IKEA St. Louis Opens in Urban Setting with Jobs, Sustainability, Swedish Furnishings, Design Inspirations, Meatballs, and More

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IKEA, the world’s leading home furnishings retailer, today opened the doors of its St. Louis store to customers at 9 a.m. CDT. The 380,000 square-foot IKEA St. Louis is located on 21 acres along Interstate-64 at Vandeventer Avenue, in Midtown’s Cortex Innovation Community. It is the Swedish company’s first store and restaurant destination in Missouri, 41^st in the United States, and 376^th worldwide. (A Kansas City-area store opened in Merriam, Kansas last Fall, 2014.) The store employs more than 300 coworkers and features 10,000 exclusively-designed items, a 450-seat IKEA Restaurant, 46 inspirational room settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and approximately 1,300 parking spaces. Reflecting the company’s renewable energy presence at 90% of its U.S. locations, IKEA installed Missouri’s largest rooftop solar array at IKEA St. Louis. The store also is the first U.S. IKEA store to open with only LED lighting for sale, and for use inside and outside the building.

“We are excited to bring the unique IKEA family-friendly shopping experience and affordable home furnishings of good design to Eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois and beyond,” said John Achillea, store manager. “The enthusiasm of coworkers about this big day and the warm reception from the community are translating into excitement and a great shopping event for our customers.”

Before the doors opened, Achillea welcomed the community with a traditional Swedish log-sawing ceremony, bringing good luck to the new home and its guests. In addition to brief remarks by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Deputy Chief of Mission for the Swedish Embassy Göran Lithell, Achillea was joined by St. Louis Alderman Joe Roddy who raised the U.S. flag, Honorary Swedish Consul for St. Louis Liselotte Fox who raised the Swedish flag, and State Senator Jamilah Nasheed who raised the Missouri flag. Individual store coworkers sang the respective American and Swedish national anthems and “America the Beautiful,” and a sign language interpreter accompanied opening remarks.

Beginning with today’s opening and through Sunday, October 4, IKEA St. Louis will recognize loyal, enthusiastic customers by giving away thousands of dollars in gift cards and merchandise.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

• Rest Assured – The first 41 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on September 30, 2015 are receiving a free EKTORP three-seat sofa, honoring our 41^st U.S. store.
• Take a Seat (And We Mean Take It!) – The next 100 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on September 30, 2015 are receiving a free POÄNG armchair.
• For the (Truly) Young at Heart – The first 100 children (17 & younger) in IKEA St. Louis on September 30, 2015 are receiving a free FAMNIG heart-shaped soft toy.
• Pick a Card, Any Card – The first 2,500 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on September 30, 2015 are receiving a random prize envelope with IKEA Gift Cards ranging from $10 to $250, or a “Buy One, Get One Free” cinnamon bun, hotdog or frozen yogurt voucher.
• Happy Birthday to You and Us – Visitors bringing proof to IKEA St. Louis on September 30, 2015 that their birthday is the same as the store’s can receive a gift card in the amount of $41, a tie-in corresponding to IKEA St. Louis as the 41^st IKEA store in the U.S.
• Enter our Home, Enter to Win – From September 30 through October 4, 2015, visitors to IKEA St. Louis may enter a drawing to win one of ten $1,000 IKEA Gift Cards through the IKEA FAMILY loyalty program. IKEA is matching the prizes (a total of $10,000) with a donation to HealthWorks St. Louis, a nearby interactive health education museum for kids opening in 2016.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

• Sleep Like Royalty – The first 41 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on Thursday, October 1, 2015 will receive a free queen-sized SULTAN HALLEN mattress.
• Take it Easy – The next 100 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on Thursday, October 1, 2015 will receive a gift card for the equivalent of free Zone 1 home delivery for purchases on that day.
• Kids Choice – Children 12 & under eat for free at IKEA St. Louis on Thursday, October 1, 2015.

Friday, October 2, 2015

• Meatballs for a Year – The first 41 adults (one per immediate family) in IKEA St. Louis on Friday, October 2, 2015 will receive a voucher for a monthly meatball meal for a family of four at IKEA St. Louis’ Restaurant through next year, expiring on September 30, 2016.
• Swedish Food Shopping Spree – The next 41 adults (18 & older) in IKEA St. Louis on Friday, October 2, 2015 will receive an IKEA Food tote bag and a voucher to fill the bag with whatever they want from IKEA St. Louis’ Swedish Food Market.
• A Cold Sweet-ish Treat – The first 100 children (17 & under) in IKEA St. Louis on Friday, October 2, 2015 will receive a voucher for a soft-serve frozen yogurt available that day at IKEA St. Louis’ Exit Bistro.

Wednesday, September 30 - Sunday, October 4, 2015

• Play Big If You’re Little – Balloon artists, entertainment and face-painting will enhance the family-friendly fun at IKEA St. Louis from September 30 through October 4, 2015.

ADDITIONAL OFFERS AT IKEA ST. LOUIS

IKEA St. Louis is a fun day out for the family with:

• Småland, a supervised children’s play area (for children 37”-54” in height) that replicates the look of a typical Swedish farmhouse and forest;
• Additional play areas throughout the store, offering activities for kids shopping with parents;
• A “Children’s IKEA” area in the Showroom that also offers fun, interactive play; and
• Attention-to-detail amenities such as family-friendly parking, strollers and baby care rooms.

No shopping on an empty stomach at IKEA St. Louis because:

• The IKEA Restaurant opens 30 minutes earlier than the store for a full hot breakfast, including scrambled eggs, potatoes and turkey sausage for only $1.00.
• The 450-seat restaurant also offers a diverse menu featuring lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert, including Swedish specialties such as the popular IKEA Swedish meatballs (as well as chicken or veggie versions), seafood plates, pasta, chicken, salads, sandwiches, and vegetarian dishes too.
• Menu choices for kids include a child’s portion of Swedish meatballs or macaroni and cheese, while baby food and bibs are available for even younger visitors.
• A Bistro near the store’s exit serves hot dogs, cinnamon buns, frozen yogurt and beverages.
• The Swedish Foodmarket offers Swedish delicacies, snacks and treats, and even frozen Swedish meatballs (the same ones used in the Restaurant) to purchase and then prepare at home.

IKEA St. Louis shopping conveniences include:

• Free design appointments with a furnishings consultant;
• IKEA catalogs, measuring tape, pencils, store maps, yellow shopping bags and 3 types of carts;
• Same-day shopping satisfaction with products in easy-to-transport flat-pack boxes that benefit the customer and the environment;
• 26 checkouts to ensure efficient customer purchasing;
• Warehouse picking, home-delivery, assembly, and kitchen planning and installation services; and
• 2016 IKEA Catalogs, focused on how food-related activities help bring people together through everyday life in and around the kitchen.

With IKEA St. Louis now open, there are 376 IKEA stores in 47 countries, including 41 in the U.S. 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. IKEA has been included in rankings of “Best Companies to Work For” and, as further investment in its coworkers, has raised its own minimum wage twice in two years. IKEA incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment. For more information see IKEA-USA.com, @IKEAUSA, @IKEAUSANews, or IKEAUSA on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest.