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SHOWCASE:
Swedish Invasion?
IKEA, the Scandinavian residential furniture retail company, is on a mission to open stores and generate mass American appeal.

By John Parkinson

While not all American consumers may not yet be familiar with IKEA, the company is clearly becoming an omnipresent retail force in the country. With its reputation for economical, do-it-yourself residential furnishings, the Scandinavian company has already established an international presence.

For the 2003 fiscal year, IKEA did $12.2 billion in sales globally and $1.4 billion in America. Add to this a company directive to open 50 new stores in North America in the next 10 years, and U.S. consumers will have a tough time avoiding the Swedish retail giant.

Right now, the company has its greatest concentration of stores in the northeast and in California. Kevin Bohon, who served as IKEA's project leader for the Paramus, NJ site and is presently the store manager for the Baltimore property, says the idea behind this strategy has been to go into the big markets like New York and Los Angeles and then methodically build stores in smaller areas. This way, the company can continue to gain large market share in populous areas and gradually grow into sparser geographic locations simultaneously.

Location, Location, Location

With this goal in mind, the decision was made to expand the company's reach in the New York City market with a brand new store in Paramus, NJ. The huge success of IKEA's nearby Elizabeth, NJ location actually had a negative impact. The older store needed a better balance to its customer service traffic.

"The Elizabeth store was actually the second highest volume store in the world for the last couple of years," explains Bohon. "...We had to relieve the pressure from that store."

The logical decision was to steer some of the volume to another location. Officials at IKEA looked up the road to Bergen County for a solution. "When you first go into that market, you look at the mega retailing that is going on in the area. Typically, the biggest retailers in the country have their number one or number two stores located in Bergen County," explains Bohon.

But while sales volume is typically high and retail companies excel in the area, the existence of blue laws prohibits stores from being open on Sundays. "So if you look at some of the past indicators, you can see it's a place that IKEA wanted to be; at the same time, it's difficult to judge what impact being closed on Sunday could have on us," states Bohon.

In spite of this unknown element, the decision was made to go ahead in Paramus. Thus far, the store has performed quite well. In fact, the Paramus store is approximately sixth in sales volume in the U.S. after only being open since last summer.

In Spite Of The Weather

The project started off with the usual design and pre-construction delays, but the most exasperating challenges came from cold temperatures and snowy conditions. Throughout the project, Parsippany, NJ-based Skanska USA Building Inc. (the lead construction crew), worked through relentless inclement weather and developed numerous solutions to keep the project on track.

"We had 50" of snow fall on that project during the worst time-when we were putting the super structure up and pouring concrete," states John Dolan, project director at Skanska.

Bohon adds,"how Skanska continued to work in that environment and keep us close to schedule was phenomenal." Despite the setbacks, the project was actually completed before the deadline. The store was able to open almost three weeks ahead of schedule, holding its grand opening on July 30, 2003.

Dolan credits this feat to breaking down the project into a microeconomic management style. "You have a typical construction schedule where you have a critical path that needs to be executed; we broke the critical path down into smaller pieces," explains Dolan. Instead of setting up a temporary roof over the entire project and heating it so everything could be done at once, Skanska would work in a sector, finish up one aspect of the job, and then go back to that area and finish up completely when the weather got warmer.

Design Identity

There are three highways in close proximity to the store, which is located in one of the most densely populated portions of New Jersey. As many as 500,000 people drive past the location on a daily basis.

With its trademark IKEA look, the Paramus store catches the attention of casual passersby. The exterior of the building has the familiar box shape, which is outfitted with distinct blue paneling. The the bright yellow IKEA lettering creates a sharp contrast and calls attention to the company name.

Bohon explains the company's rationale for the aesthetic. "We want to have site identification. As people are traveling, we want [them] to be able to identify where the store is."

While the exteriors of the buildings continue to have a uniform appearance, the company is experimenting with the interiors. "They [IKEA] take all the possible opportunities to modify the interior of the building to optimize the space they are allowed to create," states Dolan.

In the Paramus facility, the flow of customer traffic on the showroom floor is handled with a subtle, new approach. In the past, stores were set up so customers would be guided through the showrooms from the right side to the left. In Paramus, this is just the opposite.

