What will be the impact on Ballymun be when furniture retailer IKEA opens in Dublin?
After three years of planning, the first IKEA store in the Republic of Ireland is to open in two weeks.
The Swedish furniture giant says it will create 500 new jobs at the store in Ballymun, with almost 70 of these being sourced locally. An estimated 2.7 million customers are due to visit the outlet in the first year. There are concerns about how the opening will impact local businesses in the area. Queensway Furniture has been in business for 22 years and is located just five minutes from Ballymun.
It faces the challenge of operating in the shadow of Ikea, the largest furniture retailer in the world.
Paul McCourt, general manager at Queensway Furniture, feels that while IKEA may have a different target market, it will impact their sales. He is hopeful that IKEA will attract more people to the area.
Not every business in Ballymun is worried about competition from IKEA. The Ballymun Shopping Centre is due to undergo redevelopment and retail units there have been winding down. In recent months, there has been a surge in retailers looking for shop space in the area. Martin Griffin, general manager at the Ballymun Shopping Centre, expects footfall in Ballymun to increase substantially after the opening of the IKEA store.
Local businessmen are also benefiting from the surge in activity in the area. With the help of the Ballymun Partnership, they have secured a partnership to work for IKEA. Renovation specialist Mark Gannon of The Property Medics explains that they have won the tender for installing IKEA kitchens. Another company to benefit is FlatpackUnpack.ie. Former architecture model maker Paul Rossiter hopes to benefit from the opening of IKEA providing a furniture assembly service.
Apart from the business benefits for the area, there are traffic management concerns for local routes and the M50 motorway. With work on the M50 yet to be finished, the National Roads Authority is concerned about the increase in traffic once the store opens. Fingal County Council is convinced that enough has been done to prevent traffic disruption. Mick Lorrigan, Fingal County Council, says that there will be an event management plan in place for the opening of IKEA. This will involve an opening time of 11.00 am.
IKEA is due to open its doors on 27 July.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 13 July 2009. The reporter is Samantha Libreri.
