Talk:List of countries with IKEA stores

First IKEA in Puerto Rico
Any news/rumors about a possible IKEA store in Puerto Rico ?--BoricuaPR (talk) 03:30, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

First IKEA in Canada
Please note that The Chronicle Herald newspaper of Saturday, January 22, 2016 on pages B1 and 2 indicated that the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia store was the first IKEA in North America. It opened in 1975 but closed in 1988. This same article noted that a new 300-000 sq. ft. IKEA would be opening in Dartmouth Crossing in 2017. Wikipedia user Sunray has offered thanks for receiving this information for verifiability.

Way back when this list was part of the IKEA article, someone added the following to the "Notes" section of the Canadian entry of this list: "Previously IKEA's flagship store in Canada. It was open on Sundays, which was illegal at the time; the govern forced it to close on Sundays beginning in 1988, and IKEA responded by closing the store altogether a few months later. It moved its operations to the Quebec City store. IKEA vowed it would never return to Nova Scotia."

This information is demonstrably false and led to a minor urban legend with people on blogs quoting Wikipedia and either lamenting the loss of the store or wishing for an IKEA store in Nova Scotia. As near as I can tell, the only truth to the link between IKEA and Burnside, Nova Scotia is that there is a furniture manufacturing plant in Burnside Park which was owned by IKEA and continues to manufacture furniture for the company. I've corrected the bogus information and substituted info from the IKEA Group's website. Sunray (talk) 20:07, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

REBUTAL

Trust me, this is not an Urban Legend. Yes IKEA did own a furniture making company (I think it was called Scanwood Canada Ltd before the province bought it). However IKEA did have a full size retail store complete with childrens playroom, show room, and a self serve warehouse were you picked up your furniture. When the store opened, the local papers (Chronicle Hearld, Mail Star) indicated that this was the first IKEA store in Canada.

On Sunday, a favorite pastime was heading over to IKEA to do furniture shopping, as other than drugstores, it was the only large store open in the area. Sunday was actually the busiest day of the week for sales for IKEA in the Dartmouth store.

For some reason, the Nova Scotia Government, did not pursue IKEA on the Sunday Closing Act. However in 1988, other large retail stores got on the band wagon as the Sunday Closing Act was stuct down. Unlike most other provinces, Nova Scotia kept creating Sunday closing laws, until it found one that would survive a court challenge (at least until a few years ago, when it was finally struct down, and the province gave up on preventing Sunday shopping).

When the Province was successful in 1988 with the Sunday Shopping Law, they pursued IKEA to close. In addtion, the new uniform retail closing act had heavier fines, unlike the old act. IKEA responded in the media, that they were closing, since they would not be profitable, if they could not open on Sunday, and they also indicated that they would never return to the Province, because of the way they been treated by the Goverment of Nova Scotia. This was also communicated as the reason to the staff upon layoff.

Being a long term resident of Dartmouth Nova Scotia, and knowing people that worked at IKEA at the time of closing, I can attest that this is not an Urban Legend.

The details of this event can also be found in the Archive of Chronical Hearld and Mail Star of Halifax Nova Scotia. (The archive is a paid service). I am also sure that residents of Dartmouth can also verify the details of this, as well as people that used to work at IKEA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.177.88.196 (talk) 23:55, 29 May 2008 (UTC)


 * According to WP:VER the "threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability... —that is, whether readers are able to check that material added to Wikipedia has already been published by a reliable source... Material challenged or likely to be challenged, and all quotations, must be attributed to a reliable, published source." So if you hold to the opinion you have expressed above, just give us the source of your information. If it was published in Halifax newspapers, please give the publication, date, article name, author and title. Also, there should be something in the citation that makes it clear why the IKEA source says Richmond BC was the first store and this information contradicts that. I can't really see why IKEA would want to hide that information. But is is possible, I suppose.