Rich Geist, the store's facility manager, has noticed a response from patrons referred to as "IKEA veterans". These are customers who have been to other, older stores and are used to going right once they head into the showroom. When veterans have visited the Paramus store, they naturally want to walk to the right, but are met by a display wall. To counteract this, signage hanging from the ceiling directs both IKEA veterans and novices to travel the showroom from the left side of the building.

Dynamic Drainage

Another revolutionary aspect of the Paramus store is its siphonic roof drainage system. This system is the first one used by IKEA in the U.S., and it's only the second application of this system nationwide. Popular in Europe, this approach is being tested for possible use in new IKEA stores throughout North America.

These roofs include small drains designed to operate so the piping is completely charged with water during a rainstorm. A siphonic roof drain has a special insert that acts as an air baffle and anti-vortex vane so only water is drawn off the roof not air.

Rain water is drawn into the roof drains, and carried to a typical storm water plumbing system by way of interior galvanized victaulic pipes.

Upkeep

The Paramus facility houses a retail store, a warehouse, and a connected parking structure. At 378,000 square feet, it's the second largest IKEA in the country. Geist is responsible for several different areas. He has the store, parking structure, and 31 acres of property to maintain.

Working for an image conscious company, Geist is perpetually vigilant in keeping the store in top shape."As the facilities manager, I'm walking the store constantly," Geist states.

He patrols both the interior of the building and the perimeter of the property on a regular basis. Every other Monday, Geist does a complete store walk through, which usually results in three pages of things that need repair. From broken chairs in the cafe to paint touch ups on showroom materials, he and his staff run the gamut of remediation.

Geist and his staff also play supporting roles when called upon. They will help the carpenter and designers who build and set up the showrooms; fix broken kitchen apparatus; and step in to handle any other unorthodox duties that come down the pike.

Amenities

The IT sector has dealt with consolidating services (also known as "bundling") for years. At IKEA, this concept is second nature for customers familiar with the retailer's special services.

There is a play area where parents can drop off their children. If a problem arises, parents are immediately made aware of the situation, courtesy of a beeper given to them.

A large cafe serves Scandinavian specialities in a friendly cafeteria setting. So when shoppers get hungry, they merely take a break in the café-they don't leave the premises to find an offsite restaurant.

At full capacity, the cafe can comfortably seat several hundred people. For those who want something quick to take home, a Swedish market sells regional specialties, and a bistro serves coffee and snacks.

Although the amenities are attractive, the most important aspect of the Paramus store is the showrooms. IKEA expects and encourages customers to try out the furniture before they buy it. It is not unusual to see people sitting down, laying on, and inspecting furniture throughout the store. Because the company excels in controlling the indoor environment, IKEA makes customers feel comfortable about buying its product.

With firm marketing, an aggressive store opening strategy, and an atmosphere of comfort and ease, IKEA could likely see its market share increase. If the new store in Paramus with its initial success is any indicator, it will only be a matter of time before IKEA becomes as ubiquitous in the American retail landscape as Starbucks and The Gap.

Project Information:

Project: IKEA Store.
Type of Facility: new.
Function of Facility: retail/warehouse.
Owner: IKEA, Property, Inc.
Manager: Mike Marusevich.
Location: Paramus, NJ.
Gross Square Footage: 380,000 SF.
Budget: $75,000,000.
Architectural Firm: MCG Architects.
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineer: Lehr Associates.
Structural Engineer: Thorson Baker & Associates.
Construction Manager: Skanska USA Building Inc.

Product Information:

Furniture :IKEA Furniture Systems.
Flooring: Pergo Tundra, Marmoleum, Tarkett, DalTile, Buctle Tile.
Ceilings: Armstrong, Calidescope Open Grid System, Eco-Prisim.
Light Fixtures: Lithonia, Mercury Lighting.
Movable walls: FAAY Wall Display Wall System.
Restroom Fixtures: American Standard, Sloan.
Storage Equipment: USP Warehouse Racking System.
Office Equipment: IKEA Systems.
Safety Equipment And Alarms: Simplex.
Door Locks: BEST Locks.
HVAC Equipment: McQuay, United Air Cooled.
Building Management Systems: Novar.
Roofing System: GAF.
Lighting Control Products: Cutler Hammer Smart Panels With Novar Controllers.
Wayfinding Systems: I. A. Associates.
Telecommunications: Ortronics.
Restroom equipment/supplies: ASI.
Windows/curtainwalls/skylights: Kawneer.
Elevators/Escalators: Shindler Elevator.
Glazing: Berkowitz.