IKEA to Nashville

[jmtunafish]

I had to run to Memphis yesterday and popped into their IKEA to get a few things.  It was my first time in that IKEA.  My goodness, it is TINY, and it was like a ghost town.  It's the only time I've ever been in an IKEA where I didn't have to stand in line to check out (4 of their 6 registers were completely open), and I've been an IKEA fanatic for over 30 years and have shopped at IKEA stores in 5 countries on 3 continents.  I noticed that the Memphis store also has much more limited hours than other IKEA stores.

I thought then and still think that IKEA made a colossal blunder in opening a store in Memphis instead of Nashville, and I wonder how much a store in Nashville would hurt the one in Memphis.  As I've ordered IKEA furniture and picked them up at the Nashville pick-up point, I notice that most of the time it came from Memphis.  I'm curious how much of the Memphis IKEA's business is from Nashville, and I wonder if IKEA decision makers are hesitant to cannibalize the Memphis IKEA by opening a store in Nashville.

Edited December 30, 2023 by jmtunafish

[MLBrumby]

23 minutes ago, jmtunafish said:

I had to run to Memphis yesterday and popped into their IKEA to get a few things.  It was my first time in that IKEA.  My goodness, it is TINY, and it was like a ghost town.  It's the only time I've ever been in an IKEA where I didn't have to stand in line to check out (4 of their 6 registers were completely open), and I've been an IKEA fanatic for over 30 years and have shopped at IKEA stores in 5 countries on 3 continents.  I noticed that the Memphis store also has much more limited hours than other IKEA stores.

I thought then and still think that IKEA made a colossal blunder in opening a store in Memphis instead of Nashville, and I wonder how much a store in Nashville would hurt the one in Memphis.  As I've ordered IKEA furniture and picked them up at the Nashville pick-up point, I notice that most of the time it came from Memphis.  I'm curious how much of the Memphis IKEA's business is from Nashville, and I wonder if IKEA decision makers are hesitant to cannibalize the Memphis IKEA by opening a store in Nashville.

Seems like a blunder on many levels. I understand they followed incentives, but I wonder if their market research just centered around the "largest" city. I wonder how much of that decision was borne out of ignorance about TN and the Southeast in general. 

I recall a rumor the company was looking at what is now Century City. To think if IKEA had built there, they'd be in the middle of everything; and that property would already be worth at least 3X their investment. 

[smeagolsfree]

My gut tells me if what you say is true, then IKEA will close the store soon. The demographics never made sense to me even though Memphis is a large city, but if they bought the store in a manner of speaking, it was a bad move on ‘IKEA’s part. It never made sense. I will hate it for Memphis if it does close and it will be a loss for them.
 

The household spending income is not nearly where Nashville’s is and the wealthier communities in the state are around Nashville with exception of Collierville and Germantown. 

[jjbradleyBrooklyn]

33 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

My gut tells me if what you say is true, then IKEA will close the store soon. The demographics never made sense to me even though Memphis is a large city, but if they bought the store in a manner of speaking, it was a bad move on ‘IKEA’s part. It never made sense. I will hate it for Memphis if it does close and it will be a loss for them.
 

The household spending income is not nearly where Nashville’s is and the wealthier communities in the state are around Nashville with exception of Collierville and Germantown. 

Exactly! I was just going to comment something similar to this. 

IKEA probably wishes they had opened the store in the Nashville metro area--or even the Knoxville or Chattanooga regions--as compared to Memphis. Not a knock at all to Memphis, but it is in a much less "buying power" region in Memphis, and the Arkansas/northern Mississippi/west Tennessee region is pretty rural, outside of Memphis itself, and does not lend itself to a lot of foot traffic wanting to visit that store, I would imagine. 

The Nashville metro area has one of the wealthiest counties in the US, plus Nashville has almost a million more people than metro Memphis. 

So, yeah, I would imagine the sales may be down at this location. And I would guess IKEA may unfortunately shutter this store in the next couple of years, after one opens in Nashville, with their "urban market model stores."

