ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With company representatives, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, local officials and community leaders on-hand, IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today officially broke ground for its future St. Louis store scheduled to open Fall 2015. Until then, customers can shop at the closest IKEA stores: the Chicago-area IKEA Bolingbrook and IKEA Schaumburg; or online at IKEA-USA.com. Additionally, a Kansas City-area store is on track to open Fall 2014 in Merriam, KS.
The 380,000 square-foot future IKEA St. Louis, and 1,300 parking spaces, will be built along the northern side of Interstate-64 and Vandeventer Avenue on nearly 21 acres in the City’s Cortex Innovation District. IKEA has contracted with St. Louis-based S. M. Wilson & Co. to construct the project, and store plans reflect the same unique architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide. In addition, IKEA will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. goal of renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations. Also reflecting the company’s sustainability commitment, IKEA is working with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and other local groups to recycle and salvage as much of the existing buildings’ equipment, materials, and parts as possible.
“This location will help bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience closer to many St. Louis-area customers who currently can only shop at IKEA stores elsewhere or online,” said Rob Olson, IKEA U.S. CFO. “The store also will attract new customers from Missouri, Illinois and beyond who value good design, good function and affordable prices, but have not yet had the chance to shop at an IKEA store.”
IKEA St. Louis will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. In addition to the more than 500 jobs that are expected to be created during the construction phase, approximately 300 coworkers would join the IKEA family when the new store opens. IKEA St. Louis also will provide significant annual sales and property tax revenue for local governments and schools.
Candidates interested in working at this employer of choice should begin looking online this fall 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, IKEA St. Louis will offer approximately 60 food service opportunities in its Restaurant, Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and coworker cafeteria. IKEA is working closely with the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) so St. Louis residents should feel free to contact SLATE to be notified when jobs are posted as opportunities develop.
Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered home furnishings of good design and function at low prices so the majority of people can afford them. There are currently more than 350 IKEA stores in 44 countries, including 38 in the U.S. 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.” IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information, see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSANews, @DesignByIKEA or IKEAUSA on facebook, youtube, instagram and pinterest.
