Was IKEA dangling a carrot to Newfoundland and Labrador customers, or just teasing a little?
The beloved Swedish retailer — whose nearest store is in Halifax, N.S., recently weighed in on St. John’s Facebook posters clamouring for a IKEA store in N.L. instead of just a collection point for shipping.
The IKEA comments hinted at a possible reversal of the long-held notion that IKEA would never locate an actual bricks and mortar store in this province because of the lack of minimum population to serve as a customer base. Some commenters acknowledged it’s a pipe dream, while others cited St. John’s now as having the largest Costco in Canada, so an NL IKEA location should do well among trendy bargain hunting locals.
As posters suggested Stavanger Drive and Galway as possible locations, IKEA Canada posted of the Galway suggestion:
“That’s a great idea …. We are always trying to find new ways to be accessible to all our customers across Canada so an IKEA in Galway could be a possibility in the future! We will definitely be forwarding this feedback, so keep an eye out.”
In another comment, IKEA Canada said, “Your feedback for a new store opening in Newfoundland will be shared with the concerned department. You never know, it might happen one day. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for you. Have a nice day.”
The Galway development told The Telegram it can’t provide any info on any discussions with potential retailers, as it’s up to the retailers to announce their intentions.
Kristin Newbigging, public relations leader for IKEA Canada based in Burlington, Ont., told The Telegram via email that IKEA does not have any new expansion plans to share at this time, but did not outright say no.
“As all of our new touchpoints are still under negotiations it wouldn’t be fair to comment on which cities/locations,” Newbigging said.
IKEA has a collection point in St. John’s in which customers can pick up orders placed online at the retailer’s website for a flat-rate shipping cost of $79.
Collection points are not owned or operated by IKEA, nor are there products available for purchase at the collection points.
The collection points’ shipping rates vary across the country. For instance, Quebec’s collection points have a flat shipping rate of $49 for online customers, while B.C. collection point’s shipping rate is $79, the same as N.L.
Ontario collection locations’ fees vary from $10-$39.
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. locations have a flat rate of $59, while IKEA online customers in Saskatchewan pay $99.
Twitter: @BarbSweetTweets
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