The weather was wonderful! Warm and sunny. I could hardly stay indoors on such a beautiful day. On approaching Ikea, I felt caressed by a very gentle breeze coming from the sea. (The latter is not too close; good thing, as it's winter and easy to catch a nasty cold from the encounter with the Mediterranean).
Before entering the store, I like to take the time and contemplate the palm trees and the flags. I do so from under an adorable, slightly distant tree overlooking the Ikea complex.
tree overlooking Ikea complex
'Poleg' is a major central interchange leading north, and Ikea store is adjacent to it. Every year the area gets some new comercial companies added , becoming crowded, and somehow unesthetical. According to economic articles, Ikea, with its beautiful blue/yellow colored complex is considered key factor in the development of the vast industrial-commerce area by the Poleg interchange. It certainly attracts a lot of customers.There are some well-known firms (Ace, Office Depot, Auto Depot..) and less known firms and shops here, as well as bank,supermarket, and institutions.
I was rather surprised to see also the one and only popular "dollar store" Max, in a huge building ( huge, certainly compared to its branches in the city).
column with part of the business' names on it
Max "dollar store"
Acostel, Optical center, H&O, Fox, WeShoes, Superfarm, Supermarket
red Sale posters at Ikea
Sale posters at a fashion store
I didn't come home empty-handed though; bought some trivial, things like a door entrance mat, some glass / metal candle holders, AA alkaline batteries, and a few other small items.
Inside the store - a festival of consumerism.; no other phrase would describe that better. And, of course, no one dares leave the place without sampling some swedish meat balls, soup in a bread bowl, salmon delicacies, and other swedish specialties at the store's cafe-restaurant section.
When I leave Ikea, I take another look at the palm trees and flags, but this time from across the Exit direction.
I love ikea!
ReplyDeleteMany do. I'm not exactly a fan of this brand, but I don't ignore it either as it does have some good stuff. The light fixtures and accessories , for example. I know it's good as I install/replace them myself.
DeleteWarm and sunny sounds very good to me right now! And IKEA sounds even better! Ours is just far enough away that I don't go often and probably a good thing -- I always buy too much!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by my place, Duta. I always enjoy your visits and comments!
Oh, yes. I couldn't have lived in a nordic country with harsh, cold weather such as Iceland, the scandinavian countries, Canada.
DeleteIkea stores are not close to my place either, and this makes it difficult when buying a bigger item.
I'm not fond of their furniture, but they do have some decent suff in the other departments.
Apparently Ikea is coming to New Zealand next year.
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan. Good news! Finally New Zealand will also be on the map of Ikea with all the other countries.
DeleteWe've got 4 Ikea stores: 2 in the center of the country, 1 in the south, and 1 in the north. All four of them are quite successful.
Oh just wanted to say that Ikea is coming here I bought all my furniture there when I still lived in Holland. We've got sales going all as well and the weather here was too hot today At one point 34 degrees
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I'm surprised New Zealand was not under Ikea's global radar so far.
DeleteWell, you're in the southern emisphere of the globe, so now is the hot period. Not easy with all that heat and humidity. May God give you cooler days and lots of rain!
Do you ever get zero temps there? We're subzero currently with about twenty cm of snow, my arms hurt from all the shovelling!
ReplyDeleteWe do ever so love dollar stores, too bad most of our have closed after the arrival of the cheap Chinese stores.
We have Ikea only in Belgrade, but they mostly send us crappy collections, nothing overly interesting and the postal costs are through the roof. Most of the furniture from last year's catalogue looked like hospital furniture to me :) But they do have sweet little home stuff for decoration and kitchen.
Our biggest shop event last year was the arrival of Lidl (it is Aldi in some countries) discount supermarkets in more than 20 cities. They're so cheap that we still have people rushing in stampedes to get things before they disappear. The good thing is that all other chain superstores had to lower a lot of their prices because all the customers moved over to Lidl.
Look on the bright side: shovelling might put your arms in good shape:)
DeleteI too love Ikea's "little home stuff", not so much the big things (furniture) which are expensive, need transport, and are not so much to my personal taste.
We don't have Lidl (Aldi) in Israel. Pity, as it's a good discount store judging by my experience with it in other countries in Europe.
Lidl is interesting because they offer only their goods (they don't sell things from other producers, just their own trade marks) but they pack them big and sell them cheap or very affordable and they also have a new unique offer two times a week and each semiweekly offer lasts for just three days which means they's always something new there, but if you want it you have to buy it within those three days because it's gone after that. It keeps people coming back always along with the nice prices. As I said it influenced the shops in all the country as the others had to finally lower the prices of fruit, veggies and such things which were unreasonably high before Lidl came. Bananas are, for example, less than a euro here for the first time in ten years, and oranges too. They were above one euro before.
DeleteWell, Kudos to Lidl! My kind of store.
DeleteFruit and veggies are the very basis of our food (mine certainly so),and it's good to hear about their cheap offers, and the influence they have on other shops.
