Ikea Canada to triple size of Calgary store
By Michael J. Knell -- Furniture Today, February 16, 2004
CALGARY, Alberta — Ikea Canada will relocate its Calgary store this year to a facility nearly three times its current size.
Slated to open this fall at Deerfoot Trail and Heritage Drive in the south end of the city, the new store will occupy just over 308,000 square feet. The old store has 111,000 square feet.
The move was prompted by a 70% growth in sales over the past five years.
"Since 1998, our annual sales have grown from C$38 million to C$67 million today," said Deb Smith, Ikea Calgary store manager. The specialty lifestyle retailer anticipates the annual sales figure will grow to C$80 million in the new store's first year, attracting close to 2 million visitors. By year five, it expects to serve more than 3 million visitors.
The new Calgary store will be a traditional Ikea store. It won't be like the new concept store Ikea built last year in the Toronto suburb of Vaughn, which the company continues to call a test model.
The relocation marks the end of the Canadian phase of Ikea's growth plans for North America, a company spokesman said. Much of the expansion for Canada has taken place in the past couple of years, and the growth focus now is on new markets in the United States.
Ikea has 11 stores in Canada and is this country's third-largest furniture retailer. The company plans to build 50 stores over a 10-year period across North America.
The new Calgary store will be built on 22 acres of commercial land. The two-story shopping and display area will cover 115,000 square feet, with three full home settings (the current store has one) and 50 room/ kitchen settings, up from 19 currently. The store's assortment will grow significantly from 6,800 products today to Ikea's full range of more than 11,000 items.
"This store promises a whole new shopping experience for our customers," said Smith.
