Ikea coming to Kitchener

Swedish retail giant Ikea has announced a new location in Kitchener as part of a Canada-wide expansion of its retail operations.

The new location, which will be at 130 Gateway Park DriveinKitchener,isn't a traditional retail store but a "pick-up and order point" where customers can pick up goodsordered online or purchased at another Ikea storecloser to their homes.

"It can take years to open a normal Ikea store, so to say,"StefanSjstrand, the president of Ikea Canada saidTuesday. "This new conceptwill allow us to expand quickly into new and exciting markets."

"Here in Kitchener today, we already have fiveper cent market share,which means that many people living in Kitchener already today travelto Burlingtonandour Burlington store," said Sjstrand. "It means...they can shop closer to where they live andthey can come and pick up the goods for $20."

$20 pick up fee

The $20 fee, Sjstrand said,is charged to all customers using the pick up point. Itis a flat rate, no matter the size of the purchase. Otherwise, customers would be paying aminimum delivery charge for online purchasesof$99, though that can increase depending on the size of the purchase.

The storewill display some furniture and home design products and there will be Ikea employees to help answer questions at the Kitchener location.

Ikea is retrofitting and renovating the formerSears Home outlet to build the pick-up point, whichwill provide jobs for 30-35 employees. It isslated to open sometime in the spring of 2016.

When asked if the pick-up point would eventually lead to a full Ikea retail store, Sjstrand said first the company needed to see how well the pick-up points worked.

"Then we will also look into all-new market opportunities and I think Kitchener-Waterloo region is one, we have many others across Canada," he said. "It took us 40 years to build 12 stores, and now we will, in the next coming 10 years, build 12 more stores, so let's see where we will find the best location for those."

The announcementis hot on the heels of similar pick-up locations recently announced forWhitby, Windsor, Londonand Quebec City, according to the company.

Kitchener mayor chased Ikea Canada president

Sjstrand said that he was leavinga climate change summitin Toronto on July 9, heading for the airport,when Kitchenermayor Berry Vrbanovic chased after him to introduce himself.

"I waited for when he was finished at the end of the session and said, 'Stefan, I said,I want to meet you,'" Vrbanovicsaid at the announcement on Tuesday. "'I'm the mayorof Kitchener and we want tohave a store in Kitchenerand,'Funny,' he goes, 'We've just been talking thatwe'd like to be in Kitchener, too.'"

According to Sjstrand, Vrbanovic was instrumental in helping the retailer find a suitable location and suggested the Sears Home location.