SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The time has come. An IKEA is opening in San Francisco this Wednesday.
On Monday, KRON4 received a tour of the city-formatted retailer on Market Road. These smaller city areas are already in locations like London and Paris.
Now there’s one in Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s district. KRON4 spoke with him to be taught what town can be doing to guard IKEA from the elevated theft that had a number of corporations leaving that space.
There was a mass exodus of different retailers leaving downtown and the Westfield Mall attributable to elevated theft and declining gross sales. Dorsey says it’s refreshing to listen to IKEA needs to be part of town’s rebound.
“As a metropolis, we’re nonetheless within the means of coming again after COVID and it means loads because the district supervisor of the mid-market that that is going to be a centerpiece of Market Road revitalization… which I feel within the subsequent few years we’re going to see extra progress on,” he mentioned.
The brand new IKEA is one-third the dimensions of the opposite areas and divided into three ranges. There’s one entrance on Market Road, and it’s self-checkout solely.
IKEA workers can be strolling across the retailer to assist folks, and unarmed guards from the identical third-party firm that runs the Emeryville location can be waiting for shoplifters.
“We place them within the completely different areas the place prospects might need assistance,” mentioned Arda Akalin, the supervisor of IKEA’s San Francisco and Emeryville areas. “Within the restroom areas, the checkouts, the entrances. They are going to be monitoring the visitors throughout the retailer.”
Purchasing at this city-format retailer can be a lot completely different than what you’re used to, as there isn’t a retailer parking and vehicles are usually not allowed on Market Road. Whereas there are a couple of parking tons close by, IKEA officers advocate folks use public transportation.
“We don’t have any giant furnishings as a takeaway merchandise from this unit. We’ve got 150 small furnishings, which is simple to hold on public transportation. And we do have a house supply, which is $19 {dollars}, which is a reasonably related worth to downtown parking in San Francisco,” Akalin mentioned.
Supervisor Dorsey toured the brand new retailer Monday morning. He believes that elevated police patrols are key to supporting new companies like IKEA.
Subsequent month, he hopes to get full assist from different supervisors on his plan to get the police division totally staffed inside 5 years. Then they will deliver this initiative to voters.
“About one-third of the police division that must be there, isn’t there,” he mentioned. “That implies that there are plenty of sorts of public drug use, drug dealings, retail theft… lower-level issues the place nobody goes to lose their life over it but it surely’s actually an issue. It’s hurting our neighborhoods and companies.”
He says IKEA’s recent method to retail is what his district wants.
“I feel IKEA can be well-served, and I feel in a couple of years everybody goes to say that was a sensible funding by IKEA,” he mentioned.
In the event you’re questioning if this IKEA location has the well-known Swedish meatballs, they do. In addition they have them in plant-based kind, in addition to frozen, so you possibly can cook dinner them at dwelling.