Looks like a beautiful day, and I can understand why you wouldn`t want to stay too long indoors!! Good that while you made the trip, you found a few things that you can use. I love the palm trees and the `adorable tree` is adorable! ♡
ReplyDeleteWhen winter offers you a nice day, you should certainly grab it and make good use of it, meaning an outdoor little trip.
DeleteIkea excells especially in the little home stuff of kitchenware, organizers, decorations, light and garden accessories, etc.. I usually buy this stuff at sale times.
Yes, the many palm trees in the area are a beautiful sight!
We have a fairly new Ikea store here now. It's huge and my daughter said she wants so many things in there.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! The firm is a positive addition. Ikea opens stores all the time,in all kinds of locations, which means they are successful.
DeleteThe tree in the second photo looks huge! What kind of tree is that?
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew, Sandi! My botanical knowledge is almost zero. The tree is not huge, but has an irresistible charm (in my eyes). Its location is interesting - up, near the highway, and overlooking Ikea and the commercial zone surrounding it, as if it protects them from the traffic or from who knows what.
DeleteI am not a big fan of Ikea, I have only chairs from there - the shop is too big for me:)
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I'm no big fan either, but visit there when they have a sale as it is an opportunity for me to reach that particular region of Poleg and Netanya. As for chairs, I had some bad experience with Ikea chairs.
DeleteSo you have also Ikea in Israel ? We have two here in Brussels. I just wanted to go there too to look for a TV table, but then came the snow !!
ReplyDeleteFirst Ikea store in Israel was opened in 2001 at Poleg, Netanya. Ten years later it burned down and was rebuilt.
DeleteSince then three more stores were opened: in Rishon Lezion (center), in Beer Sheba (south), in Kiryat Ata (north) and another one is due to be opened near Jerusalem.
It's always nice to enjoy a day out and to come home with a few things.
ReplyDeleteCheers to you Duta :D)
It certainly is. I wholeheartedly agree with that. Especially in winter, when most days are cold and /or gloomy. A day out, with some small buying, uplifts the spirit.
DeleteIt looks beautiful, with the palm trees! We're still under snow.
ReplyDeleteI like this phrase: 'a festival of consumerism'.
Palm trees grow not only on sunny beaches, but lso in a variety of environments, such as near the Poleg interchange and Ikea complex.
DeleteI am a big fan of Ikea for the simple designs and affordability.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ikea has many fans over the world, precisely because of the two parameters: simplicity and affordbility.
DeleteI do like your words and description "a festival of consumerism", and so true!
ReplyDeleteOur younger family members love IKEA and the grandchildren when they go along with their parents also enjoy the restaurant, Swedish meat balls are certainly a winner :)
I do think it can be enjoyable to go shopping and you don't necessarily have to spend a lot, just a few new things is always nice...
All the best Jan
It's the Sale that turns Ikea into some kind of festival of consumerism.
DeleteAt the entrance they sell hot dogs, felafel,and chips very cheaply. Kids love it. At te restaurant they sell kids' meal with meat balls and a treat.
we like Idea and our VA house contained many pieces of furniture that we bought in a NJ store, where we were living and then transported to VA and assembled there. We had bedroom furniture, a couple of the Poang chairs, a buffet cart. here in New England, the closest Ikea is nearly an hour and a half drive. We went after moving here and bought a stand for our TV and movies and then last year bought an additional piece with a couple of shelves. Neighbors told us they are planning to go in a couple of weeks and wanted to know if we would be interested and we are. The bedroom furniture was sold with the VA hours, but we kept the buffet card and a couple of other small pieces.
ReplyDeleteIkea store are not close to my hometown either. However, I visit there once or twice a year at Sale times. I buy mainly the smaller things.
DeleteIt seems you are a pleased customer (bedroom furniture, chairs, Tv stand), and you're interested in joining the neighbour on his way to the big store.
I had a friend who recently remodeled their kitchen with cabinets from Ikea.
ReplyDeleteThe process was seamless, according to my friend.
I’m not convinced they would be an esthetic fit for our home.
If he didn't assemble it himself and let the Ikea men do it, then it was probably perfect. Only you can know whether or not it could esthetically fit your home.
DeleteKind of funny, we have an Ikea nearby, some relatives visit us and can hardly wait to go to the store, I've never been in it. Go figure... Love those palm trees and wish I could see some in person now as the weather is severely cold here now, in the middle of the deep freeze here in Chicago area. Interesting post, thanks, Duta!
ReplyDeleteHaving it nearby is good - both for you and relatives.
DeletePalm trees - I never get enough of looking at them.
Keep warm and cozy,in that freezing Chicago, Pam!
Thank Duta, for you comment on my snow photos but I... love to see you sunny photos. The palm trees and the other old one in photo 2. What sort is it?
ReplyDeleteAn entrance mat? A nice one with letters on it? :) Ot without. We have one with the welcome on it. But now it's ugly and nobody can read that word. Have to go to the IKEA too.
Hi Aritha,
DeleteThere's no entrance mat in any of the displayed photos. Perhaps, nice tiling which gives the impression of a mat.
As for the cute tree overlooking Ikea(don't know its botanical name) and the many palm trees around - are a lovely sight!