IKEA comes to TN, but not Nashville . . . (Memphis, Huntsville: salary, live)

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

My initial reaction about IKEA choosing Memphis over Nashville: Memphis!? Really?

My second reaction: They must mean a distribution center. That makes sense.

Once I read the entire article with the representative and his overall reasoning: Interesting. ...

My conclusion : The site chosen is in a high income area and has great visibility from the interstate. I don't think it was so much that Memphis was a better choice over Nashville as it was finding a viable, easy access location. Bellevue, Mt. Juliet would be perfect locations along Interstate 40. However, I fail to understand why the company, all of a sudden has relaxed their requirements for a store when many Nashville residents have wanted an IKEA for years. I also disagree with the reasoning from a market standpoint. Nashville reaches a much larger target market than Memphis and pulls from higher income areas than Arkansas or Mississippi, that point still boggles the mind a bit. Having the store in Nashville would draw from Bowling Green, Paducah, Evansville, Huntsville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Tri-Cities, Birmingham and to a lesser extent Southern Illinois, Southern Missouri etc. I also disagree that the market can support two stores in Tennessee, as there is only one in states much larger than Tennessee such as Ohio and Georgia etc. My final thought is that it is great economic news for Tennessee and Memphis, and hopefully will bring more exciting things to come.

Very Interesting.

Ikea St. Louis is opening in Midtown next fall. Very convenient location near CORTEX, St. Louis University and Washington University. There will be a Metrolink stop within blocks of the store as well as a growing retail market in that area. 4 Major interstate highways (44 55 64 & 70) within a few miles of the store that would draw from southern Illinois parts of Kentucky and Missouri. This is Ikeas first location in Missouri but there is one in suburban Kansas City Kansas that isn't too far. I think there may be room for Ikea to grow into Nashville.

I don't think that Ikea is going after the upscale market as much as they are the "I need furniture for my first appartment" or the "I'm young and off to college" type.

I am happy that Memphis is getting some retail that will draw from other areas in the midsouth. This could possibly be a shot in the arm for tourism in that area.

[JMT]

So today's Memphis Commercial Appeal is reporting that IKEA is looking at Nashville. Unfortunately, I'm not a subscriber to the CA and don't know what all the article says.

IKEA mulls store in Nashville - The Commercial Appeal

[Reactionary]

Thanks JMT.

IKEA officials have confirmed the possibility of opening a location in Nashville, but will this lessen the impact of Memphis' location once it is built?

The IKEA in Memphis set to open in the Fall of 2016 is expected to be built on property off of Germantown Parkway.

IKEA officials may be looking for land in Nashville to build a potential location.

IKEA may open a Nashville store - WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

From December 2014:

Swedish furniture giant Ikea's plan to open a store in Memphis in fall 2016 doesn't mean Nashville is out of the picture for the retailer.

IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth said although the company has no immediate plans for a Nashville store, Ikea doesn't want residents in Middle Tennessee to "give up hope."

"A store in Memphis does not preclude a store in Nashville," Roth said. "We always have and continue to believe Nashville is a separate trade area, a separate market than the Memphis market. We recognize we have many customers already in the Nashville area; we found the site in Memphis sooner."

IKEA to Nashville: Don't give up hope

[El Passeaux]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Thanks JMT.



IKEA may open a Nashville store - WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

From December 2014:



IKEA to Nashville: Don't give up hope

I am trying to figure out what the Memphis market would be if they open a store in Nashville. Little Rock & Memphis?

[Loop]

An IKEA store employee last weekend said that IKEA was recently working on a location for a Nashville store but ModerNash bought up the property when they learned of IKEA's intentions. True?

[CountryGirl2b=]

No way . . . ModernNash is not big enough to buy the amount of land an IKEA would need! Plus, they would welcome IKEA moving here! A lot of their business is decorating, designing the IKEA kitchens, building the furniture, etc.

[Jochia13]

I am glad that Tennessee finally got an ikea. Nashville definitely could have supported an ikea store, but having a store in Memphis makes it convenient for some people who are living in Arkansas too. Over the years, some big city retailers and restaurants have came to Memphis that can not be found no where in the state of Arkansas.

In North Carolina, Ikea have came to Charlotte years ago but they could have chosen to come to Raleigh instead because of Raleigh also having the population to support a location too and because of the city being more centralized in North Carolina but they chose Charlotte because of the population and because of the city being right by South Carolina which makes it convenient for some people living there too, being that there is no location in the state of South Carolina because none of the cities there meets ikea’s population size requirements.

I know that Nashville is the largest city in Tennessee but it is okay for the second largest city, Memphis to be the first to get something new to the area. Sometimes companies target an area that meets the population requirements of course but also to be more centralized for people living in other areas that aren’t near by a store too. It sounds better for IKEA to announce that, “We just open our first Tennessee store and it is also right outside of Arkansas too which doesn’t have any locations.” instead of “We just opened our first Tennessee store.”

[shinestx]

That's an old post from 2015. I don't think anyone in Nashville even cares that IKEA is in Memphis now. It probably would have done even better in Nashville b/c Kentucky and Northern Alabama have more of a regional draw than Arkansas and Mississippi, but they were lured to Memphis with incentives. I've been in that store a couple of times, and it's just a giant Internet warehouse with a showroom. The location in Nashville where they originally said they were going is now a huge, thriving office and residential center.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by shinestx

That's an old post from 2015. I don't think anyone in Nashville even cares that IKEA is in Memphis now. It probably would have done even better in Nashville b/c Kentucky and Northern Alabama have more of a regional draw than Arkansas and Mississippi, but they were lured to Memphis with incentives. I've been in that store a couple of times, and it's just a giant Internet warehouse with a showroom. The location in Nashville where they originally said they were going is now a huge, thriving office and residential center.

well the more populated parts of Kentucky would go to Cincy, and a large part of Alabama (including BHam) can get to the Ikea in Memphis easily via I-22. I think there's a good chance Nashville eventually gets one, but the reasons why Memphis got one first is being undersold imo. They have a good location too.

[MTFan]

Memphis offered tons of incentives to get one. Nashville was offering none. Ikea was also struggling finding real estate that was affordable in the Nashville area. Personally, I don't get the appeal of it. It's just cheap particle board furniture that you find at Wal mart.