IKEA is closing one of its newly-renovated stores, leaving an entire state to fend for itself without affordable Swedish meatballs and build-it-yourself furniture.
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Memphis residents are mourning the loss of the affordable Swedish retailer, which will shut its doors in the city later this year. Once the IKEA store closes on May 3, Tennessee will be left without any in-store locations, forcing residents to assemble their future furniture plans from scratch. There is another pick-up-only store in Antioch, but it’s just not the same.
“I just found a place where I can get all the items that I need, and then now I find out it’s closing,” a forlorn IKEA shopper told WMC Memphis. “That’s devastating news to me.”
The retailer announced it is closing its Memphis store after “a comprehensive review, and considering several factors including market share, business performance, cost structure, and overall optimization of physical assets.”
IKEA Shoppers Shocked at the News That a Seemingly Popular Location Is Closing
The news came as a shock to some of the regulars of the location.
“From what we see, it’s busy all the time, never heard about anything bad about it. It’s convenient,” shopper Milton Siler told WMC Memphis.
“We have friends that come from out of town. They come in here to specifically visit the store before they go back,” Siler added. “We did not see that coming.”
IKEA shopper Morgan Shea described the store closure as “heartbreaking.”
“It’s rare to find affordable, good furniture,” Shea told WMC Memphis.
The Memphis IKEA store completed renovations that were unveiled about a year ago.
After opening its Memphis location in 2016, IKEA overhauled the showroom and market hall. The store added a Central Planning Hub where experts helped customers with home projects, as well as a 100-plus-seat Swedish restaurant and food market.
Memphis customers can still shop for IKEA’s home goods online, the company said.
Despite the Memphis closure, IKEA announced it is still investing $2.2 billion in its U.S. operations. This investment included opening 14 “new format” stores last year, with plans to add more new locations this year.