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.