Friday, February 11, 2005
I've said it once here, and I'll say it again as calmly as I can:
IT'S A GODDAMN FUCKING FURNITURE STORE!
THE BATTLE OF IKEA
Feb 11 2005
By Daniel Boffey
SIX people were injured as a stampede by 6,000 bargain-hunters wrecked the opening of England's biggest Ikea store yesterday.
Some shoppers were trampled underfoot while others collapsed in the midnight crush.
Inside, people swapped punches as they brawled over cut-price furniture with sofas at just £45.
Children were left abandoned and one baby had to be lifted to safety from the melee.
Bosses, expecting just 2,000 customers, planned to open for 24 hours - but shut the doors in panic after barely 40 minutes.
Shopper Lisa Keepence, 36, of Enfield, north London, said: "There was a security man in a fluorescent jacket, lying on the floor with people trampling on him."
Karyn Christian, 38, added: "Everything was fine at the beginning. But when the doors opened everyone charged.
"I was thrown aside and sprained my ankle and my cousin was pushed over.
"A friend of mine started running like everyone else. When she got inside someone pulled a wooden mallet and threatened her.
"People were getting hold of sofas on either end and shouting, 'Mine, mine!'. It was like nothing I'd experienced before."
Customers queued peacefully from noon on Wednesday, 12 hours before the 28,500ft outlet in Edmonton, north London, opened.
But the atmosphere grew more frantic as the night wore on.
By 11pm anxious bargain-hunters had dumped their cars on the nearby North Circular dual carriageway - where traffic jams were several miles long - to join the queue.
Some used the central reservation and hard shoulder while others drove on the wrong side of the road to get closer to the store.
Just before midnight the crowd was entertained by clowns as the Lord Mayor of London chatted to other VIPs and Ikea managers inside the shop.
At midnight the doors were opened amid fanfare and the traditional Swedish cutting of a log - and mayhem erupted.
One man had to pick up his wife, who collapsed in the crush, and carry her away on his shoulders.
Police battled to control the mob as nine ambulances and around 30 firefighters attended the scene.
After a number of attempts, store employees managed to shut the doors at 12.42am.
Yesterday John Olie, deputy head of Ikea in Britain, said: "They came at us from all angles, pushing and shoving. It was terrifying.
"We had 15 people trying to hold the doors against the crowd."
Shoppers had been trying to get bargains such as £200 leather sofas reduced to £45, dining tables for £35 and bed frames for £30.
Ikea insists it met all health and safety requirements but the store, its 13th in the UK, will stay shut until further notice.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Ian Blair said: "The police were as taken by surprise as the Ikea management."
He said officers would discuss any future openings with the chain.
A man in his 20s was knifed at a nearby car park in an unrelated incident and was yesterday stable in hospital after stumbling to the store for help.
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It's raining buckets. Tonight at Alwun House should be interesting...
TT
IT'S A GODDAMN FUCKING FURNITURE STORE!
THE BATTLE OF IKEA
Feb 11 2005
By Daniel Boffey
SIX people were injured as a stampede by 6,000 bargain-hunters wrecked the opening of England's biggest Ikea store yesterday.
Some shoppers were trampled underfoot while others collapsed in the midnight crush.
Inside, people swapped punches as they brawled over cut-price furniture with sofas at just £45.
Children were left abandoned and one baby had to be lifted to safety from the melee.
Bosses, expecting just 2,000 customers, planned to open for 24 hours - but shut the doors in panic after barely 40 minutes.
Shopper Lisa Keepence, 36, of Enfield, north London, said: "There was a security man in a fluorescent jacket, lying on the floor with people trampling on him."
Karyn Christian, 38, added: "Everything was fine at the beginning. But when the doors opened everyone charged.
"I was thrown aside and sprained my ankle and my cousin was pushed over.
"A friend of mine started running like everyone else. When she got inside someone pulled a wooden mallet and threatened her.
"People were getting hold of sofas on either end and shouting, 'Mine, mine!'. It was like nothing I'd experienced before."
Customers queued peacefully from noon on Wednesday, 12 hours before the 28,500ft outlet in Edmonton, north London, opened.
But the atmosphere grew more frantic as the night wore on.
By 11pm anxious bargain-hunters had dumped their cars on the nearby North Circular dual carriageway - where traffic jams were several miles long - to join the queue.
Some used the central reservation and hard shoulder while others drove on the wrong side of the road to get closer to the store.
Just before midnight the crowd was entertained by clowns as the Lord Mayor of London chatted to other VIPs and Ikea managers inside the shop.
At midnight the doors were opened amid fanfare and the traditional Swedish cutting of a log - and mayhem erupted.
One man had to pick up his wife, who collapsed in the crush, and carry her away on his shoulders.
Police battled to control the mob as nine ambulances and around 30 firefighters attended the scene.
After a number of attempts, store employees managed to shut the doors at 12.42am.
Yesterday John Olie, deputy head of Ikea in Britain, said: "They came at us from all angles, pushing and shoving. It was terrifying.
"We had 15 people trying to hold the doors against the crowd."
Shoppers had been trying to get bargains such as £200 leather sofas reduced to £45, dining tables for £35 and bed frames for £30.
Ikea insists it met all health and safety requirements but the store, its 13th in the UK, will stay shut until further notice.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Ian Blair said: "The police were as taken by surprise as the Ikea management."
He said officers would discuss any future openings with the chain.
A man in his 20s was knifed at a nearby car park in an unrelated incident and was yesterday stable in hospital after stumbling to the store for help.
------
It's raining buckets. Tonight at Alwun House should be interesting...
TT
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