As you may recall, I was fascinated by the opening of a new IKEA store in nearby Fishers, Indiana, and I wanted to be a part of the run-up, as well as the actual opening. Well, the store opened its doors to the public on Wednesday, October 11 and it was quite the spectacle. IKEA rented parking spaces for employees at a nearby corporate park so buses shuttled us to the store. It was a nice day so I decided to walk the half mile or so from the lot and take the picture you see above. This is also the point where I heard blaring music coming from a bandshell set up before the entrance of the store. A band was playing Shut Up and Dance with Me. People were actually dancing in front of the bandshell. It was 7:00am and the store did not open until 9!  There were several hundred people in line but the first 100 had been there since Sunday night when they were allowed to set up camp. The first 45 received a free couch (this is the 45^th store in the US) and the next 55, a cool chair.

Before the doors were opened, IKEA employees paraded around the building to greet the customers in line, yelling and banging thunder sticks. There were reporters and cameras present and I ended up on the front of the Indianapolis Star!

 

Yes, that me at the end of the arrow with my face blocked by a thunderstick. So close!

Anyway, several guest speakers made brief remarks from the bandshell, including the store manager Holly, and the mayor of Fishers. The American, Swedish and Indiana flags were hoisted to rousing renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner, the Swedish national anthem and America the Beautiful. The first and last sung by “IKEA Idol” employee winners (We quickly joined in to help them along).

The doors were opened and the first customers entered through a raucous line of employees. The furniture winners were treated well all week with food, portable bathrooms, swag and entertainment. There is no PC way to say this, but it was kind of obvious and kind of cool to see that most of the first 100 appeared to be in line because they needed the furniture. Not a lot of young people camping out for a good time, which is what I expected.

In the end, some 12,000 people passed through the entrance that day. The parking lot maxes out at 1,000 cars so customers were bused in from multiple remote lots. Simply said, it was not easy to visit on opening day. But that did not put a damper on customer attitudes. Most everybody was upbeat, positive, understanding of long lines and weak answers by the employees. It was kind of a zoo.

I was able to spend some time greeting people as they entered ‘The Marketplace’. I should explain that the store is massive; 5 football fields large, all on one floor. The store is designed with a meandering path with no straight aisles. It is truly a maze (ing). There are two major sections. Customers enter the store through the “The Showroom” where small sample rooms are furnished for ideas, followed by sections featuring couches, chairs, tables, mattresses, entertainment units, kitchens, and on and on. A buyer takes note of ‘locations’ of furniture on tags. At the very end of the maze they enter the “Self-Service Warehouse” where they find the aisle and bin location for their table, chair or shelving unit. They physically take it off the shelf, put it on a large flatbed cart and head to the cashiers.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here, because about halfway through the store, if they survive “The Showroom”, they are dumped into the 350 chair restaurant to enjoy a few Swedish meatballs at reasonable prices.

 

But they have only made it through half the store. My job was to greet them as they entered the next major section, “The Marketplace” where home décor, home organization tools, cooking and eating, lighting, and thousands of home accessories are located. The crowd was split by those who were shocked that there was more, and the IKEA experts who expected the ‘fun’ to continue. But almost all were in great spirits and it was really fun to educate some, empathize with others, and laugh with most. And to top it off, there was great entertainment all week right outside the restaurant next to the Marketplace entrance.

The next few days were similar but with even more customers and without the ceremony . There were plenty of freebies and hourly winners of furniture. On the third day I spent some time serving samples of the IKEA cinnamon buns and Swedish cookies. I was situated at the end of the Self-Service Warehouse area so many already had their booty loaded on carts as they jostled for a piece of cinnamon bun. Now this was not your typical Costco sampling experience where kindly old ladies dole out their goods at their own sweet pace. You want a goodie there, you will wait, kind sir. Not here. If we didn’t set out plates or napkins and our samples with lightning speed, a line of 10 – 15 people would form and aisles would be blocked. It is amazing what people will do for a bite of a bun. And I always enjoy the creative ways people justify taking a second piece (as if I cared). During the slower times I asked people what cool thing they found. It felt like Antique Roadshow as they would eagerly show me some interesting thing: …Cord Organizer…. briiiing…. $3.99.   I was amazed at the number of people with absolutely NOTHING in their hands, bags or carts and I had to ask… “You mean you just went through this whole crazy place and came up with NOTHING!?”  To a person, they said they were on a reconnaissance mission (OK, my words) and they generated a list, or a string of photos, to follow up on. And a shocking number of people confessed to having come in ALL 3 DAYS we were open. There might be a 7-step program for that.

During most of my time I worked in the Lighting Department. IKEA has some very cool lighting options with a wide range of choices. It starts with a table lamp made of plastic. Not a great choice for many, and most people would not pay more than 8 or 10 dollars for it. But here’s the thing…its $2.99.  2.99!  A light bulb costs more than that. The point is that you get a lot of value for your money at IKEA. The $20 lamps are OK; the $40 lamps are very nice, and the $50 lamps are great. Lighting at IKEA is not exactly straightforward as we only sell LED bulbs and all the products are LED rated. The internet-connected Smart Lighting and the under- and over- counter lights are great but need explanation as do many lighting accessories, so it’s fun to help people through their purchase.

And so far everybody has been very civil and understanding that all the employees are just learning about the nuances of their inventory. And that’s a good thing because I am not a patient man. My family says I’m not ‘a retail guy’; meaning I don’t have patience for the masses. They are probably right, but so far so good. I did have one great request a few days ago: A little old lady pushing an overflowing cart stopped me: “Young man” [Young man!?] “I found this nice comforter cover and I’m wondering if you have it in blue in a queen size?” Remember, we are in the lighting section, which is about 30 miles away from bed textiles. I just looked at her, considered my options, smiled, and said, “I have no earthly idea ma’am but I bet we can find someone who does, and off we walked to bedding.” It was time for my break anyway.

Before I close I do want to revisit a few things I told you a few weeks ago. I said that IKEA was serious about “the IKEA Way” and their desire to maintain a specific corporate culture; and I see evidence of that every day. I also told you that the training was a bit disjointed and uncoordinated, and it was. Additionally, the interviewing and hiring process was a bit haphazard. But I must say that I shortchanged those in charge on this point. They ended up hiring a great team. Of course there are always a few ‘head-scratchers’ when you hire 200 people, but most everyone I work with is energetic, upbeat, caring and hard-working. It’s amazing really. They come from all manner of work experience and background, but the hiring managers were able to spot something very special about each person. Lastly, the incredible coordination required to open this mammoth store is mind-boggling. I won’t even begin to list things. Suffice it to say I am very impressed by what those in charge have accomplished, and I’m proud to be a small part of this smooth launch, which averaged 14,000 visitors per day for the first week. Come visit me.

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