 

[jmtunafish]

I think Memphis would be a perfect location for an IKEA distribution center.  Right now when I order things for delivery to my house, they usually come from Lakeland FL or suburban Philadelphia.  So many other retailers have gigantic distribution centers in Memphis with retail outlet stores, and I could see IKEA turning their Memphis store into something like that.  I can't imagine that they would shut down the store completely after investing millions into it, but making it into a distribution center might be feasible.  I wouldn't be surprised if they're already thinking about it.  A quick Google search shows that IKEA has distribution centers up and down both coasts and one in Chicago, but nothing else in flyover country.  Memphis would be a great location for another one.

Their opening hours in Memphis are 11-7.  Just about all the other IKEA stores in this part of the world (Atlanta, Charlotte, Tampa, Orlando, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, St Louis, etc.) are open 10-9.  Something else that I found very telling:  I was there from 11:30-12:30, right smack in the lunch hour on a Friday of a holiday weekend.  There were THREE people in the IKEA restaurant.  That's it.  In Atlanta I would've had to stand in line for 10 minutes or so along with 100 other people to get my fix of Swedish meatballs, vegetable medallions, and lingonberry sauce.

Anyway, I don't know if the poor results of the Memphis store are good or bad for Nashville's chances of landing a store.  Even though the two cities are just 2.5 hours apart and are in the same state, they are wildly different in every measurable metric, and I'm sure someone at IKEA is kicking themselves for not opening a store in Nashville instead of Memphis.

[smeagolsfree]

This is from April of this year and the key sentence is below. I do think Nashville will get a store.

Ikea to open 17 new U.S. stores in major expansion - CBS News

MONEYWATCH 

Ikea to open 17 new U.S. stores in $2.2 billion expansion

Ikea plans to open 17 new stores across America in a major push to expand its U.S. business, the Swedish home goods company announced Thursday.

The retailer will spend more than $2.2 billion over three years growing its U.S. presence, with a focus on entering new markets in the South, the company said. Ikea will also work to improve its ability to fulfill and deliver customer orders in a bid to capture greater market share. 

 

[jmtunafish]

10 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

This is from April of this year and the key sentence is below. I do think Nashville will get a store.

Ikea to open 17 new U.S. stores in major expansion - CBS News

MONEYWATCH 

Ikea to open 17 new U.S. stores in $2.2 billion expansion

Ikea plans to open 17 new stores across America in a major push to expand its U.S. business, the Swedish home goods company announced Thursday.

The retailer will spend more than $2.2 billion over three years growing its U.S. presence, with a focus on entering new markets in the South, the company said. Ikea will also work to improve its ability to fulfill and deliver customer orders in a bid to capture greater market share. 

 

Thanks for posting that.  I remember when that came out.  I guess I'm just being a bit impatient.  I just finished spending the last 6 months completely retro-furnishing my house with all IKEA furniture and made good and frequent use of their pick-up point in Nashville.  I do remember that Nashville was the first pick-up point for IKEA, so hopefully that means that Nashville is high up on their list of expansion cities.

Edited January 1 by jmtunafish

[TNinVB]

1 hour ago, jmtunafish said:

Thanks for posting that.  I remember when that came out.  I guess I'm just being a bit impatient.  I just finished spending the last 6 months completely retro-furnishing my house with all IKEA furniture and made good and frequent use of their pick-up point in Nashville.  I do remember that Nashville was the first pick-up point for IKEA, so hopefully that means that Nashville is high up on their list of expansion cities.

I think they would be crazy not to. We have one in Norfolk which is right next to Virginia Beach. I don’t think I’ve ever been in there and it was busy. At least nothing like the IKEA in Woodbridge, VA. which is a suburb of D.C.  

[GreenHillsBoy]

OK, my two cents...find it interesting and somewhat puzzling the seeming fascination with IKEA.  Its very cheap furniture and I totally realize there is a market for it, but from a priority standpoint, it would be VERY low on my list.  Again, just my two cents for what it is worth.  

 

[Luvemtall]

6 hours ago, GreenHillsBoy said:

OK, my two cents...find it interesting and somewhat puzzling the seeming fascination with IKEA.  Its very cheap furniture and I totally realize there is a market for it, but from a priority standpoint, it would be VERY low on my list.  Again, just my two cents for what it is worth.  

