For Immediate Release
Contact: Tara McNally
(212) 645-6900 x115
tara@jerichopr.com

IKEA OPENS NEW CUSTOMER CARE CENTER IN BALTIMORE

To Celebrate Grand Opening IKEA Awards First Caller
with Free Room Makeover

BALTIMORE, February 6, 2002 – IKEA, the leading home furnishings retailer, is opening its new 40,000 square foot Customer Care Center in Baltimore County on Monday, February 11. This center is one of two customer care centers that will support catalog sales and service 7 days a week, as well as provide store customer service support in the United States. In celebration of the grand opening, the first caller at 8:00 a.m. will receive a free IKEA room makeover valued at $500.

As IKEA prepares for its aggressive expansion plans in 2003 with the opening of 50 North American stores in the next ten years, the State of Maryland, an existing store market for IKEA, has been a primary area of focus for the company most recently. The grand opening of the new IKEA Customer Care Center follows on the heels of the recent groundbreaking of the IKEA Perryville distribution center’s first phase of construction in Cecil County. At its final stage of construction, the distribution center will be a 1.7 million square foot facility. IKEA also has plans to open a new store in College Park next year.

“We are extremely excited about this opening and about growing in the Baltimore region – this is home to us,” said Pat Gray, general manager, IKEA Customer Care Centers. “Our daily call volume demands a new stand-alone facility. We can now improve our service to the ‘invisible’ electronic customer who shops or requests service by Internet, email, fax and, primarily, by phone.”

The new IKEA Customer Care Center, which employs 180 co-workers, or Sales Advisors, utilizes modern call routing, work-force management and computer telephony integration (CTI) systems. In addition, all co-workers work at IKEA-designed “sit-stand” workstations, which offer co-workers the greatest ergonomic benefit and comfort. In addition to standard industry benefits such as immediate health care and 401K after six months, the center also offers work/life benefits to its co-workers such as flextime and tuition reimbursement, after 90 days.

"We’re glad IKEA has chosen a home here in White Marsh,” said Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger. “We’ve been working hard to build better neighborhoods in Baltimore County, and to do that you must have a solid business base.”

At the grand opening ceremony on February 11 at 11:00 a.m., Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president of IKEA North America and Baltimore County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger will be on hand to help open the doors to the new IKEA Customer Care Center. Instead of the typical ribbon-cutting tradition there will be a unique customer connection celebration. Just following the grand opening ceremony, Pernille and attending guests will contact the IKEA Customer Care Center’s first caller who received the free IKEA room makeover to offer congratulations!

Since its founding in 1943, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at prices so low that the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA is recognized as a socially responsible company, and continuously supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. Currently, IKEA has 165 stores in 31 countries, including 15 stores in the United States and eight stores in Canada. To visit the IKEA web site, please go to http://www.ikea-usa.com.