Candy Lara slept outside the Pharr Town Center with her friends since just past midnight on Tuesday, so she could be one of the first shoppers inside the new IKEA when it opened to the public on Wednesday. 

Lara recently moved to the region for a job with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and was in search of a new bed duvet cover, bedding, curtains, rugs, and even Christmas decor. 

About six months ago, she shopped at the IKEA in Detroit, Michigan, so she’s familiar with the large-scale warehouse layout. So when she heard about the new Pharr store, Lara said she was “over the moon” – even if the physical store footprint is much smaller. 

For her, the selling point is the wide variety of colors to match the interior design of her home. 

“[From] the towels, to the plates, to the lighting, they give you endless options,” she said. “Over here [at other local retailers], you have to go to one place, then another place to find different colors. And it’s so affordable.” 

IKEA’s build it yourself discount 

The lower price point for home goods is what IKEA market manager Keena Garcia says she’s hoping will stick with customers. Garcia oversees the San Antonio region – and now all 50 new employees in the Rio Grande Valley. 

There were nearly one thousand shoppers in line on Wednesday morning waiting for their turn inside the retail store, as the business allowed several dozen shoppers at a time on opening day. 

And while it’s a small-format store with 20,000 square feet of retail floor space, IKEA is banking that more than 1,800 products in stock will be enough for shoppers who want to touch and feel items before a potential purchase. 

“It’s just the larger furniture pieces that you might have to do home delivery or come back for a click and collect,” Garcia said. “We design a price point from the very beginning so it’s affordable for everyone, and then we really focus on making the right type of product and quality.” 

For now, IKEA does not deliver across international boundary lines from the Pharr location, so any customers from Mexico will have to transport the items themselves. 

How much does a small IKEA cost to build 

The IKEA renovation cost about $4.5 million for Houston-based Levcor Properties, the landlord at Pharr Town Center, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records. 

The Pharr Economic Development Corporation chipped in about $300,000 worth of economic incentives to get the deal done, mostly tied to infrastructure improvements after the store that was once a Buy Buy Baby, then Joann’s Fabrics, and now IKEA was retrofitted. 

The difference between a smaller-scale IKEA and a larger store is a massive investment — the new construction IKEA in Live Oak, Texas, just outside of San Antonio in Bexar County, cost $30 million to build in 2018. 

IKEA’s lease term in Pharr is about 10 years, said Victor Perez, president and CEO of the Pharr Economic Development Corporation. 

Perez said it took about four years just to convince IKEA to consider the Texas-Mexico border for an investment. And now, the goal is to have the company scout the region for a full-scale expansion in the next decade. 

At first, IKEA told local officials they weren’t considering any more U.S. expansion stores. But after the Sears store and Joann’s closed, Perez and Levcor developer Larry Levine discovered there would be plenty of space for an IKEA. 

“By then, we’ll have a bigger place for them, so we can do a full-grown store – that is my vision,” Perez said. 

Customers explore for hours in IKEA

Alyssa Navarro, a 24-year-old who lives in Mission, was first in line and waited since 11:30 p.m. the night before, just catching a bit of sleep in a chair while her mother stayed up all night keeping watch. 

“We got some bags, free stuff, some gift cards,” Navarro said.

The recent college graduate says she usually shops at Lack’s, Ashley’s, or At Home for furniture, but has shopped at IKEA online. 

Lara says she could easily spend several hours inside an IKEA, a destination store that also sells food such as Swedish meatballs. The Pharr location mirrors the big-box version by selling food and drink – including those iconic meatballs. 

“It’s my day off [work], so I was so excited to actually stay here for a good while to explore. I never have time because of work,” she said. 

While inflation has pushed up prices for all retail products – including furniture and home decor – Lara says she still feels like it’s worth it for her because the in-house store brands are sturdy and the return policy is fair – even though assembly is required. 

“I have no kids, no husband, I could shop all day,” she laughed.