 

Different strokes for different folks! Some of their products are of good quality and value, and their presence is a big draw . I honestly think that if the Nashville market was to get a location, it’s going to be in Rutherford or Wilson County. Williamson’s to affluent and land prices in Davidson on the high side, plus I think Tanger shows Antioch isn’t ready yet for that kind of development.

[jjbradleyBrooklyn]

8 hours ago, GreenHillsBoy said:

OK, my two cents...find it interesting and somewhat puzzling the seeming fascination with IKEA.  Its very cheap furniture and I totally realize there is a market for it, but from a priority standpoint, it would be VERY low on my list.  Again, just my two cents for what it is worth.  

 

IKEA furniture usually has a shelf life of anywhere from 3 to maybe 5 or 6 years. Depending on the piece. 

And an interesting thing too, is that I bought our couch from IKEA back in 2018. Has been one of the most comfortable couches I've had, and it was just $999 bucks. They also sell replacement covers for the cushions. so you can pop those over the existing frame ever 2-3 years or so. 

IKEA also has some great mattresses, at good prices. 

So overall, I don't love their quality, but for a few purchases, they have great deals and quality design.

We have an IKEA about 2 miles from us here in Brooklyn, and we run down there for modern accent pieces, and pillows or chairs that we know we will throw out or give away after a year or two.  

And a sidenote, the Brooklyn IKEA is massive--it has 2 or 3 levels and is a big maze. That's why I was surprised at the comment that the Memphis store was so small. Other IKEAs I've been to are New Haven, CT, northern New Jersey, and Long Island. And they've all been pretty large stores. 

 

[MLBrumby]

A few years back, I had to move my aunt out of her house of 60 years in Rome, GA.... she had 18 rooms of antiques. I set up an estate sale with ads in Atlanta and Chattanooga. The company I hired promoted the heck out of it; and there were fewer than 40 people to attend! Antiques just don't appeal to the public en masse like 30 years ago. They were fine antiques that eventually found buyers around the world. As the estate liquidator told me, "Young people want nice DISPOSABLE things. They buy furniture to last 5-8 years."  As someone whose own mother actually said upon entering our first house 25 years ago, "Looks like engineers decorated this place, and I mean that in the best way!" I was astonished that my aunt's fine furniture didn't have buyers. It eventually did in Europe and two museums in the USA... for a "pittance".  ANyway, wrt IKEA, it seems they're exactly what the core buying demographic wants. 

[smeagolsfree]

11 hours ago, MLBrumby said:

A few years back, I had to move my aunt out of her house of 60 years in Rome, GA.... she had 18 rooms of antiques. I set up an estate sale with ads in Atlanta and Chattanooga. The company I hired promoted the heck out of it; and there were fewer than 40 people to attend! Antiques just don't appeal to the public en masse like 30 years ago. They were fine antiques that eventually found buyers around the world. As the estate liquidator told me, "Young people want nice DISPOSABLE things. They buy furniture to last 5-8 years."  As someone whose own mother actually said upon entering our first house 25 years ago, "Looks like engineers decorated this place, and I mean that in the best way!" I was astonished that my aunt's fine furniture didn't have buyers. It eventually did in Europe and two museums in the USA... for a "pittance".  ANyway, wrt IKEA, it seems they're exactly what the core buying demographic wants. 

The problem is most people have their home set up in either a modern motif these days and very few people other than the extremely wealthy can afford to have their home set up with antiques. Most folks are looking for specific pieces. Antinique furnishings are simply going out of style now epically if they are being used in a modern home. It just does not fit. If you have kids, then that is another reason it will not work. Most people, when they see those adds think the price is simply out of reach for them. Best bet is to sell it all to a dealer. Might not get the best price but it saves your time. I have a friend that used to buy old glass and she said it does not sell anymore. The market for carnival glass hit rock bottom but you would never know that on ebay. Folks are still trying to sell it at top dollar. 

[jmtunafish]

There is a common misperception that IKEA sells nothing but cheap, disposable furniture.  A lot of it is particle board, yes.  But a lot of it is also solid wood or even metal and glass.  Here's my home office.  The tall bookcases on either side of the window are solid wood with glass shelves.  $205 each.   The curtain rod?  $7, all metal, which includes the brackets and finials which screw in; they'll never fall off unlike the cheap stuff from Target or Walmart (which are often plastic).  The Roman shade is $44.   The shorter bookcase on the right is particle board, but it's dense and solid, plus it also has glass shelves.  $100.  The squatty storage unit under the window is not particle board but is made of an ingenious honeycomb construction so it's lightweight, impossible to sag, and nearly unbreakable.  $45.  These things will outlast me.

 

And then there are these units which I put in my bathroom.  Metal frames, glass shelves and glass doors.  $40 each.  I put three of them together for bathroom storage.  The 5 metal baskets are $15 each, and the 3 fabric boxes are $3 each.  And the towels?  Thick, large, luxurious, all cotton, with built-in loops so they're easy to hang on hooks, $9 each.

 

I do think it's funny that we talk about IKEA catering to higher income demographics, which I agree with, even though their products are remarkably inexpensive.  Kind of like Trader Joe's in that respect.

Edited January 2 by jmtunafish

[GregH]

Young people liking Ikea isn't displacing them from buying quality antiques, they were never going to do that and didn't do it 30 years ago. It's displacing mismatched castoffs, trashed free couches, and yard sale junk, or just not having very much furniture. Ikea actually lets you design your space a little bit in an affordable way without having to spend a lot of time on it and mostly at a quality level that is a bit higher than virtually all the other flat pack furniture options. You could go to Ikea and get everything you need to furnish your first apartment in one day and have it look pretty ok.

[Bos2Nash]

17 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

Different strokes for different folks! Some of their products are of good quality and value, and their presence is a big draw . I honestly think that if the Nashville market was to get a location, it’s going to be in Rutherford or Wilson County. Williamson’s to affluent and land prices in Davidson on the high side, plus I think Tanger shows Antioch isn’t ready yet for that kind of development.

From a traditional thought perspective, I think if/when IKEA does build a store, it will be in Wilson County along the 840 corridor. Close enough to town that a Nashville resident could make the trip, but far enough out that the land value represents an opportunity for a large footprint store. This would also allow them space to build warehouse capacity to hit the demand they described as "its ability to fulfill and deliver customer orders in a bid to capture greater market share". 

And honestly, a store with that model belongs out on 840. If they were to consider smaller footprint stores, I think they would thrive with urban locations (I believe the Red Hook location is still open, but that is a traditional store), but the land value to get into said cores is probably too high and something that I don't think we should strive for from a land-use perspective. If IKEA was to open a urban concept storefront, I would think it should be more like how Tesla and Rivion set up their storefronts. Have them be showroom type places that would then ship in from warehouses. With IKEA's capacity, I would think they could ship orders next day from somewhere like an 840 corridor located warehouse.

[Luvemtall]

I agree, sorta like the Rooms to Go facility in Lebanon. It’s a good location for such an endeavor, and accessible from anywhere in the midstate . 

[jmtunafish]

5 hours ago, Bos2Nash said:

From a traditional thought perspective, I think if/when IKEA does build a store, it will be in Wilson County along the 840 corridor. Close enough to town that a Nashville resident could make the trip, but far enough out that the land value represents an opportunity for a large footprint store. This would also allow them space to build warehouse capacity to hit the demand they described as "its ability to fulfill and deliver customer orders in a bid to capture greater market share". 

And honestly, a store with that model belongs out on 840. If they were to consider smaller footprint stores, I think they would thrive with urban locations (I believe the Red Hook location is still open, but that is a traditional store), but the land value to get into said cores is probably too high and something that I don't think we should strive for from a land-use perspective. If IKEA was to open a urban concept storefront, I would think it should be more like how Tesla and Rivion set up their storefronts. Have them be showroom type places that would then ship in from warehouses. With IKEA's capacity, I would think they could ship orders next day from somewhere like an 840 corridor located warehouse.

I don't know.  The IKEA in Atlanta is right in the middle of the city and built on top of a two-level parking garage.  It's a huge store (I believe it was advertised as the largest in America at the time it was built although I think the one built later in Charlotte is larger).  One reason I prefer going there instead of other stores is precisely because it's on top of a parking garage, so I can carry $hundreds of stuff to my car while protected from the elements.  The urban enthusiast in me hopes that IKEA would do something like that in Nashville, but you're probably right that they would rather do a suburban location next to a freeway with a sprawling parking lot like they tend to do in most other American cities.

