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IKEA's Competitors Actually Looking Forward To Opening Day

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - The countdown is on for the grand opening of Colorado's first IKEA store. The Centennial store opens on Wednesday.

IKEA will be competing for people looking for new furniture, and surprisingly some of IKEA's competitors are actually looking forward to the store's opening day.

"I'm ecstatic about their opening," Jake Jabs said.

Jabs turned American Furniture Warehouse into one of the biggest furniture stores in the U.S., but he's not worried about his new Swedish neighbors. In fact, he thinks the IKEA hype will actually boost his business by 20 percent.

"What they do is they create the excitement about furniture, so there will be more people shopping furniture," Jabs said.

Jabs believes his prices and bigger selection will keep customers coming to American Furniture Warehouse, but he still plans to keep a close eye on his competition.

"I've been in a lot of IKEA stores and I like to copy successful businesses, and IKEA has been successful, so I copy a lot their stuff, buy a lot of the same products they do," he said.

Shoppers say the two stores are different enough that they'll both be able to succeed.

"This is a furniture store," shopper Donna Riddick said of American Furniture Warehouse. "IKEA is furniture and everything else store."

Photo Gallery: Sneak Peak At The New Centennial IKEA

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Jabs says he's up for a friendly fight.

"I like competition. I like to be competitive and it gives the consumer more value; it makes the business more fun and it's good for everybody," Jabs said.

Right next door to IKEA is the Wow Furniture Warehouse. They say they sell different types of furniture and are also looking forward to the additional crowds that IKEA brings in.

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