The Swedish furniture company IKEA will abandon plans to build one of its superstores in the Triangle.
IKEA had planned to open a location in Cary in 2020, but town manager Sean Stegall confirmed Wednesday the retailer will not expand to Cary Towne Center.
"On Friday morning I spoke with IKEA’s Real Estate Manager Bob Grimsley who shared that, because of IKEA’s evolving business model, there will be no store in Cary," Stegall said in a statement.
"They are moving away from suburban big box retail outlets and into global city centers. We are obviously very disappointed," he said.
"When I asked whether there was anything Cary could do to influence IKEA’s decision, I was told that there was nothing; not even an incentive would make a difference. IKEA said they had an extremely positive view of and experience with the Town Council, our staff, the mall site, and Cary as a whole."
The town planned for IKEA to replace two empty department stores.