[Binbin98]

4 hours ago, jmtunafish said:

I don't know.  The IKEA in Atlanta is right in the middle of the city and built on top of a two-level parking garage.  It's a huge store (I believe it was advertised as the largest in America at the time it was built although I think the one built later in Charlotte is larger).  One reason I prefer going there instead of other stores is precisely because it's on top of a parking garage, so I can carry $hundreds of stuff to my car while protected from the elements.  The urban enthusiast in me hopes that IKEA would do something like that in Nashville, but you're probably right that they would rather do a suburban location next to a freeway with a sprawling parking lot like they tend to do in most other American cities.

The ikeas in England and London specifically are much smaller. I’ll go to one tomorrow and take picture to show you all XD, maybe that will be built in downtown or midtown nashville

[dragonfly]

On 1/1/2024 at 10:04 AM, GreenHillsBoy said:

OK, my two cents...find it interesting and somewhat puzzling the seeming fascination with IKEA.  Its very cheap furniture and I totally realize there is a market for it, but from a priority standpoint, it would be VERY low on my list.  Again, just my two cents for what it is worth.  

 

On 1/1/2024 at 8:10 PM, MLBrumby said:

, "Young people want nice DISPOSABLE things. They buy furniture to last 5-8 years."  As someone whose own mother actually said upon entering our first house 25 years ago, "Looks like engineers decorated this place, and I mean that in the best way!" I was astonished that my aunt's fine furniture didn't have buyers. It eventually did in Europe and two museums in the USA... for a "pittance".  ANyway, wrt IKEA, it seems they're exactly what the core buying demographic wants. 

Yep and then add this to the scenario: https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/ikea-likely-sold-furniture-linked-illegal-logging-forests-crucial-earth-n1273745

So after 5~8 years then hopefully it's not straight to the landfill? I'm kinda pessimistic.

In fairness it appears the company is trying to do it right or at least they were when this came out: https://www.goiam.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/images_articles_headquarters_departments_woodworkers_wrench-and-wood-newsletter_volume 1 - number 1 - october 2014.pdf

[satalac]

As much as I'd hate the increased traffic, I think that the Veterans Pkwy exit on 840 would be a really good fit. Easily accessible from Nashville, Lebanon, Franklin and of course Murfreesboro. That whole exit has really changed in the past 3-4 years.

[Nathan_in_DC]

15 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

The ikeas in England and London specifically are much smaller. I’ll go to one tomorrow and take picture to show you all XD, maybe that will be built in downtown or midtown nashville

The one we used to go to in Milton Keynes was huge...as big as the ones in the DC Metro, nearly as big as the one I near where I used to live in Philadelphia. Never went to one in London, though. With land prices it serves to reason it'd be smaller!

[Luvemtall]

26 minutes ago, satalac said:

As much as I'd hate the increased traffic, I think that the Veterans Pkwy exit on 840 would be a really good fit. Easily accessible from Nashville, Lebanon, Franklin and of course Murfreesboro. That whole exit has really changed in the past 3-4 years.

Or maybe next to Costco @ I-24 New Salem Road, would be very visible there and it’s in proximity to the rumored Hy-Vee on New Salem. 

[Flatrock]

16 hours ago, Binbin98 said:

The ikeas in England and London specifically are much smaller. I’ll go to one tomorrow and take picture to show you all XD, maybe that will be built in downtown or midtown nashville

I lived in the UK (near Birmingham ) for 5 yrs and the IKEA there was huge. 

[Flatrock]

I bought these Ikea Poang chairs and ottomans for my man cave early in the pandemic. Inexpensive, super comfortable, but a royal pain-in-the-a$$ to have shipped at that time. The pick-up center in Nashville would have helped a lot. And I would buy even more stuff from Ikea  if we had a store here - where I could see and touch the furniture. I'd be less inclined to drive to Lebanon, but that's just me. They're pretty stupid if they don't come to Middle Tennessee....