 * To summarize: I have provided a reliable source, (IKEA) that shows that the first IKEA store in Canada was opened in Richmond, BC in 1976. You purport to have information that there was a store in Dartmouth in 1976. You will need to provide a citation and discuss it here before reinserting that information into the article. The source will need to show the exact date of opening of the store in comparison with the Richmond store. Finally, we will need to get consensus on which claim is correct. That shouldn't be a problem if you have the citation to back up your case. Would you be willing to follow these steps before re-inserting the information into the list again? Sunray (talk) 17:28, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

I remember the IKEA store in Dartmouth, and I remember the article in the local newspaper at the time saying it was the IKEA flag ship store in North America, so the IKEA source is wrong. That doesn't surprize me. Can somebody dig up the source. I believe it was the chronicle Hearld or Mail Star sometime in 1976. If anybody works for these newspapers and can dig up the archive, that would be appreciated, as it will put this Richmond Claim to bed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.177.124.26 (talk) 23:24, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Hi all. I found a couple recent sources (Toronto Star and Winnipeg Sun) which indicate a 1975 opening for the Dartmouth store. I also believe the Ikea source is incorrect. A article in the Herald contemporaneous with the store opening would be ideal but unfortunately it seems like their online archive doesn't go back so far? Citobun (talk) 09:53, 13 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Thank You, Citobun, for proving that Dartmouth, NS was the first IKEA location.


 * I originally posted this fact back in the mid 2000's, however I could never find a online article to satisfy the OCD of some editor, that kept deleting my post, rather than help me find a verifiable source. Kudo's Citobun for verifying the truth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.68.44.18 (talk) 00:47, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Here's a link to a Toronto Star article For the Love of Ikea that says "Ikea opened its first North American store in Dartmouth, N.S. in 1975, but closed 13 years later due to low sales.". This an authoritative source in a national paper... yes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.104.187 (talk) 07:47, 8 May 2014 (UTC) I grew up near the store in Dartmouth, if you want to fight about whether it existed or not it will be pistols at dawn, good sir — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:56A:F324:2500:A4F1:C1DC:A3DF:B20E (talk) 02:50, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Need for source
Someone has put this reference to the "Burnside store" back into the list. Unfortunately there is no source for it. The IKEA source for the information in the article previously says that the Richmond, BC store was the first in Canada. I am challenging the unsourced addition added here per the Wikipedia policy on verifiability, which has the following requirements for burden of proof:


 * "The burden of evidence lies with the editor who adds or restores material. All quotations and any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be attributed to a reliable, published source using an inline citation."

Please do not reinsert this information unless you have a reliable source. As we already have a reliable source (i.e., IKEA) for the Richmond location, if someone finds a source to the contrary, please bring it here for discussion. Sunray (talk) 21:31, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Sunray, this is common knowledge to people living in Nova Scotia. If you want verification, phone the Chronicle-Hearld (The Halifax paper). Somebody will be able to collaborate that Dartmouth was the first IKEA store in Canada (and actually all of North America). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.68.252.41 (talk) 04:50, 8 December 2008 (UTC)


 * A phone call won't cut it. If you read the policy I referred to in the links on verifiability and reliable sources, above, you will see that we need the actual reference, provided as a citation. I do not understand why you keep putting an unsourced claim into the entry on Canadian stores. Please do not revert again. Instead, why not just find a source? Sunray (talk) 07:45, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

The problem is, any verifiable to discount your claim is offline, and not accessible from the web. Two other people who lived in the Maritimes has verified the claim. Your claim is based on incorrect information that was published in a IKEA brochure. It happens all the time. Did you actually see the IKEA open in Richmond in 1976 ? Do you have the day that it actually open? Get me some more facts and I will check against the Chroicle-Hearld for accuracy. Until then, my entry still stands. I will add to the article that this entry is in dispute. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.177.122.201 (talk) 13:27, 8 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Again, if you read WP:VER you will see that it is important to have sources. It doesn't matter that three people who lived in the Maritimes know of the existence of the store. We have to be able to prove that the store existed. So far, the only source we have is the IKEA website (did you check it?). You need a reliable source, such as a newspaper, or peer-reviewed article, to have a verifiable claim. If you need any help with sources, please contact me. Sunray (talk) 17:58, 8 December 2008 (UTC)


