CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Known for inexpensive and easy furniture, the IKEA store in Charlotte is seeing record crowds as many people adjust to school and work at home.
The Charlotte store is usually among the top 20 in the country — right now, it's top 10 as Charlotteans reconfigure things at home. That’s meant more jobs in our area.
Jeff McGowan handles marketing for the IKEA store in Charlotte. He told WCNC Charlotte that customers are “coming in droves.”
The Charlotte store reopened June 8, and McGowan said they're beating last year's numbers already.
This time of year is usually busy anyway, with back-to-school and back-to-college — but it’s busier this year because many people are trying to make new work-from-home spaces and figure out ways to teach kids that don’t include the kitchen table.
“It’s just been inundated with customers buying tables, desks, chairs everything is just flying out the door more than usual," McGowan said.
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That means the Charlotte branch of IKEA is in need of more help, which is good news at a time when so many are looking for work.
“We’ve also added 50 seasonal co-workers to our staff to keep up with the demand of reopening," McGowan said.
It shows there are some businesses managing to not only survive but thrive right now. IKEA has also donated more than $20,000 in the Charlotte community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.