IKEA a temple? Think of it this way: Ottawa’s IKEA is bigger than any other place of worship in the city, including those of the secular variety, bigger than six football fields and more than 18 times the size of the arena floor at Scotiabank Place when it is opened up for a major event like a rock concert.
On a global basis, IKEA sold $17.7 billion U.S. worth of goods in 2005, and $23.1 billion in 2010. Recession be damned. IKEA has a hold on the hearts and minds of its acolytes and the pilgrims willing to travel for hours or line up for days anticipating the opening of a new store. Steve Jobs’ Apple did it well, but IKEA has been doing it for longer.
IKEA has its rites — putting together a bookcase with an Allen key — and its own language — a chair named Bofink, a bed called Leksvik, just to name two out of thousands.
And it has self-appointed brand evangelists who say they have seen the light.
The cult of IKEA
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