The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread - Page 261

mylesmalley · #**5201** Posted **May 12, 2010, 2:17 PM**

I'm all for it, but I seriously doubt it. The smallest city they have Canadian locations in is Edmonton right now. I don't know a lot about IKEA, but from what I've read and heard, their competitive advantage is price. To keep that, they need massive volume, which there's no guarantee of from a store anywhere on the east coast-even Halifax.

I don't mean to sound pessimistic. I'm really not haha. But there are worthwhile goals, and there are goals that are so outlandish that in seeking them out, you're missing out on more realistic possibilities.

kwajo · #**5202** Posted **May 12, 2010, 2:37 PM**

Well if there's one thing Saint Johners love, it's cheap crap, so maybe IKEA would be an ideal fit.

homebody · #**5203** Posted **May 12, 2010, 2:37 PM**

Your right it might be a long shot, but lets let the lady who started the petition give it a shot. The population, including all the smaller cities and towns, within a two hour drive would probably be around 500,000. You never know it might be enough to woo them. Sign the petition and give the lady a chance. I would dare the posters from Moncton and Fredericton to post this on their threads.

mylesmalley · #**5204** Posted **May 12, 2010, 3:41 PM**

I see what you're trying to do, and I'm not going to start a silly fight.

If someone proposes building a NASCAR track in Moncton and starts a petition, I'll be sure to include the SJrs

MonctonRad · #**5205** Posted **May 12, 2010, 4:26 PM**

I like that idea Myles............if you start a Facebook petition for a NASCAR track in Moncton, I'd vote for it!

cl812 · #**5206** Posted **May 12, 2010, 4:35 PM**

Correct me if im wrong, but I thought there was an IKEA in Halifax at one time but it closed. I have been in IKEA stores in Toronto before and they are massive, I highly doubt anywhere in the Maritimes could support a store. But I would sign the petition for one in SJ.

MonctonRad · #**5207** Posted **May 12, 2010, 4:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cl812

Correct me if im wrong, but I thought there was an IKEA in Halifax at one time but it closed. I have been in IKEA stores in Toronto before and they are massive, I highly doubt anywhere in the Maritimes could support a store. But I would sign the petition for one in SJ.

Yes, there was an IKEA store in Halifax.............it was very popular but closed while I was living there in the 1980's.

IKEA has made a conscious corporate decision to locate their North American stores only in cities with metro populations exceeding one million. They did however recently relent and agree to open a store in Winnipeg.

The chances for a new IKEA store anywhere in the Maritimes is essentially nil.

kirjtc2 · #**5208** Posted **May 12, 2010, 5:12 PM**

Just like the T&T's support for whatever cockamamie pie-in-the-sky scheme someone proposes for Moncton, I'm ashamed the TJ wasted ink on this story.

The entire population of NB could sign this little petition of hers and it still won't make a dent. Saint John is too small. It's not happening. End of discussion.

Now...as for NASCAR...not a fan at all, but if Loudon, NH (pop 4400) can support a track, why not us?

OliverD · #**5209** Posted **May 12, 2010, 5:26 PM**

As much as I would love to see an IKEA in the Maritimes, it's not very realistic. They don't even have that many stores in the U.S. Cities like Denver, Las Vegas, and Portland OR don't have stores at all, and populous states like Georgia and Ohio have a single location each.

That said, a Maritime IKEA would make most sense in Moncton, where it would be centrally located between Fredericton, Saint John, Charlottetown, and Halifax.

kwajo · #**5210** Posted **May 12, 2010, 5:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliverD

As much as I would love to see an IKEA in the Maritimes, it's not very realistic. They don't even have that many stores in the U.S. Cities like Denver, Las Vegas, and Portland OR don't have stores at all, and populous states like Georgia and Ohio have a single location each.

That said, a Maritime IKEA would make most sense in Moncton, where it would be centrally located between Fredericton, Saint John, Charlottetown, and Halifax.

Not everything makes sense to be in Moncton just because it's "centrally located," otherwise no-one would have any reason to live or set up shop anywhere else (but guess what, they do!).

MonctonRad · #**5211** Posted **May 12, 2010, 6:09 PM**

Now now, we don't want to give into Homebody's twisted desire to spark a civic war between NB's major cities. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie.

As Rodney King said, "can't we all just get along?"

kwajo · #**5212** Posted **May 12, 2010, 6:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Now now, we don't want to give into Homebody's twisted desire to spark a civic war between NB's major cities. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie.

As Rodney King said, "can't we all just get along?"

Oh I agree, I just felt like pointing out that sometimes there is more to a decision than just a central location, be it on a local, regional or national scale. And on the topic, let's just band our cities together and start whipping on Halifax and Montreal rather than each other

PersonPlaceorThing · #**5213** Posted **May 12, 2010, 6:34 PM**

The idea of petitioning for such an unworthy cause reminds me of two things I recently read.

One, an article from The Onion entitled: Nadir Of Western Civilization To Be Reached This Friday At 3:32 P.M..

The other, by NB based blogger and economic development consultant David W. Campbell entitled: Civilization and its discontents.

I know this makes me the "wrong kind of person" and the definitive "that guy," but our societies' lust for retail and mass-consumerism really grinds my gears sometimes. The desire for particle board furniture is a little high up on the pyramid of needs for folks in NB to be creating grass roots movements around.

