Announces Appointment of Lynda Mee as Manager of New Atlanta, GA Store

Furniture World Magazine

IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, announced the appointment of Lynda Mee as store manager for the IKEA store opening this summer in Atlanta, GA. The store will be the Swedish company's first store in the Southeast and 23rd in the U.S. "We are very excited about opening a store in Atlanta this summer and thrilled that Lynda Mee will be the store manager," noted IKEA North America president Pernille Spiers-Lopez. "Her strong background in the retail industry in general and as an IKEA store manager specifically makes Lynda ideal for leading this effort in a market where there are customers who are fans of IKEA as well as consumers who are not familiar with us yet." "IKEA recognizes the strong customer base that exists for us in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast, so I am very pleased about the opportunity to provide these customers a store of their own," explained Mee. "Also, I am looking forward to introducing new customers to our unique family-friendly shopping experience and wide selection of affordable home furnishings." Mee, who has relocated to the Atlanta area from Southern California, has served as a store manager at IKEA for more than 12 years prior to her appointment as store manager for Atlanta. She started her retail career more than 30 years ago in St. Louis with a large department store chain that transferred her to Los Angeles. Later, Mee managed a home furnishings store for a company that eventually was acquired by IKEA. She then became store manager of the IKEA store in City of Industry, CA in 1992. Most recently, Mee was store manager of IKEA Covina, a relocated version of the City of Industry store, but with twice the size and twice the selection. Currently under construction on 15-acres in Midtown Atlanta's mixed-use Atlantic Station development just off the I-75/85 connector, the 366,000 square foot IKEA Atlanta will present 50 different room settings, four model homes, a supervised children's play area, as well as a 350-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon platters. Other family-friendly features will include a Children's IKEA area in the showroom, baby care rooms, preferred parking and play areas throughout the store. IKEA currently has more than 205 stores in 32 countries, including 22 in the U.S., where the company aims to open five new stores a year. Other U.S. stores being planned will be located in: Bolingbrook, IL; Brooklyn, NY; Canton, MI; Dublin, CA; Frisco, TX; Somerville, MA; Stoughton, MA; and West Sacramento, CA. Since its 1943 founding in Sweden, IKEA has offered a wide range of home furnishings and accessories of good design and function, at low prices so the majority of the people can afford them. IKEA has named - for two years in a row - to Working Mother magazine's annual list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," and recently to Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work for." IKEA is recognized as a socially responsible company, and continuously supports initiatives that benefit causes such as children and the environment. To visit the IKEA Web site, please go to http://www.ikea-usa.com. For information about working at IKEA, visit http://JobsAt.IKEA-usa.com.