Copyright The Denver Post
IKEA, the popular furniture and home goods retailer, will open a new store in Colorado Springs next week, featuring a design that sets it apart from its Centennial location. The Swedish brand is introducing a smaller “plan and order point with pick-up” store at 5102 N. Nevada Ave. in the University Village Colorado Shopping Center. As a storefront in a shopping center, it is significantly smaller than the location IKEA opened in Centennial in 2011. That store, the chain’s first in Colorado, spans 415,000 square feet. The new store will also differ from traditional large-format IKEA locations by allowing customers to meet with an IKEA team to plan and order home furnishing solutions that often require more personalized assistance, such as kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. “We are thrilled to offer Colorado Springs metro area residents more ways to shop and experience IKEA,” said IKEA U.S. CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer Javier Quiñones. “This new location highlights our commitment to bring IKEA closer to the many people and make it easier and more affordable to access our home furnishing products and solutions.” While customers are unable to take products home that day, IKEA workers can arrange for delivery or schedule orders to be picked up from the convenient, on-site pick-up location. Online shoppers will also have the option to pick up qualifying orders by selecting the “IKEA Colorado Springs at UVC” as their preferred pick-up location at checkout. A grand opening celebration for the new store will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 5, offering customers exclusive tours, giveaways, food sampling and more. The Centennial opening in 2011 drew huge crowds, with reports of nearly 1,000 shoppers lining up for hours. Some customers even camped out for three nights to be among the first 38 in line and win a free couch. “Residents of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region can now explore, plan, and order home furnishing solutions closer to home without having to travel to our larger store in Centennial,” said IKEA Centennial Market Manager Laurie Helm. “We’re excited to open our doors this fall and provide a welcoming space where customers can get personalized guidance, discover new ideas, and bring IKEA inspiration into their homes.” What started as a tiny mail-order company in rural Sweden, IKEA has now become a global home furnishing brand with over 50 retail locations in the U.S.
