Surprise uses love of meatballs to court Swedish furniture retailer IKEA

Corina Vanek, Arizona Republic
·3 min read
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Surprise officials are hoping the forecast in the West Valley will soon include a chance of meatballs.

The city’s economic development department decided to try to capitalize on International Swedish Meatball Day, a day pioneered by furniture store IKEA, to promote the city as a potential landing spot for a new location for the company. To celebrate the day, which is Aug. 23, Surprise officials made a video pitching the city to IKEA, with a special focus on how much they loved meatballs.

“They’re a fun company deserving of a fun engagement, and when you’re a city called Surprise, fun is kind of a requirement,” Jeanine Jerkovic, economic development director for the city, said in an email.

The furniture store, which has a location in Tempe, was one of Surprise’s most requested retailers, according to a survey of residents. They are also on the lookout for new locations in the U.S. In April the company announced a $2.2 billion U.S. expansion plan that will include adding eight stores in the first phase.

Surprise is trying to pitch itself as a good location for an IKEA store. The Swedish furniture retailer was one of the top requested companies in a survey done by the city.
Surprise is trying to pitch itself as a good location for an IKEA store. The Swedish furniture retailer was one of the top requested companies in a survey done by the city.

“For the last two years, we have reached out to IKEA as one of our top-most-wanted retailers, as selected by the residents of Surprise!” Jerkovic said in an email. “As a most-wanted retailer, they receive a personal letter and video from Mayor Skip Hall and a congratulatory call from staff, which is often converted into a meeting or even an appointment at an upcoming International Council on Shopping Centers (ICSC) conference, which our team regularly attends.”

Jerkovic said when IKEA announced the expansion, she and her team reached out to IKEA’s real estate team to have a conversation about possible locations in Surprise.

“We have plans to reach out with more information about proposed sites in the coming weeks — and more creative engagement planned as well!” she said.

Jerkovic said there are multiple sites that could accommodate an IKEA store with easy access to Loop 303.

Surprise’s growing population, with about 160,000 residents, puts the city near the same population Tempe was in 2004, when IKEA opened there, she said. IKEA did have plans for a West Valley location, and had selected a site in Glendale before canceling plans in 2018.

“The city of Surprise Loop 303 Retail Corridor is almost a 50-mile driving distance from IKEA’s current location in Tempe, and from our perspective, having both southeast and northwest greater Phoenix locations would provide tremendous market coverage for them,” Jerkovic said.

The city does a survey annually of which retailers and restaurants the residents want most in the city. The survey runs for three to four weeks, and the 2023 survey closed in May. Jerkovic said the city targets every business that comes up in the survey, but with IKEA’s expansion, it was a chance to use International Swedish Meatball Day as a fun hook.

“Economic developers are always looking for ways to stand out from the crowd and get in front of their targeted audiences, but I would have to say it is a unique part of the culture in Surprise to develop strategies that engage our residents and take them along for the ride with us,” she said. “Our culture and community engagement are a big part of the secret (Swedish Meatball) sauce!”

The city has tried a social media recruiting tactic for businesses before and has seen success. Costco, which also was a top desired store in the retail survey now has a location in Surprise, after years of marketing from the city.

“Although it is never a guarantee, if you’re lucky, sometimes these campaigns can help kick off a meeting with the right people,” Jerkovic said. “What makes the difference is whether a community is ready for the meeting, whether the company is ready for an expansion opportunity, and whether all of the right elements in the site selection process are in place.”

Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @CorinaVanek.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Surprise uses love of meatballs to court Swedish furniture retailer IKEA