Madison’s getting an Ikea this fall, and it’s gonna be soooo cute!
The Swedish retailer is synonymous with sprawling floor plans, day-long shopping trips and seemingly infinite model rooms – many Ikea customers are offered a map to traverse the expansive layouts – but a new miniature version of the experience is coming to Madison.
Ikea is rolling out a new, cozier format of 20 stores designed to fit into existing shopping centers or smaller U.S. and European markets where a typical Ikea isn’t viable. They’re a “complement” to the traditional warehouse-style stores, according to Juvencio Maeztu, CEO of The Ingka Group, Ikea’s largest franchisee. The goal is to reach people in places they already shop, and to scoop up customers who don’t want to travel to make a day of home goods shopping.
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Madison’s entry is in a former Bed, Bath & Beyond (ouch) at 215 Junction Rd. in the Prairie Towne Center on the city’s far west side. It’s just 54,000 square feet, compared with the Oak Creek store’s 290,000 and regional O.G. Schaumburg’s 400,000.
Ikea Madison will display over 5,000 products, with 3,000 available for purchase on-site and the rest available for delivery or pickup, according to the company. Bigger items and the full catalogue can also be ordered in-store. For comparison, Oak Creek boasts nearly 10,000 items.
The smaller-format Madison store won’t exactly have the multitude of showrooms that are a signature of larger Ikeas, but it will include a “planning” area with advisers available for consultations on main home areas like kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.
What about the Swedish meatballs? Ja! The fan favorite, along with foods like veggie dogs, cinnamon buns and more will be available in an in-house deli.
The company clearly recognizes Madison, with its tens of thousands of university students, as a key market; Ikea opened a pickup point on State Street just last December.
Internal design and buildout hadn’t yet begun by midsummer, and the opening date was to be issued closer later this fall.
