Shopping opportunities

Tomorrow is a big day for (some) folks in New Zealand: The first IKEA store is finally about to open in New Zealand. There are plenty of people who couldn’t possibly care less about that, and some who are probably even angry about it, for whatever reason, but I’m not one of them. In fact, I’ve been excited about it ever since it was announced. There are a lot of reasons for that.

I’m not sure whether I’d even heard of IKEA before I moved to New Zealand, but I know that when I arrived here Nigel had some things he bought at IKEA while he lived in Australia. In fact, I still have some of them. After Nigel died, and after I was living in Hamilton, I began watching various YouTube Channels of folks (especially in the UK) who went to or got things from IKEA, and I became more an more intrigued.

However, there was no way for me to visit one unless I boarded a flight to Australia or somewhere else that had stores, so, to this day I’ve never been in side of a store. In 2021, I ordered some Billy bookcases from an Auckland company that imported them from Australia. A December 2021 update at the end of the linked post mentioned that IKEA had announced it was coming to New Zealand for real. That first-ever store for IKEA New Zealand opens tomorrow.

I won’t be going to the store opening tomorrow. Among other things, people were warned about traffic chaos on the all the roads leading to and around IKEA. Related to that, area businesses are ”preparing for mayhem”. I can’t stand crowds, and dealing with awful traffic, but, that aside, I also have a lot on this week.

However, I’ve been getting ready for IKEA’s arrival at every opportunity. I followed the Instagram account for IKEA New Zealand as soon as I knew it was there, signed up for their email marketing (so I’d know about things like when it would open), When IKEA Family (their loyaly/rewards programme) was launched in New Zealand, I immediately signed up for it. Then, when they announced their phone App for IKEA New Zealand could be pre-ordered, I did so, and I’m pretty sure it was the first time I’ve ever done that. The App was ready for download today, and it’s now on my phone.

Much as I’m looking forward to visiting IKEA for the first time ever (after the hoopla subsides…), I’ve always assumed that I’d probably mostly order online rather than buy things in person. The App and having IKEA Family are both good for both, but very useful when ordering online.

One thing I’ve been curious about is how pricing here compares with Australia, and TVNZ’s i1News compared prices. It turns out that many of the prices are comparable, which isn’t really a surprise for them.

Through that price comparison, I discovered that IKEA NZ sells the Billy bookcases that I bought through an Auckland importer aare sold by IKEA around $25 less than what I paid, however, I don’t know how much IKEA charges for shipping for bigger/heavier things like the Billy bookcases. Actually, I also don’t if I’ll order any bigger/heavier things, so maybe those charges won’t matter?

Many people seem to intensely dislike the very idea of IKEA, for different reasons, b ut one of them is that they perceive of the famous flatpack furniture to be cheaply made. While my only experience with their flatpack furniture was the Billy book cases, and I thought their quality was exceptional—in fact, better than any similar shelves I’ve ever bought.assembled. That doesn’t mean I think everything there is as good, but their pricing on nearly everything is extremely affordable.

A more specific complaint is about how it may negatively affect New Zealand retailers, because a big international retailer entering the NZ market is always a potential risk. However, I’m not convinced it will be quite as disruptive as some people worry it will. There’s been a lot of talk about how it could negatively affect NZ-chain The Warehouse, which sells categpries of things that IKEA sells, like flatpack furniture and homewares, for examle, but they sell clothing, sports equpiment, tools, automotive and gardening supplies, etc. Their more direct competition is Australian retailer Kmart, which sells the same sorts of things.

I also think that having only one store may blunt its impact, just as having one Costco hasn’t caused disaster for the two supermarket companies in New Zealand. Costco, like IKEA, is unique in its segment of the retail market. Both are shopping destinations, and not the sort of place one pops into on the way home to pick up something. What’s different between the two is that IKEA is attractive to all sorts of people, while Costco is more suitable for large families than, say, a one-person household.

