IKEA!

One (1) out of 294 IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd) stores is now located in Charlotte! Guess what? It is in walking distance from my home!!! YES! I fell in love with Ikea years ago, and then went shopping at the Philly location a few years back. So needless to say when Charlotte broadcasted the news, I (and the crew) was thrilled.


What do I like about Ikea?

• Its history. Entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad started this business in 1943(age 17) filling needs for people.
• Prices.. they are unbelievable!
• The look of the merchandise.
• The uniqueness of the merchandise.

The Warrior Princesses and I headed to Ikea on grand opening day. Whoa! I am sure people traveled at least 100 miles or so just to get there. There wasn't any parking available and this was only 1 hour after the doors opened. People were even willing to park a distance from the property and walked down. I decided that we could come back later. Did I mentioned that the store is in walking distance from my home?! Oh yeah...he he he. We headed back at 2:30 pm and were able to park in the lot. Tons of people still there! People were mostly looking, did not see many shoppers with carts or the yellow bag, did not see many in the checkout lines either.

Well, I think that the Target stores in my area, the Rooms To Go, and for a brief moment Wal-Mart will be hurting. Oh and yes, the World Market. I mentioned a brief moment for Wal-Mart because, a super Wal-Mart is being built in the same area as the Ikea. Now when that is completed, the markets (grocery stores) will be hurting.

Learned some interesting facts about Ikea from its Wikipedia page. The first two letters of the name is the owners first and last name, the third letter is the name of the farm he grew up on, and the last letter is the name of the country that he grew up in. Also the names of the merchandise represent people, animals, or are descriptions of people.

Added Note 2/22/09:
Went to Ikea again today. Hmmm, I have to add to the list of stores in the area that may hurt awhile from Ikea's arrival. Home Depot and Lowe's. I saw some fabulous diy kitchen and bathroom setups and flooring. All at jaw dropping low prices!