Sweden’s ‘a-labyrinth’ park in Manila – Manila Bulletin
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPEVINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
IKEA at MOA Square had a birthday a couple of months ago, and when Issa (Litton) was renovating her two daughters’ bedrooms, I joined them at IKEA last week. If you thought the initial frenzy over the global home store finally opening here in Manila had died down, think again. Whatever the reason, the queues of people clamoring to get into the two floors and over 65,000 square meters of furniture and Swedish food and refreshments have not abated. This was only my third time visiting IKEA Pasay City, and I will stand by my salute to what they have created, in what is reported to be the world’s largest IKEA location.
It’s practically a domestic tourist destination, a Swedish version of our Nayong Pilipino, a labyrinth of a floor space – hence my title, and a featured family outing/date spot, that has to be seen to be believed. I’d argue that this kind of two-thumbs-up devotion and sacred status has not received many IKEA locations worldwide, and it’s a uniquely Filipino reaction to the brand and its presence here. How long this will last only time will tell.
But at the moment it is a phenomenon that blurs socio-economic differences, that appeals to all ages, and I would guess, has even surprised the Swedish principals. The exhibition floor with vignettes of interior sets is a veritable maze, and has been cleverly laid out so that it’s like taking a dream trip into what the different rooms and surfaces of your home could look like. Literally, it will take you over an hour just to traverse this floor if you stop to admire and check out the modules.
The store policy of making the exhibits rich in experience, equals lots of children and the elderly using the beds and couches as stations for rest and recreation! On the day we visited, there were teenagers on the sofas playing games on their mobile devices – and they looked ready to just occupy those sofas until closing time. A large number of pensioners urged their companions to just leave them, look around and come back for them when they were ready to leave. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me these seniors had been there for days – they looked so relaxed and at home.
We were there for over two hours, and at the 90 minute mark I joked about how it felt like we were in a prison, and please point out the shortcuts so we could get out of the store. The discovery that all the items are duplicated in the Sales Hall on the second floor, but without the displays, made me feel cheated. But yes, for most people there, I know that the maze of modules and the fact that you can turn these vignettes into resting places, was the point of the whole “IKEA excursion” – not to mention the meatballs and salmon that you could partake of in restaurants and eateries that dot the huge floor areas.
As someone who likes to throw in my two cents of social observations and commentary, I wanted to analyze why this persistent enthusiasm for IKEA. Now I know that home improvement was one of the major obsessions of Filipinos during the pandemic, and online shopping for home-related items went through the roof. So I would postulate that the trip to IKEA, like revenge trips, shopping and partying, is the transition of this obsession in a post-pandemic world. It is finally tactile, experiential and part of a family outing or a day out.
And because it’s almost like a mall within a mall, the IKEA experience is one that ticks so many boxes. The mom/wife is happy because the family is together, the dad can be the breadwinner while looking after his own home improvement interests (I spied a game table console that works with hydraulics), while the kids get a chance to spruce up their own rooms. It’s cool and comfortable while you’re engaged in the IKEA marathon, and the F&B choices are unique to IKEA, so one can add “food treats” to the itinerary.
In Europe and the US, IKEA is perceived as a starter brand when setting up your first home or furnishing your temporary digs. Students at uni, first-timers and start-up families are IKEA’s primary customer base in these markets. Here, thanks to its effective global marketing and branding, that classification doesn’t really exist. Here is the new thing about the display, the convenience of how what you like and choose can be taken home or delivered in several days, the attractions. The return policy is also seen as unique to this market.
So I’m going to tip my hat to IKEA and how it’s evolved into a retail giant here. It’s a Swedish pleasure… no, amazing, park. And you can’t argue with all the happy faces.
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