Ikea wants to expand Canton, Mich., warehouse

Ikea wants to expand the warehouse of its Detroit-area store in Canton, Mich. As a result, Ikea Canton, which opened June 2006 at 311,000 sq. ft., would grow to approximately 355,000 sq. ft. Initial utility work would begin this summer with actual construction starting in autumn. The store would remain open and operational during construction, maintaining its full product offering throughout the project’s completion in spring 2015.

The project includes expanding the Self-Serve Furniture Area (where shoppers collect flat-packed furniture to take home on the same day), rearranging customer service functions to the newly built part of the store and enlarging the home delivery area. This extension would blend seamlessly into the existing structure so the store can preserve the architectural design.

“Ikea is thrilled with the success of Ikea Canton. But, as our customer base and sales continue to grow — along with our product assortment — the store’s warehouse capacity now is less than ideal,” said Matt Hunsicker, Ikea Canton store manager. “Extending the store’s Self-Serve Furniture Area so it can hold more products would allow us to improve the shopping experience, to meet our customers’ needs more easily, and to enhance our ability to keep lowering prices.”

For less than a year, Ikea Canton would undergo phased implementation of a reconfigured Self-Serve Furniture Area, a larger ‘As-Is’ section, as well as larger and shifted customer service areas such as Furniture Pick-Up and an expanded Home Delivery area. The Exit Bistro and Swedish Foodmarket, however, would stay in their current locations. During construction and build-up of this extension, the full product selection would remain available onsite. Ultimately, the warehouse would increase from 75,294 sq. ft. to 113,294 sq. ft. Ikea also would demolish the adjacent building to make room for the addition to Ikea Canton.

Located on approximately 30 acres along Ford Road off I-275 at the intersection with Haggerty Road, the 311,000-sq.-ft. Ikea Canton boasts 10,000 exclusively designed items, 52 different room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features include a Children’s Ikea area in the Showroom, baby care rooms, play areas throughout the store and preferred parking. Also, Ikea installed Michigan’s largest solar array atop the roof of the store in 2012.

Source: retailingtoday