Sale at the Interchange

Ikea's big winter sale was mainly a pretext for a trip to the Poleg interchange zone  located south-east of the central city of Netanya.

The coastal route leading to the interchange, passes by some notable places: Levinsky college of education, Cinema City Glilot, high-tech zone with Microsoft's imposing building, 'Gaash' mineral springs Spa, Wingate  physical education institute and other.

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 were greetting customers  not only at Ikea but also at some fashion stores. 

red Sale posters at Ikea

Sale posters at a fashion store

At Ikea, I intended to buy a certain new light fixture to replace an old one, but I was told the last one got sold out shortly before my arrival at the store. Pity. I might try my luck at another Ikea store (this one is the closest to my hometown). 
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.

                              

The Swedish Concept

It's winter Sale at the big, international, clothing stores : H&M , Zara,  H &O, Mango, Springfield, Bershka, Castro etc.; 30%  to 70% discount on most winter items.

entrance to the HM store in Ayalon mall - Ramat-Gan city

upper floor-men/ kids fashion; ground floor- ladies' fashion

My favorite is  H&M  - fashion from Sweden. It's called by people "cheap chique" and "fast fashion" (like in fast food - meaning good stuff at affordable prices).What I like about this chain , is that it has something for any age, gender, and purse.It has ladies/men fashion departments, kidswear/ maternity wear/ accessories sections.  Besides, the design of the stores is very,very cool with lots of space  and lights. The chain has branches in the malls of almost all major cities in the country.

window fashion models

kids'  wear

I entered an HM store the other day to have a look,  and  left with a lovely, festive $10  black top . All the colours are present; it's quite obvious, however, that H&M loves red, although black is considered the average swede's favourite color. 
I know a thing or two about fabrics and sewing, so the store offered me much interest and curiosity.

items in red

check out area; poster above the cashiers

Ikea , another swedish brand,  keeps its big Sale once a year, at the end of summer. There are only 4-5 stores in the whole of Israel, but they're very successful. (In the past, I wrote two posts on Ikea).

Ikea store in Netanya city industrial zone

I enjoy having a look at the furniture designs, less at the...prices. I leave the store with some trivial item/s, usually a pot (I like their kitchenware); Over the years I've bought several furniture pieces , among them an armchair I'm very fond of to this day.
I won't leave the store, without eating their famous 'soup in a bread bowl', 

Bread bowl with soup

It's surprising, how a small country like Sweden (barely 10 million people), has produced such a number of global, successful companies: Ikea, H&M,  Volvo, Scannia , Skype - to mention the more famous ones. They also boast a lot of inventions (dynamite, adjustable wrench, pacemaker,ultrasound, seatbelt, and more) ׂ.   What's their secret? 

I suppose their special, 'out of the box' creativity and  great ability to plan, combined with freedom and encouragement given to start-ups by the government, are the things that lead them to international success.


* The map - Web image

Out Of The Ashes...

A year ago, a massive fire completely destroyed the Ikea store (building and merchandise) near Netanya city. Luckily, there were no casualties as the store was empty when the fire broke out .

The cause of the fire was not clear. Fire investigators were checking some electrical fault near the store's roof. I was under the impression that the fire was deliberately set by someone who wanted the store destroyed, but no injured people. The timing was "perfect" - on Saturday, when the store was closed and no one inside it.

Besides, it looked like someone had "taken care" of the fire detectors . The investigators had no explanation for the fact that these detectors had failed to work. Anyway, the final conclusion was: a short circuit caused by rain water in the electrical system, had brought about the destructive fire.

The store reopened this week, on Tuesday, March 6. Although I was not a frequent customer, I kind of missed my few annual visits there. I like the location - at a major road intersection - its palm trees and nice views of the surroundings.
I'm not very fond of Ikea furniture or textiles , but I do like their smaller items such as lamp shades, kitchen ware, storage gadgets, candles. I also enjoy eating the veggie soup served in a bread loaf, at their restaurant.

palm trees in front of the store

veggie soup in a "bread bowl"

kitchenware stand

So, on Thursday, I paid Ikea a visit to see the store that "emerged from the ashes". The concept is the same, but naturally there are some changes and improvements (especially in the eating areas and in the areas for children activities). The emphasis both outside and inside is on the two vivid, attractive colors dark blue and mustard yellow.

festive rebuilt Ikea

going upstairs

fast food area

gardening department

Ikea is considered a nice, friendly place where adults and children can spend hours shopping, eating, having fun. Let's hope no fire or any other bad thing happens to it again.

A Taste of Sweden

Palm trees welcome at Ikea

Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman, Ingrid Bergman - famous swedish names associated with great movies, Alfred Nobel - famous swedish scientist, the name behind the Nobel prize, "Abba" band, eurovision song contest winners - famous swedish name in lovely lively music, and... Ikea - famous swedish name in home design concept. Not bad, Sweden.

Ikea's concept is based mainly on two principles: 1. flat pack of furniture and of smaller home stuff, which reduces expenses of transportation, minimizes damage , and frees storage space. 2. do it yourself work by the consummer - assembly of components with the help of wordless instructions (drawings). Due to this concept, the consummer usually gets good quality for a relatively low price.

2009 Ikea catalog front cover

Once a year, Ikea sends to each address a colorful , 300 page catalog that displays their home products for that year and includes a lot of useful information.

The merchandise is designed by Swedish designers (the materials and work though come from many countries on the globus). At the store's restaurant one gets to eat "swedish meat balls", and there's also a tiny food shop which sells swedish made food products. such as frozen fish, crackers, coffee, chocolate.

The trip to Ikea is not always rewarding. Last year , for example, I bought a non -electric , originally designed kettle, which was supposed to shriek when water reaches boiling point. Well, it did not shriek, and I felt cheated.

Before I set out to Ikea store, I have no way of knowing whether I'll find the catalog items I'm looking for, as checking with the store by phone is a nightmare, and their website tells you only if a certain item is or isn't in the inventory. If the required stuff (usually small items) is in the warehouse, they won't fetch it for you, and will probably tell you to come next week or so.

Ikea is the only store, as far as I know, that requires to see your ID card when paying with credit card. That really makes me nervous. I hide my ID card so well that I can't remember in which one of the pockets I put it, and now with all the packages, they expect me to start looking for it. Ha! And God forbid if there's a mistake in the bill; they don't fix it on the spot but send you to the customers' service where you have to take a number and wait in line.

Luckily, there's delicious ice cream at 'the end of the road' and this makes it up for everything.

warehouse store structure