For me, both stores are a long drive: Up to a couple hours to IKEA and up another hour to get to Costco (though Costco plans a second location in South Auckland, whichh will be maybe an hour and a half drive from here, though it would still be of dubious value for my one-human household). Even so, I also plan on going to Costco some day, too, because I’m also curious about what its like.

So, I like IKEA’s product lines, I think I’ll like their store, and I’m not convinced it’ll be as disruptive as some people fear. While the store and online shopping both open tomorrow, my first-ever trip to an IKEA will probably be several weeks from now, maybe in January or February. It’s always nice to have something new to do, especially when it’s something I’ve been curious about for years.

Things are happening

This week, I have progress on both of the remaining projects I accepted quotes for, plus an add-on project related to one that’s already completed. And, I’ll soon add a new project, but that’s a story for another day. So, here are this week’s developments:

The patio cover: Folks from the company providing my patio cover are coming tomorrow afternoon to do a “site measure”, the precise measurements they need to proceed. Then, the parts will be fabricated (here in Hamilton), then powder coated (in Tauranga), then assembled/installed here. I might be given a rough estimate of when the installation will happen, but I’m not counting on it (it’ll probably be mid-January, possibly earlier). All I really want to know is how many days notice I’ll get so I can clear everything off the patio and onto the lawn. I don’t want it all sitting there for days on end, and I’d also like to clean the patio’s concrete before the installation.

Fly screens: After a raging debate inside my head, I finally accepted the quote for the fly screens (aka window screens), but I decided they should all be the same, the magnetic version. That means the folks need to come back to measure three windows that were originally quoted for an entirely different option, and they’re doing that at 8am (😳) Thursday. I don’t yet have even an approximate installation date, but I’m not in any hurry, so possibly not until next year.

The add-on project:: On Friday afternoon, the company that installed my ducted air conditioning is coming back to remove the heat pump that served the living area. The exterior unit is broken, but I no longer need it, anyway. Also, it’s right in the middle of the patio, so removing it will free-up space there, which will be awesome. The guy is going to convert what was the power line for the outside unit into an outdoor power point (electrical outlet), giving me power on the patio for the first time, which is even awesomer.

The projects that I’m doing myself are also about to begin, but that, like the soon-to-be-added project, is among the stories for another day. The main thing this week is that existing projects are one step closer to completion, and that's important.

Summer is here—finally

Today, Summer officially began here today. The graphic up top is what I shared on my personal Facebook on this date in 2021, and I used it again today. I’d forgotten about the goofy avatar cartoon thingees Facebook used to offer, but the fact I’d forgotten means I clearly haven’t missed them.

But I have missed summer, my favourite season.

The long range forecast for this summer is one of wet and humid weather for the top of New Zealand, and the southern parts may be hotter. I’m particularly glad that the ducted air conditioning is installed.

As it happens, it’s already been hot in parts of New Zealand (including at my house). November produced some record breaking temperatures. In fact, Auckland had the hottest day in November ever recorded. That’s not a good sign.

December is also the last month of the year, of course. Maybe that doesn’t really matter, since the way we measure time—months and years—are kind of arbitrary, but it’s seen as the end of the year by most of us on this planet, and, for me, that means starting to plan for next year, and that first means seeing what this year was like—basically, “not all that great”.

As I’ve made clear, part of how I judge my year is this blog, mainly because I’ve been doing it longer than pretty much anything else—and that includes longer than any paid job I ever had. So, at the moment, 2025 may turn out to be my least productive full year. November was tied for first with October for the most posts in the month, but I’d expected it to be my most-productive month. It wasn’t to be.

This reality is why I’m pessimistic about how (relatively) unproductive this year may end up being. However, the word may is doing a lot of work there, because I have a lot to finish up this month. For example, I have several projects still underway that will wrap up this month, and I know I’ll be documenting them all. I also have series of posts this month, and some leftover posts that I haven’t gotten around to, but still want to do. So, there’s a potential that my pessimism may be unjustified. Or, I may be correct.

In any case, summer is hear, and my whole house is now comfortable. That alone may change everything.