IS IKEA'S APPEAL GLOBAL?

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

BURBANK - Ikea made its name by selling everything. Now, it wants to make that name stronger by selling to everyone.

The Swedish furniture retailer, known for its low prices and museumlike stores, wants to reinvent itself once again. Long a staple of first apartments and college dorm rooms, the chain now seeks to appeal to a broad swath of consumers. To do so, it's poured $8 million into revamping its Burbank store, today celebrating its relaunch, which will provide a blueprint for its future domestic expansion.

Combining the stylishness and function that endeared it to home furnishing hipsters and the odd twists that set it apart from its competitors, the store has a remade itself as a destination for professionals, couples and especially families.

``Los Angeles has who knows how many furniture stores,'' said Lori Atkinson, the Burbank store's communication and interior manager. ``We need to set ourselves aside somehow.''

Young families already liked the store for its whimsical children's pieces and durable, low-cost furniture. To keep a lock on the market, however, Ikea's now pursuing them even harder. It beefed up its Smaland play area so it can accommodate 80 children, allowing them to play under supervision while their parents shop at leisure.

Furnished with stuffed toys - available for purchase, of course - and dotted with art stations, the area evokes a Swedish forest, complete with some unusual facets unlikely to pop up at the competition's stores.

``Everyone has a ball pit,'' Atkinson mused, tossing a sphere into the four-foot-deep structure. ``We want to be young, innovative ... and Swedish. So we have a forest and a lingonberry pit.''

The distinction will probably be lost on most kids, but parents will notice other kid-friendly touches: larger changing stations in both restrooms with free diapers, lower hand rails and eye-grabbing activities near check stands. At times, this goes to extreme levels, as Smaland stocks two bags full of emergency slip-on shoes just in case the children need to quickly evacuate before they can find their own. But overall, it's a shrewd move, according to Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Trend Report.

``There was a time that the mere notion of bare bones would be sufficiently exciting, because that's what people were looking for,'' Barnard said. ``Ikea still fulfills its mission, but the excitement is gone. They have to bring a new approach to present themselves to the public.''

Fran Garofalo, a program coordinator for NBC and weekly shopper at the Burbank store, thought the new concept was a smart one.

``My kid used to think it was a field trip to come here,'' she said. ``We'd go to the ball pit, get something to eat - kid-friendly is great.''

And once the kids are safely ensconced in their lingonberries, parents can get down to what Ikea really wants: buying. Its displays created whole rooms in the past, a conscious effort to lure shoppers into picking up companion items they didn't even know they wanted. Now, it's gone a step further and created whole homes.

In Burbank, shoppers can walk through five concept homes, seeing entire floor plans flush with Poang chairs and Billy bookcases. All are based on particular lifestyle concepts, with a college dorm, bachelor pad, single mom and young family all represented. The most complete layout intends to represent a gay couple's one-bedroom bungalow.

Though Ikea has targeted gay consumers in the past, garnering mixed results with its advertising both domestically and internationally, Atkinson said this represents the first in-store display consciously catering to the gay community.

This represents a fairly radical step in marketing, said Russell Bienenstock, editor of the New York-based, bimonthly trade magazine Furniture World.

``Here on the East Coast, we probably wouldn't even see that,'' he said. ``In that regard, the furniture industry isn't very progressive. They see their target as women ages 35 to 55, so it's hard for them to get away from that. To be targeting specific demos isn't all that common. But if anyone's going to do it, Ikea will. They're looking for markets - they want anybody and everybody who'll buy involved.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Ikea relaunches its Burbank store, above, today after an $8 million revamping that provides a blueprint for its future domestic expansion. At left, Robert Cole plays with toys in an expanded children's section of the store.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer