Ikea warns pranksters: ‘Stop having sleepovers in our stores’
The trend reportedly started when two teenagers spent the night in an Ikea store in Belgium in August this year, then posted a video of their exploits online
Ikea has warned people not to try to sleep over in its stores when they close, saying they would be considered trespassers and would only end up getting into trouble with the law.
On Wednesday, the Swedish firm’s spokeswoman Johanna Iritz said the firm takes the matter seriously, adding: “We can’t guarantee safety”.
The trend reportedly started when two teenagers spent the night in an Ikea store in Belgium in August this year, then posted a video of their exploits online.
Iritz said Ikea has recorded about 10 such incidents in the past year in the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Australia and Poland. The agency said it was unclear whether anyone had been prosecuted.
We hope that this trend will slow. We do not see what it is fun about it
In August, Florian Van Hecke and Bram Geirnaert hid in wardrobes in an Ikea store in Belgium – coming out once it had closed. They filmed themselves using the display furniture overnight and finally left the store without being caught. Their video on YouTube was subsequently viewed more than 1.7 million times.
The latest incident involved two 14-year-old girls trying to stay over in an Ikea branch in Jönköping, Sweden, last weekend. According to local media, the firm did not report the incident because of the girls’ age.
“Instead, we have spoken with their parents … to resolve the situation. We hope that this trend will slow. We do not see what it is fun about it,” an Ikea spokesman told Aftonbladet.
Speaking on Wednesday, Iritz reiterated that the fun associated with sleeping over in an Ikea store after closing time was “overrated”.
Her statement comes two years after Ikea invited people to stay over in one of its Australian stores as part of a joint publicity stunt with Airbnb. Ikea listed one of its Sydney stores on the home sharing website.
At that time, the firm said the opportunity promised “guests a truly unusual experience, where the Ikea bedroom displays will be transformed into a quirky accommodation option”.
