Ikea adds breathing space in Paramus
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, August 11, 2003
Conshohocken, Pa. — More lifestyle vignettes, fewer rigid product displays, and more places for shoppers to relax are key elements in the furniture presentation at the just-opened Ikea store in Paramus, N.J., said Ian Wrling, U.S. deputy manager, North America.
The store, at 370,000-square-feet, is the second-largest of Ikea's North American units, and "offers us the opportunity to give customers breathing space in what had been a very rigid furniture presentation," he said.
"We previously showed furniture pretty rigidly by function — we had all chests, all beds and the like all together. Not now," Wrling said. "The new vignettes take more space, so we need bigger stores.
"We found that customers were quite uncomfortable about making a change in their homes, especially in furniture," he said. "So now we're giving them more inspirational ideas with lots more vignettes and room settings.
"We also found that customers needed time to digest and think about what they were seeing, so we have a bigger restaurant and more rest areas," he said.
Lisa Davis, Ikea's commercial manager, North America, carpet and textiles, said, "We're now emphasizing living, sleeping, eating, socializing, with coordinated offers across the home lines. We now are showing how to live with a certain look. Merchandise is coordinated and it's easy to walk away with a complete room."
Another important element in the new approach is the integration of rugs into product development and store presentations, Davis said. In dining, for example, coordinated rugs are sized to go with dining tables, and others scaled to fit with three-seat sofas or loveseats.
Ikea's stores now reflect the results of extensive market research, Wrling said. "More than half our customers have kids at home ... so we're trying to show how to integrate everything from toys to furnishings. More than half our presentations have family-friendly vignettes or full rooms."
