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Planning studio in New York aims to convince young people

New York The new “Planning Studio” in Manhattan differs in many ways from conventional Ikea branches: You will look in vain for the family restaurant with its famous Köttbullar or the ball pit there. And otherwise the three-story shop with its wide wooden floorboards, exposed pipes and rough concrete has little in common with the giant blue and yellow boxes that are usually located on the outskirts of the city.

True, there are in New Jersey and Swedish furniture stores in Brooklyn, which New York customers can reach via a shuttle bus or ferry. But for many millennials in particular, i.e. those born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, that is too cumbersome. For this reason, the metropolis has had an Ikea “Planning Studio” in the middle of Manhattan since Monday, which is supposed to meet the special needs of New Yorkers.

The new store in Manhattan is part of the Swedes’ strategy to move more into the city centers in order to reach those people who don’t get in their cars and want to spend half a day at Ikea.

Right behind the high-end Bloomingdale’s department store on Third Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets, Ikea offers city dwellers personalized service and lots of help – from delivery to screwing together. Instead of a children’s paradise and scented candles, there are model apartments for 33 or 40 square meters of living space, in which the folding bike hangs on the wall as well as guitars.

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The lower floor is reserved for personal planning. Here the setup is simulated on the computer and then ordered online. Because you can’t buy anything here in Manhattan.

New York is known as the city of unlimited opportunity and attracts hundreds of thousands of new people every year. They all have to live and settle down somewhere. But as unlimited as the possibilities are, the living space is limited. Ikea wants to benefit from this.

“We developed this concept by visiting New Yorkers at home,” says Leontyne Green Sykes, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ikea Retail US. It quickly became clear what the most important issues were: “Lack of space and storage” you.

In Manhattan in particular, the apartments are often extremely small, but have high walls and often strange niches in which you can fit a lot with a few tricks.

Neferitit Batchler also has a small apartment. The young African-American came to the new store especially from the Bronx. She is a bit disappointed that there are no products to buy in the new store. But she likes the model apartments for 33 and 40 square meter one-room apartments. “In the big Ikea stores, they show you these huge living spaces that are completely unrealistic for New York,” she says. “That’s a lot better here.”

Ikea had already opened two “Planning Studios” in Great Britain and one in Moscow. Unlike the one in New York, these specialize in kitchens. In Manhattan, on the other hand, kitchen furnishings play a less important role: Most people live in a rental apartment that already has a kitchen.

If the planning studio meets with great interest in the metropolis, it is quite possible that Ikea will open more in other parts of the country in the future. “New Yorkers are known as trendsetters. That’s why we wanted them to be the first to try out the new store concept, ”says Ikea Retail COO Green Sykes. “We are still looking for opportunities in New York and other major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington.” The New York store will serve as an orientation studio for other cities, but the new branches will be adapted to local needs.

Furniture rental in the planning stage

Ikea also wants to test the rental of furniture in the USA. The company has set out to do this in order to be more sustainable. The first tests in the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Poland are already running. In Germany, furniture will be rented from 2020. In the USA, however, it is still too early to talk about the details, says the manager.

In the US, Ikea has already expanded significantly in the recent past. For example, the Swedes recently opened a logistics center of almost 10,000 square meters in the Staten Island district. Located only 20 miles from Manhattan, it can quickly cater to impatient millennials.

Ikea is also continuing its expansion course in the USA with traditional megastores. The furniture manufacturer only opened its 50th megastore in Texas in February and another one in Virginia a week ago. “Our large-format stores remain a vital part of our Ikea experience,” says Ikea manager Green Sykes.

Ellen Chen, home and tech expert at the market researcher Euromonitor International, supports the new concept of the Swedes. “Ikea is going in the right direction with the new store in Manhattan.” With this, the furniture store not only reaches urban customers, but can also “refresh its brand”. Chen also praised the personalized advice and the touch screens on the walls.

Since millennials often do not own a car, online ordering in the city center suits them according to the market researcher. And since people between the ages of 25 and 38 no longer want to screw and often cannot even use a tape measure – Euromonitor studies would show that – Ikea bought the start-up “Taskrabbit” in 2017. It arranges helpers who set up the Billies, Ivars and Pax at home.

“Our customers are changing,” says Ikea manager Green Sykes. “Ikea has to change with them.” Sometimes the Köttbullar have to believe in it.

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