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Thursday, January 31, 2008
WEST CHESTER TWP. — The entrance to the 344,000 square foot IKEA West Chester was crowded Tuesday with folded scaffolding, construction lifts and partially assembled furniture.
But even as workers finished fixtures and assembled display furniture, a ride up the escalator into the second-story showroom led to a gallery of 48 room settings ranging from compact apartment bedrooms to expansive kitchens. A black folder hung on a string in the open space of each room setting. Its company-standard contents explained the room, down to the family makeup and income level of the imaginary occupants.
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Copyright © Sat Jul 04 20:54:21 EDT 2009 Middletown Journal, Middletown, Ohio, USA.All rights reserved.
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IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth said 522 million people visited IKEA stores last year. The West Chester Twp. store will be the 35th IKEA in the United States, giving Ohio shoppers an in-state chance to spend the two to three hours an average customer takes to try out Tirup swivel chairs, Leksvik bed frames or taste the 15-meatball dish the store will serve as part of its daily fare.
"We view this store as essential to our growth and strength of presence in the Midwest," Roth said, noting that it sits at the upper end of the size spectrum for IKEA stores, usually 250,000 to 350,000 square feet.
Preparation for the store's March 12 grand opening was in full swing this week, with many of the 400 staff members completing three-week training sessions or assembling furniture in teams amid a cacophony of drywall tools, contractors' portable stereos and the smell of damp paint.
"It's a lot of teamwork," said Middletown resident Dola Joseph, a bedding sales associate. She noted her department helped assemble furniture for the back office before moving into their own area. Employees from the cafeteria and customer service departments were helping to assemble bed frames and nightstands.
Roth explained that IKEA stores worldwide are mostly built to the same design. Consequently, he said store preparation runs according to a week-by-week schedule refined by 275 previous store openings from Boston to Siberia.
Once the showrooms are fully furnished, accessorized and lighted, the inventory will arrive: 10,000 in-stock items.
The March 12 opening ceremony is expected to start with a flag raising, then the store will open with a company tradition, a log sawed in half to bring good luck.