FORT WORTH-With rumors starting to grow that IKEA is shopping the Fort Worth side of the metroplex, the chain's corporate spokesman says the region is definitely a candidate for future development, but nothing's on the books for at least two years. First, IKEA's team wants to open the 310,000-sf market entry to assess its performance.
"It doesn't mean we won't need a second one," the spokesman says. The metroplex certainly is a candidate since it meets the per store criteria for a population of two million. Fort Worth also falls into the required distance of 30 miles to 40 miles from the rising star, which is set to open in the summer.
The spokesman says all things were considered, including getting room for a second store when the Frisco Bridges location in the far north corridor was selected in early 2004. In the past month, retail brokers have started to talk about IKEA's point team, led by Jennifer Frank with the locally based Woodmont Co., canvassing the western side of the metroplex for another location. The buzz has started as three lifestyle retail developers make pitches to the City of Fort Worth about tax increment financing opportunities.
The IKEA spokesman says the 2006 pipeline is firm and Fort Worth isn't part of the plan. The 2007 development plan is now being discussed. "It's not on the radar screen for either of those years," he stresses. "Our first priority is opening Frisco. We'll talk to anyone, but we haven't committed to anyone in advance of the opening."
The Plymouth Meeting, PA-based franchisee for IKEA plans on adding four or five locations per year, according to the spokesman. The Houston store has drawn customers from all across Texas so the hubbub about more locations in a state this size is natural. "We are evaluating every major metro in the country," he says, adding scouts are out in Central Texas. "We recognize the potential customer base in the Greater Austin area," he says. "It's typically smaller than the markets we enter. Austin's not there yet."
According to corporate reports, the IKEA Group, headquartered in Sweden, operates 179 stores in 23 countries out of 202 locations in 32 nations. The balance of the footprint is coming from franchisees, of which there is one in the US. The first US store opened 20 years ago in Philadelphia.
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