Behind the scenes at Ikea Southampton (From Daily Echo)

Behind the scenes at Ikea Southampton

9:40am Sunday 11th January 2009 in

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THE moment you step inside the mammoth blue and yellow box on West Quay Road you instantly realise that this is no ordinary building site. From the quirky “co-workers” entrance sign to the super-enthusiastic staff busily running around in their bright uniforms, the 32,000 square metre is a hive of activity.

When IKEA Southampton opens on Thursday, February 12, the public will also discover it is a totally new shopping experience.

With an upside down car park and entrance on the fourth floor, the £80m project is the first UK store to be built in the heart of a city.

A lot is riding on its success and IKEA doesn’t hide the fact that it’s had to come up with solutions to the problems posed by building in such a congested area.

Bosses hope designated entrance lanes off West Quay Road and a car park capable of holding 90 queuing cars will ensure there are no enormous tailbacks.

This week, the first delivery of furniture arrived and dozens of “communication interior designers” have begun creating the world-famous showrooms.

Because each room is individually designed, no two rooms at any of IKEA’s hundreds of stores worldwide are alike.

Marketing manager Rob Cooper said: “Each room tells a story, the designers know what type of person or family lives there and they even give them names.”

More than 100 IKEA staff from across the globe are due to arrive in Southampton over the coming weeks to help the local team prepare for the grand opening and at its peak 1,000 workers will be on site.

While Hampshire residents might struggle to pronounce the names of most of the 9,200 furniture pieces – including Fjelldal (it’s a loft bed), Aspelund (bed storage box) and Kvib (chest of drawers) – the 500 co-workers are determined to make it a pleasant experience.

Staff will be on hand at the entrance to help “IKEA virgins” find what they are after and there will be a crèche where parents can dump their children to shop in relative peace.

With panoramic views of the docks, the 600-seater restaurant may become a mustvisit destination of its own – and don’t forget the Swedish meatballs.

MEET THE WOMAN IN CHARGE

THE boss of IKEA’s 254th store says opening in Southampton is a major milestone for the world-famous brand.

In her first interview, store manager Allesandra Taffe, left, has revealed IKEA bosses are keen to learn lessons from opening their first outlet in the heart of a city.

Mrs Taffe previously managed IKEA’s Philadelphia store for four and half years and yesterday told the Daily Echo her young family had been welcomed with open arms to their new home on the other side of the Atlantic.

“As a newcomer I think the city is great. It seems to have a little bit of everything and in a location that is easy to access from a lot of different places, so I’m excited about being here both personally and professionally,” she said.

“The closest IKEA store is probably an hour and a half away, so this gives us an opportunity to answer the needs of the customers in the south.

Another important point is that we will test a lot of new logistical projects at this store that will not only be important in the UK, but globally.”

Top level meetings between IKEA, city council bosses and the police are taking place to ensure there is no repeat of the riot that marred the opening of its north London store in 2005 as bargain hunters clamoured for cut-price offers.

“Of course we want people to come on the opening day, it is quite exciting and there will be some offers which will be quite good for customers, but not crazy,” Mrs Taffe said.

“It’s not in anybody’s interest to have mass chaos, certainly not ours,we want the shopping experience to be a good one.”

Nonetheless, there are fears of huge tailbacks on the already busy West Quay Road – one of the main routes in and out of the city.

“Whatever we have been able to do to alleviate that congestion is being done,”

Mrs Taffe added. “Of course people anticipate that, it’s a global thing, but we have worked with the city to widen the roads and built a car park that can take 90 cars before a spill-out onto West Quay Road.”

She added: “No matter where we open there is a tremendous amount of interest and I think that is because of our huge range, great value for money and the whole shopping experience – it really is a fun day out.

“From both the perspective of the co-workers and customers, you must recognise that it is a store that takes a while to navigate and that we ask you to do a little bit and we do a little bit.”