Real problems need real solutions. Now.
Petitions will not solve problems, but at least use petitions for worthy causes.

I think that our built culture and heritage are important in addressing certain community needs, and that continues to draw me to forums like this. Passion for big box retail does not.

cl812 · #**5214** Posted **May 12, 2010, 6:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirjtc2

Just like the T&T's support for whatever cockamamie pie-in-the-sky scheme someone proposes for Moncton, I'm ashamed the TJ wasted ink on this story.

The entire population of NB could sign this little petition of hers and it still won't make a dent. Saint John is too small. It's not happening. End of discussion.

Now...as for NASCAR...not a fan at all, but if Loudon, NH (pop 4400) can support a track, why not us?

Thats almost as bad as the story in the Gleaner a couple weeks ago about the New Maryland woman going crazy over Costco. I am not entirely surprised that made the paper based on some of the other stuff that has made it in there in the past, but that was a bit crazy, hard up for news i guess.

OliverD · #**5215** Posted **May 12, 2010, 6:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwajo

Not everything makes sense to be in Moncton just because it's "centrally located," otherwise no-one would have any reason to live or set up shop anywhere else (but guess what, they do!).

I didn't say that, or even imply it. I personally think in this scenario, where you have a corporation that targets markets of at least 1M people, the most logical place to locate in the maritimes would be the most central spot so that they can maximize their customer base. That's all.

Hell, I don't even LIKE Moncton.

MonctonRad · #**5216** Posted **May 12, 2010, 7:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliverD

Hell, I don't even LIKE Moncton.

Home is where the heart is I guess.

If everyone liked the same thing we'd all live in the same place.

nwalbert · #**5217** Posted **May 12, 2010, 8:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliverD

As much as I would love to see an IKEA in the Maritimes, it's not very realistic. They don't even have that many stores in the U.S. Cities like Denver, Las Vegas, and Portland OR don't have stores at all, and populous states like Georgia and Ohio have a single location each.

Although I think the idea of an IKEA in SJ is far fetched, I am not sure that Halifax is THAT far fetched. Clearly it is not something that is going to happen in the next few years but IKEA will need to find a method to continue to increase their market share and find a way to enter these mid-sized markets. There was a time when a Wal-Mart in NB seemed unrealistic. If today IKEA looks for markets of 500,000 and Halifax is halfway there now, its that much of a stretch to see them adapt their strategy to make this work in the future.

homebody · #**5218** Posted **May 12, 2010, 8:39 PM**

You know take great offense to MonctonRads statement that I Have a twisted scheme to pit the cities of N.B. against each other. I can assure you that it is not the case. I realize as I stated before that the Ikea idea might be might not fly here or for that matter the centre of the universe Moncton. I was simply passing on the link with hopes of support for the lady presenting it. I agree with Kwajo about us all working together. The problem is, some of us have to used to the fact that being the centre point in the maritimes doesn't mean anything in most cases. Without causing a big dispute. There are very few things that Moncton has that Saint John Hasn't. When your looking at catchment area Saint John would also attract shoppers from Eastern Maine for that matter as well as Moncton and Fredericton. Costco was built here with that philosophy in mind I'm sure. I noticed that my request to have the earlier acticle posted on the other threads as a good gesture from the people who thrive on those links did not happen. Like I said it will not happen because it is not in their backyard. By the way I still take my kids to Crystal Palace. They enjoy it. Oh ya Saint John doesn't have one. If the same thing showed up in another thread I would support it in any way. Rest assured.

CONative · #**5219** Posted **May 12, 2010, 10:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Although I think the idea of an IKEA in SJ is far fetched, I am not sure that Halifax is THAT far fetched. Clearly it is not something that is going to happen in the next few years but IKEA will need to find a method to continue to increase their market share and find a way to enter these mid-sized markets. There was a time when a Wal-Mart in NB seemed unrealistic. If today IKEA looks for markets of 500,000 and Halifax is halfway there now, its that much of a stretch to see them adapt their strategy to make this work in the future.

They just broke ground on the Denver IKEA....

MonctonRad · #**5220** Posted **May 13, 2010, 2:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nwalbert

Although I think the idea of an IKEA in SJ is far fetched, I am not sure that Halifax is THAT far fetched. Clearly it is not something that is going to happen in the next few years but IKEA will need to find a method to continue to increase their market share and find a way to enter these mid-sized markets. There was a time when a Wal-Mart in NB seemed unrealistic. If today IKEA looks for markets of 500,000 and Halifax is halfway there now, its that much of a stretch to see them adapt their strategy to make this work in the future.

I agree, the idea of an IKEA in Halifax is not absolutely outside the realm of possibility.

- Halifax has a metro pop. of 400,000. This is still well short of a million but if IKEA were to try and test market a store for a medium sized city, Halifax would be a good choice.
- Halifax has a young, well educated, urban and urbane population which fits IKEA's demographics very well.
- Halifax has a history with IKEA. Their first store in North America was in Halifax. It did very well. The city was very upset when IKEA pulled out, citing that the market was "too small". The Halifax IKEA in fact was profitable. This history may count for something.

I'm a Moncton booster all the way, but I firmly believe that IKEA belongs in Halifax and not Moncton. I get just as upset as everyone else when the T&T every few months pulls a stunt like phoning up the President of IKEA Canada and asking when they're going to open their Moncton store........it's not going to happen!!