Atlanta’s “Designing Women” and other consumers in the US South with an eye for functional, well designed household products take note. IKEA has opened a distribution center in Savannah, Georgia that will funnel goods to its stores throughout the US Southeast. “We needed a South Atlantic distribution center for our Southeastern stores,” comments Thomas DeMarino, vice president of international transportation and logistics at IKEA Wholesale, Inc., “So we picked Savannah.” The Savannah Distribution Center, which opened on June 27, 2007, serves IKEA stores in Atlanta, GA; Frisco, Houston, and Round Rock, Texas; Houston, Texas as well as recently opened stores in the South Florida city of Sunrise and Orlando. Another is planned for Tampa, FL as well as Charlotte, NC in 2009. With more than 225 stores in 33 countries, IKEA is expanding its presence around the world by opening new stores. In North America, IKEA is opening approximately three to five stores a year. Two other distribution centers in Washington and the Illinois are planned, and the Swedish retailer will open its first US factory in Virginia in the spring of 2008. Built on 115 acres in Savannah River International Trade Park, the 785,000-square-foot IKEA facility will grow with demand. Its current footprint represents the first phase of what will eventually expand to 1.7 million square feet. Prior to opening the Savannah DC, goods were distributed to the Southeast from the company’s distribution center in Perryville, MD. The US operations for IKEA are headquartered in West Hampton, NJ. By locating a DC in closer proximity to its store customers, the company will be able to stock and restock stores in the Southeast and Texas more quickly, therefore better serving demand. Choosing Savannah was not a difficult decision, according to Keith Keller, president of distribution services for IKEA North America. “This is our sixth distribution center at a port and it’s one of the most efficient and friendly ports I’ve ever worked with,” he says. Besides Perryville and the new DC in Savannah, other distribution centers in North America include facilities in Bristol, PA.; Brossard, Quebec; Tejon, CA; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Westhamton, NJ. PORT ADVANTAGESA huge advantage to locating the distribution center in Savannah is the Port of Savannah, which the Swedish retailer is now utilizing. “For one, the port is not operating at the volume levels of other ports,” he says. “Therefore, the port is not congested and it is easy to get shipments in and out.” IKEA’s goods come from 1,500 suppliers in 55 countries around the world, with the bulk coming from Europe and Asia. The goods received through the Port of Savannah will reflect the nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items currently sold at all IKEA stores. “We estimate that we will be bring in 5,000 to 8,000 containers of goods per year through the Port of Savannah,” DeMarino states. “Many of the goods were coming in via the Port of Baltimore and Port of New York & New Jersey.” Besides its location, another key advantage, DeMarino points out, are GPA’s superb relations with its customers. “Its operations are also run by the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) rather than the ocean carriers, which is increasingly the case with most ports,” he says. In addition, IKEA’s Savannah DC is located five miles from Savannah’s Garden City Terminal, a facility that continues to undergo extensive expansion. Already the Garden City Terminal boasts the largest single container facility in all of North America. It is capable of handling over six million teus. “We see a lot of growth potential by using the Port of Savannah,” DeMarino says. “As volume increases, the port should be able to handle the additional shipments with no problem.” According to PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, which tracks maritime container trade data, the Port of Savannah handled more than 2.3 million teus during 2007, making it the second-bu