 * BTW, the source does not have to be an online one. I believe that the Halifax Chronicle-Herald has microfiche that are available in major libraries across Canada. We need the article heading, date and page number and a clear statement that proves the store's existence in order to be able to verify it, though. Would you be able to get that? If so, please bring the wording of the article here, with the source information. (Publication, heading, date, page number, exact quote, etc.). If you do that, I will contact IKEA for confirmation. Once we have received that, we can change the entry on the list. Sunray (talk) 18:12, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

I have contacted IKEA directly, as this may be the fastest route to getting this matter rectified. It should also be of note, that the corporate website also list 1975 as the first store in Canada, but gives no list of stores for 1975, so so much for IKEA being a validated source. I understand the WP:Ver policy, but this is something that is common knowledge for Nova Scotians, and verifyable local common knowledge needs to be written into WP:Ver. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.176.61.245 (talk) 23:02, 8 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I continue to await your citation for this information. Unfortunately common knowledge is not adequate for an encyclopedia. Without a source, it is original research. There is not likely to be a change in the policies on sources anytime soon. Please do not add this information to the list again unless and until you have a reliable source. Sunray (talk) 02:35, 14 February 2009 (UTC)

Here's a link to a Toronto Star article For the Love of Ikea that says "Ikea opened its first North American store in Dartmouth, N.S. in 1975, but closed 13 years later due to low sales.". This an authoritative source in a national paper... yes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.232.104.187 (talk) 07:49, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, that is great. Whew. That took awhile! Sunray (talk) 03:37, 26 January 2016 (UTC)


 * Note: source may be found for the knockoff "Idea" store the russia has made, here is the url (please note that this website is swedish):

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/ryssland-hotar-att-lagga-beslag-pa-vasterlandska-foretag — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:56A:F900:F400:3136:C1C9:E715:91C4 (talk) 05:10, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

French Guyana
Are there any IKEA stores in French Guyana? --88.78.4.255 (talk) 15:54, 20 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Not yet. Here's a map of IKEA stores. Sunray (talk) 16:13, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

IKEA's own data
IKEA publish an interactive worldmap (http://franchisor.ikea.com/worldmap/interactive.html). Clicking on a store gives much interesting data. The data is regularly updated.

I would like to see this list developed into a summary of that data.

Roger (talk) 15:21, 19 April 2010 (UTC)

IKEA to open 415,000 sf. store in Centennial, Colorado
According to ikeaconnection.com IKEA Centennial will be opened on September 23, 2011. A wealth of information about the Colorado store can be found on IKEA Connection website. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.160.138.29 (talk) 07:30, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Misleading Article Title
This article "List of Ikea stores" is not actually a list of Ikea stores, it's a list of countries and how many stores they have. I'd suggest a rename to Countries with Ikea Stores or List of Countries with Ikea Stores Thanks  J e n o v a  20 11:56, 26 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Yes, agreed. I've made the name change. Sunray (talk) 17:10, 11 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks
 *  J e n o v a  20 08:08, 13 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello, you seem to have made a mistake and said that the IKEA opened in Lithuania was opened in 2013? i just thought i'd point this out. -->Dj<-- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.6.164.67 (talk) 10:41, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Miklatorg Group and Estonia.
Will Miklatorg Group (an Icelandic company) really manage and serve the Ikea stores in Estonia ? From what i've searched on the Internet, there seems to be no proof for this, apart from the fact that they really do already manage the Ikea stores in Latvia and Lithuania, (the other two Baltic countries) but who knows. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.127.13.54 (talk) 12:52, 31 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The first store in Estonia has opened, and it really is managed by Miklatorg Group ! 86.127.13.54 (talk) 14:54, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Brazil
Brazil is colored yellow but isn't mentioned in the article itself. 177.76.145.165 (talk) 17:07, 24 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Could someone please remove Brazil from the list ? 86.120.182.149 (talk) 13:55, 19 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Map, sorry.
 * 86.120.182.149 (talk) 13:55, 19 April 2023 (UTC)