IKEA Winnipeg: Workout and Shopping Destination all in One.

IKEA: Noun of Swedish origin. Acronym comprising the initials of the founder’s name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his hometown (Agunnaryd)

Swedish furniture and house wear retailer famous for furniture requiring a single Allen Key to assemble.

 Winnipeg, Manitoba definition: A four hundred thousand square foot mega-shopping destination, set to change the retail landscape in the province for decades to come.

With IKEA set to open its doors in Winnipeg tomorrow we here at Exploring Winnipeg and Beyond were treated to a special media event last night.  Along with some two hundred or so representatives from television, print, internet websites and radio.

Only two more sleeps till IKEA opens!

At 6:00 we all gathered in the sub-zero early evening shivering but anxious none the less to be among the first ones in Canada to see this new location.  Promises of a meeting with the store general manager Stephen Bobko and a cocktail reception didn’t hurt either.

I can’t wait a minute, IKEA is coming.

Yes I know that is a bit of shameless Grinchy stealing but hey sometimes we all give into to shameless advertising.

In my case it’s IKEA, the sexy Swedish simple superstore set to take over the southeast corner of Winnipeg next week.  I have been invited along with my editor to tour and give a preview of the mega mart next Monday.

So what do I know about it already?   Well I have been in exactly one IKEA thus far and I found it pretty astounding.  Being a in home cook and kitchen devotee I loved the kitchen and pantry section in Edmonton.  So I can not wait to get into the new Winnipeg edition.

Clocking in at around 400,000 square feet of floor space it’s one of the largest single retail spaces in North America, let alone Canada.  It’s a mega mart among mega marts.

Buzz has already been forming, network news clips highlighting the Swedish meatballs and dining area are saturating the Winnipeg airwaves.  Come Monday I will be taking a more critical approach, the shopping experience.  Will this new facility be user-friendly?   All signs point to yes, but come crunch time will the staff and the building be up to the press of three provinces and many states worth of the shopping public?

Will they be ready for the panic?  I hope so, Winnipeg could use the boost to the economy.  We’re not exactly hurting but a little extra is always nice, and the bump that a positive message on IKEA would defiantly do great things for our economy.

In any event we will be checking it out two days before the public.
I hope that we see good things and that those crafty Swedes are as efficient as they usually are.

Just a tad under the weather, Ikea and Bond.

I know many of you who read my blog on a weekly basis have been hoping for something new of late.  I do apologize these last few weeks have been really hard on us.

Dar was struck two weeks ago with a severe stomach ailment that sent us to hospital in the middle of the night and kept us there most of the weekend.
Thankfully it was only a flu,  I say thankfully in severity to say losing an organ.

She came down with a 9 day bout of this stomach flu from hell and I am currently on day 7.  So hopefully on the mend.

I will be back talking all about the new found pluses in our life such as the invitation to an Ikea opening here in Winnipeg, the new James Bond hype and anything else that rattles my cage in no time at all.

Thanks

Bob