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People waited overnight, in tents, for the opening of the new IKEA home furniture store May 6 in Ybor City. Lines to get in wrapped around the building for hours.
To keep the publicity momentum and outreach to customers going, IKEA has come up with a promotion that is uniquely Gulf Coast, says Monica Varela, manager of the IKEA Tampa store.
The company will place four 6-foot-tall glass bottles — like messages in a bottle washed up on a sandy shore — displaying IKEA products near the St. Petersburg Pier throughout Memorial Day weekend.
But you won't be able to walk off with these bottles. They will contain a life-sized chair, bookshelf, bed and children's furniture. IKEA staff will also be handing out 6,000 smaller bottles containing a message and a coupon for a free meal in the restaurant inside the Tampa IKEA store.
The 353,000-square-foot IKEA Tampa covers 29 acres along Adamo Drive, 22nd Street and the Selmon Crosstown Expressway, adjacent to the Ybor City historic business district. The store employs more than 400 and features 10,000 items, a 350-seat IKEA restaurant, 49 room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children's play area and 1,600 parking spaces. Other Florida IKEA stores are in Orlando and Sunrise.
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