5 Exciting New Developments At IKEA

The world seems to have a love/hate relationship with IKEA…either you LOVE them or you HATE them.  Me personally?  I’m quite a fan of the fun and elaborate showroom.  Who doesn’t love great prices, unique embellishments and meatballs?!

Easy Assemble/Disassemble Furniture

The second biggest complaint I hear when discussing an IKEA avoider is the time consuming construction of each and every piece of furniture.  I mean really, who enjoys keeping up with screw style 1 and screw style 2 that hold only a mm of difference but when confused require you to completely disassemble and start over??

What about when you are preparing for a large move and you can’t quite get that couch out the door with the same ease it came in?   The new IKEA line will have easy snap in parts that make assembly and disassembly a smooth, simple process!

Green Energy

IKEA is following the trend of Target, Apple, and Wal-Mart and going green with solar panels.  Energy Manager today quoted that:

The Grand Prairie store, which will be 181,500 square feet, will produce about 2 million kilowatts of electricity a year. That, in turn, will avoid 1,406 tons of carbon each year, it said.

By 2020 IKEA plans to be powered by 100% renewable energy.

Remote Control Light

Yes, they have finally hit the trend, only these aren’t controlled by your phone but instead a small yellow circle you must keep up with.   I don’t know how these will take to the market, but it will be exciting to watch.

Ridiculously Long Parental Leave in India

So what may be the most remarkable news I’ve read all week is India is working on passing a bill that requires mothers receive 26 weeks of PAID maternity leave post a baby.   What a great way to keep women in the workforce, and thus keeping their pay more stable to male’s income.

Aside from that, IKEA has taken this law and extended it to fathers too!   How amazing is that?!

Smaller Store Concept

So I saved the best for last, as the number one complaint I hear from IKEA avoiders is that they cannot handle the large expanse of the store.  For those with old fashioned IKEA’s, keep in mind that the showroom is indeed optional, you are always free to head down to the shop immediately at the gates.  😉

The new store will sit on 6 acres in Dublin CA, but will have 30,000 less sq. ft than the current IKEA’s.   Instead of surface parking they want to do their part to beautify the area with a walkable shopping area filled with boutiques and restaurants.  Parking would be placed underground.  The new store is set to open sometime in 2018.

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References:

http://www.independentnews.com/news/new-ikea-plan-includes-smaller-store/article_eca36596-1a34-11e7-89d0-0f707b283232.html

https://www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/ikea-just-announced-its-getting-into-something-very-strange.html

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/04/03/dublin-ikea-revises-plans-for-controversial-new-store/

http://www.businessinsider.com/ikea-furniture-no-tools-wedge-dowel-2017-3

IKEA Employees in India to Receive 26 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave

https://www.energymanagertoday.com/corporate-managers-buying-solar-energy-0169043/

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/may/27/ikea-net-exporter-renewable-energy-2020-cop21