For the last decade in Shanghai, the Swedish furniture maker,
IKEA, has established a tremendous following and in many ways has
become much more than a place to shop for locals in the congested
Xuhui district.
To many Chinese, the huge stores have become a second home, with
families congregating at the weekend to nap on the display beds and
eat in the cafe.
Shanghai’s first IKEA is always packed with shoppers on their
own particular mission for attractive European furniture, exotic
food like Swedish meatballs or even just a free bed upon which to
take a quick nap.
Last June, IKEA decided to open a second store in Shanghai,
making it the only city in China with more than one IKEA. This one
is also the biggest in Asia and the second largest in the
world.
Here love blossoms among the display furniture in the form of
large groups of middle-age men and women who browse through the
enormous store in search of alas, not a new bed or kitchen cabinet,
but rather a new love.
Every Tuesday afternoon, in a special area set up specifically
for would-be lovers, the store offers free coffee to card-holding
members.
This move was highly strategic, as this way other customers who
might want to buy a bed or other furniture aren’t disturbed by the
“singles chatting.”
The new IKEA offers 60 sample rooms and 2,000 parking spaces.
The goal is to serve as many meatballs as possible, which can be an
enormous amount considering that the dining area can accomodate 760
people at the same time.
Will the next step be catering weddings at Ikea?
Who knows?
Splendor in the grass can even happen in a furniture store.
