Ikea

Since I'm on the topic of retail, I think I now understand why the Irish government wanted Ikea in Ireland, in this jurisdiction and why they wanted it along the motorway in north Dublin. It will (obviously) be convenient for the Dublin consumers, but also reasonably convenient for consumers from N. Ireland, who are already traveling to Glasgow in large numbers in order to shop at Ikea.

The Swedish company'’s megastore at Braehead, on the outskirts of the city, has become Glasgow’'s biggest new tourism stream, said VisitScotland, with up to 48,000 visitors a year.

The Northern Irish demand for furnishings is so big that they are being offered hotel-ferry package deals.

On an average Saturday, at least 600 IKEA-bound shoppers will be aboard the first Stena ferry out of Belfast to begin an 18-hour marathon.

At Braehead, they have four and a half hours’ shopping time - and they make the most of it.

If people are willing to put up with that hassle, I presume even more of them will be willing to put in a couple of hours in the car in order to get to the new Ikea store in Ballymun when it opens.

I've never been to Ikea. I used to drive by it regularly (near Newark Airport along the Turnpike), but I had no interest then and I still don't get it. Maybe I have to see it first?