This is really long winded. So, you might want to just skip reading this. My apologies for probably wasting your time!
Seattle has had an IKEA in nearby Renton for several years now. It was unique in that former employees of IKEA international owned this IKEA as a franchise. They recently sold it to the parent company which, if I recall correctly, is still a privately held Swedish company (please correct me if I'm wrong!). Full disclosure: I don't work for IKEA, never have, and I don't have friends who work there.
My family and I followed the "typical" IKEA purchase trajectory. As a "young" (I'm now 56 and our daughter is 15) family we purchased many items from tables to beds and silverware. As our tastes changed or we went through one of our many moves due to my work, we would buy to replace or bump up the furnishings price food chain (i.e., purchase from retailers other than IKEA). We felt, and still do, that IKEA represents a reasonable price/value proposition. We don't purchase as much now as we did before. Primarily because we reached a point where we've settled on a design and decor that we finally feel is "ours". We also don't wear out or feel that we need to chase the design/fashion curve. In other words, we're older (note that I've left out "wiser").
Our local IKEA (and after visiting other IKEAs) always expanded, had fresh and "stimulating" merchandising that kept things looking new and exciting. They really made themselves into a destination retailer (the restaurant, kids' Ball Room, customer services and facilities. I've been in retail for most of my adult working life and I know how hard it is to keep financial, merchandising and customers in balance. On top of it, the store(s) are tidy, clean and relatively friendly. Not many big box stores, in my opinion, can claim this. IKEA also has a reasonable policy on sustainable and non-toxic components and sourcing.
The customers I've seen in the store and parking lots (a steady stream on weekends) represent the diversity of the area: Caucasian, Asians, African American, Latin American. . .and economic diversity as well. Young couples as well as retirees. Full disclosure again: I'm Asian and my wife is Caucasian. I'm good with the "Scandi-hoovian" ethos of the place.
It's not without its frustrations. Not everything is of the best quality. The best you can say sometimes is that it's consistently mid-grade. The layout of the store changes often and it's easy to get frustrated trying to find a department that's moved over the weekend to the opposite corner of the store. The assortment of products seemingly changes from day to day. And it's nearly impossible to replace a damaged or defective item from year-to-year.
Customers vote with their feet and their dollars. IKEA has done a very job in many areas and I think will weather current customer needs and the economy.
Oh, and by the way, I installed a complete IKEA kitchen in my home 7 years ago. A local cabinet maker quoted $22,000 for cabinets only. Doing the work myself, including electrical, basic plumbing, engineered wood flooring, SileStone countertops, the total was $18,000. To be sure, I was fortunate in that the cabinets required no modifications other than reinforcing the tops for the stone countertops and that the run of cabinets was exactly the same as the stock IKEA cabinets. That saved alot of time and aggravation. Ordering all the components I needed required a spreadsheet and I still managed to miss a few. I also elected to pick up all the materials at IKEA. That took three trips in my Honda CR-V. I wouldn't do that again if you paid me. Nearly everything went together perfectly with a minimum of tools (I did learn that cutting or trimming panels required a good power saw. I went from a PC circular saw to a Bosch jigsaw to, finally, the Bosch bench top saw.).
It has been of excellent quality and continues to age well. It's outlasted a refrigerator and dishwasher. It's taken a lot of abuse from a growing child and now her teenage friends (there's nothing quite like foraging teenage males). I also have installed the IKEA bamboo flooring in a high traffic retail store with great results. I liked it so much that I've installed the flooring in our home's "all purpose" (formerly named the "family room") room.
And here's the kicker: installing the kitchen opened my eyes to the wacky world of woodworking. Afterwards, I wasn't as a daunted by the prospect of assembling, installing or modifying cabinetry. "Hey, even I can do this!". Since the kitchen I've torn out and remodeled two bathrooms and an all purpose room.
During the past 7 years I've purchased many hand and power tools (including an ungodly amount of Festool), decided to change careers and have become a professional designer of furniture and now own a business devoted to design, design consultancy and fabrication. I purchased from IKEA to save money and in the process have gained a greater appreciation of the design and craft that many of the FOG members possess as professionals or as an avocation. I understand much more clearly from a cost-of-goods and profit point-of-view what money can buy. It has made it easier to explain and demonstrate the difference between off-the-shelf and custom goods/services to customers
In a very roundabout way, IKEA is to blame for my Festool purchases. IKEA was my "gateway drug" for the Festool addiction.
Thanks for your patience.
)
It's too bad 
that the material they use is often of inferior quality, but I guess that is what they are forced to do to compete on price.
