Expanding in the West, Swedish Retailer IKEA Breaks Ground in Centennial, CO on Denver-Area Store Opening Fall 2011

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With company representatives, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground for its future Denver-area store in Centennial, Colorado. Until IKEA Centennial opens in Fall 2011 as the 38^th IKEA store in the U.S., customers from Colorado and beyond can shop at IKEA stores in Draper, UT and Tempe, AZ or at IKEA-USA.com.

“We appreciate the reception by officials and community leaders here as we begin construction. It is exciting to see physical progress towards the future IKEA Centennial”

The 415,000-square-foot IKEA Centennial, with approximately 1,500 parking spaces, will be built on 13.5 acres along the western side of Interstate 25, north of the Park Meadows area, accessible from connections to Dry Creek Road and County Line Road exits. When it opens, the store will employ approximately 400 coworkers and reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. Also, IKEA Centennial will be the first IKEA store in the U.S. to incorporate a geothermal component as part of its heating/cooling system, meaning heat will be pumped either from or into the ground, depending on the weather.

“This location will help us to bring our unique family-friendly shopping experience closer to more than 47,000 IKEA customers in Colorado, and to attract new customers from along the Front Range and beyond who value good design, good function and affordable prices,” said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. president.

The future IKEA Centennial will present nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, three model home interiors, approximately 50 room settings, a supervised children’s play area, a 500-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features will include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store.

“We appreciate the reception by officials and community leaders here as we begin construction. It is exciting to see physical progress towards the future IKEA Centennial,” added Doug Greenholz, IKEA U.S. real estate director.

Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should look online at IKEA-USA.com, where they will be able to apply for diverse positions available in home furnishings sales, interior decoration, customer service, safety and security, cashiers, maintenance, goods flow, receiving, warehouse and stock replenishment. Also, setting itself apart from other retailers, IKEA Centennial will offer approximately 80 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria. The store also will result in 500 construction jobs and generate significant tax revenue for local governments and schools.

There currently are more than 300 IKEA stores in 38 countries, including 37 in the U.S. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has been ranked in FORTUNE’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, Working Mother magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies for Working Mothers” and Training magazine’s annual “Top 100” ranking of companies that excel at human capital development. IKEA incorporates sustainable efforts into day-to-day business, and continually supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. For more information about IKEA, please go to IKEA-USA.com.