SLEEPERS WILL NOT BE DENIED AT FURNITURE STORES ACROSS CHINA
Kenny OngCONTRIBUTOR
by Kenny Ong in New Trends on Tuesday 22 July 2014
100
If you think all IKEA stores around the world are alike, you haven’t been to one in China. We’re not talking about the furniture. Rather, it’s all about the visitors who have no qualms depositing their weary bodies on any bed, sofa or surface to catch up on some precious sleep.
When asked about the Chinese peculiar penchant for 40 winks within its stores, IKEA spokesman Josefin Thorell said, ‘IKEA in China does nothing to prevent nor anything to attract sleepers. But we don’t see it as a problem. We’re happy people feel at home in our stores. Certainly, it entails a little extra work for the staff. But on the other hand, if customers try out our furniture and like it, we can sell an extra mattress or two’.
Notwithstanding the emission of snores every now and then, that certainly sounds like Marketing 101: nothing endorses a product better than a couple of live, on-site endorsements.