Ikea Readies Florida Store, Southeastern Expansion

July 15, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 2007 Ikea has started recruiting workers for its second store in Florida and its 33rd in the United States. About 350 workers will be hired for the new store in Orlando when it opens this fall.

Part of a continuing national expansion, the announcement of the Orlando Ikea store comes on the heels of the Swedish company’s announcement last month that it has opened a 685,000-square-foot distribution center on 115 acres in Savannah, Ga. The facility, which eventually will more than double in size to 1.7 million square feet, will supply the growing number of Ikea stores in the Southeast. Stores in the region already include Atlanta and three locations in Texas. Future locations include stores set to open in both Sunrise, Fla., and Orlando, Fla., this fall, and stores expected to open in 2009 in Charlotte, N.C., and Tampa, Fla.

The Orlando store occupies 22 acres across the street from the Mall at Millenia. The company operates 255 stores in 35 countries, including 30 in the United States and 11 in Canada. It has been named by several U.S. magazines as one of the best employers in retail by providing benefits that include full medical/dental insurance for even part-time workers who work 20 hours or more per week.