IKEA Canton Plans To Expand

CANTON (WWJ) - Expect the enormous IKEA warehouse store in Canton to get bigger.

The Swedish-based furniture retailer announced Wednesday plans to expand its store on Haggerty and Ford roads by 44,000 square feet. That would increase its size to a whopping 355,000 square feet.

According to Crain's Detroit Business, initial utility work will begin this summer, with construction set to begin this fall and should be complete by spring 2015. The store will remain open and operational during construction.

The renovation would include expanding the Self-Serve Furniture Area, rearranging customer functions to the newly added space, and increasing the home delivery and pick-up areas.

Store manager Matt Hunsicker says the current floor space is not the best, and the new addition should be more convenient for the store and customers.

"IKEA is thrilled with the success of IKEA Canton. But, as our customer base and sales continue to grow- along with our product assortment- the store's warehouse capacity now is less than ideal," Hunsicker said.

"Extending the store's Self-Serve Furniture Area so it can hold more products would allow us to improve the shopping experience, to meet our customers' needs more easily, and to enhance our ability to keep lowering prices."

Hunsicker assures that the project would not ruin the home furnishing experience that customers have grown to know and love, and once it's done their visit will be better than ever.

"This project may require some flexibility by our customers," he said. "But we are confident it will create an enhanced shopping experience, with access to a bigger product selection and greater quantities of each item."

The Exit Bistro and Swedish Foodmarket are expected to stay in their current locations. During construction, the full product selection would remain available onsite. The store is expected to demolish the adjacent building to make room for the new add-on.

Michigan's only IKEA location opened in 2006 at 311,000 sqaure feet.