BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — IKEA, the global home furnishing brand, has opened a pick-up location at 2525 Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga, according to its website.
Its website says the following:
"We are excited to confirm that we’ve recently opened our Pick-Up Location in Cheektowaga, NY, which offers IKEA customers an option to purchase qualifying furniture orders online for a flat rate of $30 and pick them up closer to home. As IKEA U.S. continues its transformation journey to become more accessible by opening new customer meeting points in cities, we are excited to bring the IKEA experience closer to the Buffalo, NY community."
The following map is also provided on its website:
Currently, the IKEA U.S. store closest to Buffalo is located in Pittsburgh, PA. There are also several IKEA stores, design studios and pick-up locations across southern Ontario.
The news brings the IKEA name to Western New York for the first time, but many people are wondering why the brand isn't opening an actual store.
Charles Lindsey is an Associate Professor at UB's School of Management.
"So far, if you look at their actual stores in the U.S., that aren't on either coast, typically they're in very large media markets," Lindsey said.
He says Buffalo just isn't there yet by IKEA store standards, but this new distribution center could be a test at how the WNY area could support the brand.
"If you look at Buffalo, we've certainly experienced growth," he said. "But in terms of the market size, for instance, there's not an IKEA in Cleveland. So if you look at similar sized cities, you're typically not yet going to find an IKEA store."
IKEA said: “We’re on a journey to transform our business to meet our customers wherever they are and however they like to shop, and we are continuously testing, exploring and developing our formats to bring our customers the best shopping experiences possible.”
You can find more information on what a pick-up location is here.
