Shoppers Camp Out for New IKEA

It looked like Woodstock festivals, but the fans were not camping out to see rock legends. They were at IKEA's parking lot in Sunrise, waiting for the grand opening of the first Swedish home furnishings store in South Florida.

"People started camping out two days in advance, and by the time we opened the doors the crowd had grown to the thousands," said Viviana Coriat, community relations director of IKEA.

Coriat, who has opened all 32 IKEA locations in the United States, said 250,000 consumers in Florida ordered IKEA products from catalogues and the Internet before the store decided to open a location in the state.

IKEA, the giant home furnishings retailer with its hip designs and low prices has long been a favorite of gay shoppers. Its new location is sure to be a draw for the huge, diverse crowds that will soon be heading west to Sunrise.

IKEA has openly courted gay shoppers for years. While the company pulled its gay TV ad in 1994 after it generated bomb threats to its stores-the company won the 3rd Annual Images in Advertising Awards from Commercial Closet Association (CCA), a non-profit that educates the ad industry on reaching gays and lesbians.

Called "Living Room," the spot features a number of families, including a happy African-American and Asian-American male couple with their daughter on their living room floor, as the voiceover asks: "Why shouldn't sofas come in flavors, just like families?"

That sort of branding is what keeps people flocking to IKEA.

Since opening in mid-October, business has kept up. "People are traveling from Naples, Miami, Orlando, the Keys and the everywhere else in Florida, and are continuing to line up before the store opens," store manager, Peter Steinweg, said. "Everyday feels as busy as the opening day, if not busier," he said.

Another reason was why IKEA has gay fans is that the retailer includes sexual orientation in its non-discrimination policies and its offers domestic partner benefits to its employees.

One such fan is named Van, he's been to IKEA's Sunrise location several times since it's opening. "What lured me in 1990 going to the IKEA in DC, and still today, is the stylish furniture at great prices! You can buy stuff and when you get tired of it or styles change, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg to change out your homestyle!" "And we can't forget the Meatballs, says his partner, Mark. Everyone loves Swedish Meatballs. Stylish home goods bring us here, the meatballs keep us coming back."

Steinweg said consumers are usually surprised to see IKEA's size. "People are sometimes astonished by just how big the store is," he said. "We have a unique concept. You can find everything for you home under one roof and take it today."

IKEA contains 10,000 items, three model homes and 50 room settings. Consumers walk through a long trail of kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms and virtually any other room in a house. The settings display how items will look and function together.

Large items are not available at the shelves at IKEA. Shoppers write down the item's number on a sheet of paper and pick them up in a gigantic warehouse after they are done shopping.

Customers can also setup an appointment with a design consultant and get expert advice while making plans for their home or small business.

Most complaints came from the crowds and the parking. Local police have been on hand directing traffic, sending cars from the overflow store parking to the Bank Atlantic Center lot, two miles away.

From the Bank Atlantic Center, IKEA trolleys and city buses take visitors to the store. The trolleys are most popular, store manager Steinweg said. "Many are refusing the buses because they really want to ride the trolley and get the full IKEA experience."

The Sunrise location will serve Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, and more stores are coming soon. IKEA will be opening a location in Orlando on Nov. 14 and another in Tampa in 2009.