First Tennessee Ikea Store to Open in December

By Carmen Horghidan

IKEA Memphis, Tenn.

Memphis, Tenn.—IKEA, the global Swedish retailer, recently announced that its new Memphis store will open on Dec. 14, 2016. The home furnishings retailer is expanding its presence in the southeastern United States, with the new store being its first one in Tennessee and its 43rd in the U.S.

The 271,000-square-foot store is taking shape on 35 acres in the Wolfchase Corridor, along the southwestern side of Interstate-40, near the Germantown Parkway exit. The store includes approximately 800 parking spaces and Tennessee’s largest rooftop solar array, consistent with the solar presence at 90 percent of IKEA U.S. locations. It will feature approximately 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 room-settings and three model home interiors. Additionally, it includes a Children’s IKEA area in the showroom, baby care rooms and play areas, preferred parking, a Swedish Foodmarket, Café Bistro and a 250-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries, salmon plates, as well as American dishes.

“We are thrilled by the excellent construction progress made to date, and believe we can complete the remaining milestones and interior build-up by mid-December. Besides furnishing our store, we also are focused on continuing recruitment and training of all the coworkers joining the IKEA family,” said Trisha Bevering, store manager of the upcoming IKEA Memphis, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to introducing Mid-South customers to a whole new way of shopping for the home,” she added.

IKEA Memphis will create roughly 225 new jobs in the community, in addition to the more than 500 jobs created during the construction process. In addition, the store will generate significant tax revenue for state and local governments.

Image courtesy of IKEA