We believe in flat packaging. When we put something like pillows in a box for shipment, the air is removed so more pillows can fit in a box. That means fewer trucks on the road and less emissions,” Organ said.

The IKEA look decidedly is Swedish, with cleaner lines and a European color palette. The taste also is decidedly Swedish, both at the restaurant and the Swedish Foodmarket.

The stock ranges from small kitchenware items to appliances, furniture and a full array of bedding and linens. A children's section features toys, decorative items, bedroom furniture and tot-sized tables and chairs.

DECORATE AFFORDABLY

“Tastes change from babies to tweens. Parents can decorate more affordably here. We have an expandable toddler bed that grows with the child,” Organ said.

It's that type of versatility and good price point that makes IKEA a major part of the furnishings business, he said. While the business is steady throughout the year, Organ said that in July and August as students prepare for the dorm life at colleges and universities, there is a great demand for beds, desks and décor that fits into the compacted space.

“We are a destination. We're the only store in Michigan right now. That's why it's important to offer a good day out. We try to make it fun and we make it affordable,” Organ explained.

The recessionary times and affordability have broadened IKEA's appeal, Organ said. Shoppers, who might not have considered IKEA before, came in when money was tight. IKEA is finding that the initial contact was positive because many have become repeat customers and are spending more now that the economic climate is improving, the deputy manager said.

Customers find that to be the case.

Charley Hernandez was picking up items for his new apartment in Westland.

“I needed something nice for the living room and found everything on this one trip,” he said.

Admitting that home furnishings aren't his specialty, he said he relied on the look of the floor design at the store and asked the IKEA salesperson for advice.“She was great — gave me really good ideas but she didn't push anything on me,” Hernandez said.

Tiffany Baines of Canton was shopping for “little odds and ends.” With a tight budget, she's tired of the look of her rooms and wanted some new purchases to “spice it up a bit.”

Kathy Kovacic of Cleveland was in town to visit relatives and always tags on a trip to IKEA.

“Certainly I am an expert IKEA shopper. The one closest to me is outside Pittsburgh, opened several years before the one in Canton. But with the family up here, I go to this one more often. I like the store, its furnishings' clean lines and good price; I have a lot of their products.”

Another plus in her eyes is the access. “I like the one in Canton better than the Pittsburgh one in ease of getting in and out,” she said.

SWEDISH APPEAL

The Canton store is the only IKEA not on a freeway.

Swedish members of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team make regular visits to the store to pick up items that they had in Sweden but are difficult to find locally. They're most usually dropping in to buy food items, Organ said. There is a variety of herring and salmon products, as well as lingonberry jam and cookies, a Swedish mainstay.

Organ added that a good work team makes IKEA successful and that employees are enthusiastic about what they do.

An IKEA employee who works 30 hours per week is considered full-time, getting benefits. Former store manager Kelly Frieze held a meeting with employees when the economy soured to reassure them that their jobs were safe.

Libby Olave, an employee in the Interior Design Department, attests to that.

“I appreciate the amount of time the company places on training and development. And I am grateful for its values,” she said.

Olave hired in when the store first opened

“IKEA takes a long-range view of things,” Organ said. “We knew that we would work together and see this through. There was such a peaceful feeling when they heard that. It certainly provided a calming effect in the storm.”

In addition to what it sells, Organ said the company makes charitable giving and environmental issues a part of its everyday planning. Though it doesn't send out press releases on its charitable acts, Organ said the Canton store has been involved in a few projects, including First Step, a shelter for women and children.

Environmentally, the emphasis is on reducing carbon footprint. The chain has stopped selling incandescent light bulbs and earlier this year the headquarters shipped 300 bicycles to be given to Canton employee so they can pedal to work, or during off hours if they live too far away, to reduce the impact of car emissions.