Eyeing frugal shoppers, Ikea bets on massive U.S. expansion

Ikea is planning a $2.2 billion U.S. expansion that will add eight full stores and shore up the furniture chain’s logistics network, a move that will be the retailer’s largest U.S. expansion since the first store opened near Philadelphia 38 years ago.

Along with the new stores, the investment will establish nine “plan and order” points — smaller stores focused on customer service and furniture delivery — as well as 900 new pickup locations, according to a news release Thursday. The new stores come on top of recently announced openings in Arlington, Va., and San Francisco. Staffing the new locations will add 2,000 jobs across the United States.