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9.7 million visitors, more than 830,000 drowned hotdogs and a quarter of a million tealights sold: Ikea Klagenfurt celebrates its 10th anniversary.
KLAGENFURT (vep). Almost everyone has at least a part of this furniture business at home: on November 6th, Ikea opened its doors in Klagenfurt for the first time. Although the Swedish furniture store in this country is now ten years old, it remains the youngest establishment in Austria. It is only in 2021 that the next Ikea furniture store in Vienna will be opened at the Westbahnhof.
Tealights and shoe horns are all the rage
Ten years – this means at Ikea in Klagenfurt more than 9.7 million visitors already come and stay here – in search of "Glimma" candles, "Billy" shelves or "Pax" cabinets. "The best-selling products here are, among other things, the tea bags, we have already sold a quarter of a million here," says Ikea furniture store director Gottfried Kienzl. Up close followed by shoe spoons – exactly 168,520 pieces up to now.
Carinthia turns differently
In fact, the peculiarity of Carinthia is that many more home accessories are sold here than in other places. "The style of Carinthia is different: here, the popular country style is not as good as elsewhere, the Carinthians prefer the Italian style, the furniture so simple and the lines reduced," reveals Kienzl. As a result, the Kallax plateau in Carinthia will be sold much more often than at other locations. Incidentally, the Slovenian share of sales here represents 10% for us, "says Kienzl.
Not stopped in ten years
In total, Ikea Klagenfurt currently has 256 employees, including 12 apprentices. "From the beginning, we found 230 employees through our own AMS dashboard," says Kienzl, who is already the third site manager after Petra Gidebratt-Kaindl and Jan Janko. From its opening, Ikea was the most environmentally friendly furniture store in Austria – with its own rainwater tanks, its geothermal energy and its use of renewable energy. "But we did not stop there – we now have 1,900 rooftop solar panels, which produce electricity for a whole village," said Kienzl. Similarly, in the restaurant district, in which 255,630 portions of Köttbullar Swedish meatballs were coated, something has changed. "We rebuilt it several times and we were the pilot site of the big coffee bar, which is very well received," says Kienzl, visibly proud.
Even in the exhibition halls, new life trends are continually discussed. "Out of a total of 47 sample rooms, one-third will be redesigned every year," says Kienzl.
Always keep an eye on the big trends
In general, the Ikea group constantly monitors trends and conducts particularly intensive market research. "The mega-trends are about digitization, which is very successful, but also the urban jungle, which brings green in townhouses," said Kienzl. In addition, the latest furniture solutions are particularly sought after: "Modular and multifunctional furniture is becoming more and more important as the trend is towards smaller and smaller apartments and people move more often than usual." before, "says Kienzl.
Internet competition
In general, the main purpose of Ikea is to facilitate the daily lives of people. "And it's important to offer Ikea customers a day of entertainment," says Kienzl. The added value of entering a furniture store is becoming increasingly important because, like many others in the retail sector, Ikea also feels the change in behavior of buyers. Kienzl: "Our biggest competitor is not Rutar, Lutz and they all call No, that's Amazon." Although Ikea Klagenfurt is still growing, the future is also optimistic, but the Internet trend remains noticeable.
Birthday gifts for customers
In any case, until November 10, Ikea celebrates its birthday with its customers. Makeup and a photo shoot, where you can make your Christmas greeting cards directly at Ikea, there are at 2 and 3 11. 11. and 10. 11. each from 10 to 16 hours. There is also a puzzle gathering and a draw.
On November 10, the first 500 visitors will also receive a prepaid card worth between 5 and 500 euros.
On 23 November, a special challenge will be launched to the athletes: the Ikea-Family-Taschenfüllen. Anyone who registers, with a little luck, can walk the Ikea in less than ten minutes with the basket and keep everything he has packed.
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