brussels_sprout

Does anyone up in Auckland , know when the store will open, it was supposed to be 2008 or early 2009, but i am getting desperate ! Most Kiwi furniture is stuff like your granny used to have, nice wood, terrible designs ! Come on IKEA where r u ? 1 dollar hotdogs too

simonmarkellis

$1 dollar hot dogs that'd be nice, use to go big on the little meat balls as well...

Nerine

Their Lingonberry reduced sugar jam ain't bad either. I gave up trying to find redcurrent jelly in both countries and find it's a pretty good alternative.

When it does open camp outside over night because by the end of the day everything decent will be sold out and it'll be 8 weeks until their next shipment arrives - the one here in QLD had a few probs when it first opened and was well picked over after Christmas. They've also stopped supplying paper bags so take your own

whitesand

I've been trying to find out the same thing, but without any luck. But, I really don't see it happening here as I don't think they would have the turnover to justify it, and even if they came here I would imagine that the prices would be extremely high.

brussels_sprout

Nah, they are definitely coming soon, and high prices ? I have never seen such crappy furniture sold at high prices as in NZ, there will be little competition really. It will be all sold out, because they sell what people want at a good price

Maz

I had 2 in the Chicago area and can honestly say I never stepped foot in either of them. Perhaps I should have filled up the other 13 feet of the container with stuff from Ikea.

What's all the fuss about? Seriously. I honestly don't know.

uk+kiwi

It's the combination of price & quality, sometimes with cutting edge designer style akin to items found in the Conran empire.

They have great little things - solid oak pictures frames from £6 that are at least twice the price elsewhere. Bargain scented candles and kitchen necessities etc. Good for stocking up on glasses for parties for example.

Their furniture is also great quality for the price. I have recently been researching the internet for new sofas. Their higher end ones (say £700) come with a 25 year guarantee, whereas the likes of Habitat (similar price), Sofa Workshop (3 times the price) or Laura Ashley (twice the price) come with a 5 year guarantee. Now I'm not going to choose my sofas based on their guarantee, but it says a lot about the quality of these specific items.
(Or the fact that 'guarantees' are meaningless, I know! )

I read recently that IKEA kitchens account for more than 50% of new kitchen installations in the UK. They are simple basic MDF units, similar in quality to all but the top niche end of kitchen 'manufacturers in the UK aka Wilkinson, Roundhouse etc, BUT at 10% of the price.

So unless one can afford the high end very expensive brands, they are often the best quality available AND at the cheapest price. Having said that, maybe there was more competition in the US in this cheaper sector of the market thus your viewpoint. It really p@sses me off that anything I want to buy in the UK is effectively half the price in the US (ie same in dollars as pounds), yet the salaries are also the same if not higher when converted. The good ole American dream, haha! Are you not finding NZ very expensive in comparison?

Not that I have an IKEA kitchen or sofas, but it is a great retail concept that has proved to be very successful!

Maz

Terence Conran?....... I'm sorry, but are you saying he owns it or you're comparing it to his empire?

(yeah yeah nay-sayers go on and laugh / biotch blah blah)

Maz

And thank you so much C for that lovely informative long post.

uk+kiwi

No he doesn't own it. I was comparing. Slightly. For some items. I'm sure he'd love that comparison!

Do you know he started Habitat? No secret but depending on one's age, taste in furniture and expat effects, would affect whether this was known or not possibly.

Maz

Yes I did know that. I wish they'd had Habitat in the States, I missed that shop! I bought some "Cinnabar" crockery on sale at Habitat when they finished that line, but gave it all to a friend when I left France. D'Oh!

whitesand

Yes, they are great and provide good furniture at fair prices. One of the best things about them too is that you can take them apart, ship them and reassemble them somewhre else, like we did.

They also do good breakfasts.

Maz

They do breakfast too?... now I'm hungry. Don't suppose they'd like to open one in Porirua.

Yotty

Thats funny I was in the Purley Way branch today. There was a lot of foreign writing, but looks like good value, and well laid out!

BEVS

I'm not a great one for any shop but I really want Ikea to arrive in NZ & soon. It's not like I bought much of the stuff when I was in the UK , but here it would make a very welcome and affordable change.