IKEA Plans First Indiana Store in Fishers

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

After scouting the region for about a decade, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has announced plans to open a 300,000-square-foot store near Interstate 69 and 116th Street in Fishers, Ind. The project is expected to bring 250 jobs to the region, marking the company’s first location in Indiana.

Architectural rendering of proposed IKEA Fishers in Indiana

Pending approvals, construction of IKEA Fishers is scheduled to begin in summer 2016 and be completed by fall 2017.

Located about 15 miles northeast of downtown Indianapolis, the new store will include 1,000 parking spaces across a total area of 35 acres. Following the same architectural design for which IKEA stores are known worldwide, IKEA Fishers would feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Family-friendly features include a ‘Children’s IKEA’ area in the showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store, and preferred parking. Construction alone is expected to create 500 jobs.

“We are excited at the prospect of growing our Midwest presence with an Indianapolis-area store,” said IKEA U.S. president Lars Petersson. “A location in this retail corridor would provide our already 184,000 Indianapolis-area customers their own store and would introduce the unique IKEA shopping experience to other consumers throughout Indiana.”

IKEA will also evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations.

Other IKEA stores in the region include the Cincinnati-area store in West Chester, Ohio, and Chicago-area IKEA Bolingbrook and IKEA Schaumburg. The company has also announced plans to open a new store in Memphis.

Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA offers home furnishings of good design and function at low prices. There are currently more than 370 IKEA stores in 48 countries, including 41 in the U.S. 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. The company also incorporates sustainability into day-to-day business and supports initiatives that benefit children and the environment.

Rendering courtesy of IKEA