Ikea

Midnyte_Ragebringer · February 10, 2005, 3:43 pm

This is
LONDON
10/02/05 - News and city section

Chaos at Ikea opening
By Oliver Finegold and Chris Millar, Evening Standard

Five people are in hospital today after hundreds were crushed as the opening of England's biggest Ikea store turned into a riot.

Nine ambulances were sent to the outlet in north London after reports that up to 20 people had suffered heat exhaustion when the opening at midnight descended into chaos. Staff closed the doors after half an hour amid fears the stampede could become a Hillsborough-style crush.

Security guards said they were put "under siege" by customers who attacked them, leaving one guard with a dislocated jaw. The store remains closed and a cleanup operation is under way. Ikea apologised for the chaos and admitted the store was understaffed - but added that some customers "behaved like animals".

Up to 7,000 flocked to the Edmonton store lured by adverts promising huge discounts, including £45 sofas and £30 bed frames, to those who bought before 3am. When the main doors opened 40 security guards were overwhelmed and crowds pushed through, leaving people pinned to the wall or trampled on the ground.

Security guard Gerard Visagie said "I have never felt so threatened. It was madness. A guard next to me was punched by a customer. He had his jaw dislocated. People were punching and kicking me and screaming. We were under siege.'

Paramedics said they had feared a disaster. An ambulance service source said. "I thought it could be another Hillsborough. It's a miracle no one was killed."

Video footage showed shoppers fighting over furniture - one man was pinned against a wall by a burly customer as they argued over a sofa - while others were stretchered into ambulances.

After 30 minutes the store was closed, staff holding up signs written in marker pen against the glass doors to announce the fact. The crowd refused to disperse and some tried to smash their way in.

More than 30 police tried to keep the peace amid fights between Ikea staff and shoppers. Firefighters freed trapped customers. Assistant Divisional Officer William Bird said: "I have not attended anything like this before." Traffic on the A406 seized up as people stuck in jams for more than an hour abandoned their cars.

John Olie, the deputy head of Ikea in Britain who oversaw the opening, said he was "shocked and overwhelmed". He admitted staff underestimated customer numbers and there were not enough security guards. "As soon as I saw the crowds I knew there would be problems," he said. "People were jumping the queue. We will review future openings.

"We are used to 1,000 people appearing, not 7,000." He said the store would only be reopened when it was safe to do so.

Earlier, an Ikea spokeswoman said: "It's fair to say we misjudged it but some shoppers behaved like animals and started shoving and pushing. There's not much we can do to stop that."

One Ikea worker said: "We closed the doors, but some people got stuck in them. We tried letting in people one by one but they ran through again."

Customers criticised the store. "I'm amazed at how badly organised it was," said Karni Mahmood, 37, from Enfield. "I only came here to buy a cheap sofa." Latyia Arpesh, 23, from Tottenham, said: "I was pushed to the ground and people clambered over me. I feared for my life."

Avril Nanton, 46, from Edmonton, left the queue after four hours: "Near the front there was a sense of camaraderie. But when the doors opened, people at the back ran to the entrance. Everyone was upset, people were fighting. I saw a woman held down by a group of girls."

Ben Adetimle, 31, from Leytonstone, added: "I bought a sofa but when I turned my back someone stole it. I'm not upset. It's just furniture, not worth dying over." As medics helped the injured, customers carried on shopping. A woman with pot plants said: "I've come from Birmingham for this." Jilal Patel, 29, from Tottenham, said: "I was queuing at 11am. Nothing is going to stop me from getting my sofa."

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Find this story at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/arti ... ?version=1©2005 Associated New Media

Idiots.

Rivera Bladestrike · February 10, 2005, 4:15 pm

I find it hilarious that people are willing to kill for a couch.

Ebumar · Post by **Ebumar** » February 10, 2005, 4:17 pm

And they say Americans are retarded.

Voronwë · Post by **Voronwë** » February 10, 2005, 4:22 pm

fucking swedes

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 10, 2005, 4:22 pm

Hey, furniture stores are bigtime entertainment in europe! If they ever opened a Mega-Lego store over there we might be looking at the collapse of the european union resulting from the mayhem.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » February 10, 2005, 4:36 pm

Winnow wrote:Hey, furniture stores are bigtime entertainment in europe! If they ever opened a Mega-Lego store over there we might be looking at the collapse of the european union resulting from the mayhem.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » February 10, 2005, 4:42 pm

man... we're still savage.. and stupid.

Adelrune Argenti · Post by **Adelrune Argenti** » February 10, 2005, 4:55 pm

Just think, they would have probably killed people if it was furniture they DIDN"T have to put together on their own.

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » February 10, 2005, 4:58 pm

Whew... trampled over a couch, freakin' crazy.

Marb

masteen · Post by **masteen** » February 10, 2005, 5:06 pm

Fucking sheep.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » February 10, 2005, 5:15 pm

While there's no excuse for how those people behaved, things like :

Up to 7,000 flocked to the Edmonton store lured by adverts promising huge discounts, including £45 sofas and £30 bed frames, to those who bought before 3am. When the main doors opened 40 security guards were overwhelmed and crowds pushed through, leaving people pinned to the wall or trampled on the ground.

don't help. You get similar things happening in the U.S. 6AM on the day after Thanksgiving. Usually they have just a few items at the low price and people get into fights over those items. Personally I think they should do away with that sort of advertising/sales.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » February 10, 2005, 6:03 pm

What's ridiculous is that the furniture is pure shit. They bus people from Manhattan into the one near me but that's mostly because Manhattan apartments need this type of space solving furniture.

But fiber board can be nice

Burke · Post by **Burke** » February 10, 2005, 6:24 pm

"...Any of you homos touch my stuff,......IKEA."

"Settle down, Francis."

Brotha · Post by **Brotha** » February 10, 2005, 6:51 pm

Not the first time this happened with Ikea! Atleast there were no deaths this time. Last Sept...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3618190.stm

A stampede of hundreds of shoppers in western Saudi Arabia has left at least three people crushed to death.
A Saudi man and a Pakistani man were among those killed, officials in the port city of Jeddah said.

The incident occurred after shoppers rushed into a branch of Ikea to claim a limited number of credit vouchers being offered to the public.

More than 8,000 people had gathered near the store for the $150 vouchers, some of them having camped overnight.

The nationality of the third person killed was not given. Sixteen people were injured.

Cracc · Post by **Cracc** » February 11, 2005, 9:25 am

Damn j00 swedeeeeeeeeeeeen!

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » February 12, 2005, 2:45 am

Aslanna wrote:While there's no excuse for how those people behaved, things like :

Up to 7,000 flocked to the Edmonton store lured by adverts promising huge discounts, including £45 sofas and £30 bed frames, to those who bought before 3am. When the main doors opened 40 security guards were overwhelmed and crowds pushed through, leaving people pinned to the wall or trampled on the ground.
don't help. You get similar things happening in the U.S. 6AM on the day after Thanksgiving. Usually they have just a few items at the low price and people get into fights over those items. Personally I think they should do away with that sort of advertising/sales.

Amen As,

I had to deal with that crap this year.. We opened our doors at 6 and there was a group of about 50 people outside all fighting over the same shit. I had to act like a fucking security guard to keep things calm.. They need to stop with this black friday crap because most of the time it's not even worth it..

Wonko Wenusberg · Post by **Wonko Wenusberg** » February 12, 2005, 5:41 am

Kamprad is the devil