We’ve all yelled in exasperation at a partly assembled piece of IKEA furniture while waving around wordless directions, but at least no one ever (that we know of) found horsemeat in a dresser. The retailer’s food isn’t so lucky: After pulling meatballs in Europe due to the horsemeat scare and almond cakes for coliform bacteria, the latest product to join the recalled product club is Russian hotdogs. Guess why? [More]
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IKEA Pulls Almond Cake From Sale In 23 Countries After Finding Bacteria
By 3.5.13
Another day, another food misadventure for IKEA: Fresh off the heels of the Swedish retailer’s horsemeat-in-the-meatballs snafu, the company has announced it’s pulling almond cake from its stores in 23 countries after some batches on the way to China were found to contain coliform bacteria. That’s a common bacteria in human an animal fecal matter. Yup, more poop in the news. [More]
IKEA Enlists Marriott’s Help In Assembling European Budget Hotels Using Only An Allen Key
By 3.5.13
IKEA announced last year that it wanted to build a bunch of hotels across Europe, right around the time it unveiled plans for its own district in Hamburg, Germany. And now the company is one step closer to its dream but it needs Marriott’s help. Ostensibly even it can’t decipher those wordless instructions sheets. [More]
IKEA Pulls Meatballs From Stores In 14 European Stores Because Of Yup, Horsemeat
By 2.25.13
Perhaps you thought the horsemeat crisis spreading across Europe had been contained or even just quieted down for a bit. But no, yet another retailer has announced the discovery of horsemeat in its food, and this time it’s a big one. IKEA says it’s pulled meatballs from stores in 14 European countries after the Czech Republic store said it found horsemeat in the product there. [More]
IKEA Wants You To Make A Baby Today, Offering Free Cribs To Kids Born 9 Months From Now
By 2.14.13
Today is a day of love, affection, chocolates, roses, cards and a bunch of other romantic whatnot. But for folks in parts of Australia whose Valentine’s Day fun results in offspring, IKEA is offering up free furniture. [More]
Good Thing There’s No Such Thing As An IKEA Gift Card Balance Emergency
By 1.21.13
Have you ever had an IKEA gift card? Did you ever need to check the balance without being inside an IKEA store? Valerie wanted to check the balance on hers, which she thought should be a simple transaction using an automated customer service system or the retailer’s website. The problem is that IKEA has shut down its gift card request line: you know, the one listed on the back of the card itself. [More]
IKEA, Where 50% Off Is Really Just An Approximation
By 11.16.12
Consumerist reader Brad was looking at IKEA’s Black Friday mailer that went out this week and noticed that something just was just a bit off about the math on this deal on soft toys. [More]
IKEA: We’re Super Sorry About That Whole Using Forced Labor Thing 30 Years Ago
By 11.16.12
Swedish furniture giant IKEA had some experts take a peek at its own history and what it came up with was a bit of a woeful result. After the study by accounts Ernst & Young was complete, IKEA said it “deeply regrets” the fact that the company used political prisoners in communist East Germany as forced labor. [More]
500 Couples Actually Competed To Get Married In An IKEA
By 10.30.12
In the past when we’ve written about oddball retail or fast food weddings, it seemed like the entire planning portion of the nuptials involved asking a manager “Hey, is it cool if we get married here?” But it looks there were quite a number of Australian couples looking to say “I do” surrounded by Grundtals, Vidjas, and Hemneses. [More]
IKEA Is Really Sorry About Deleting Women From Saudi Catalogs
By 10.1.12
If, like me, you are a collector of the various international editions of the IKEA catalog, you may have noticed something different about the version for customers in Saudi Arabia. No, it’s not a huge price difference on Ektorp couches. It’s a surprising lack of women in the photos. [More]
IKEA Charges $60 Restocking Fee On Defective Bookcase
By 4.29.08 — Updated: 11.1.12
If IKEA has a 30% restocking fee on defective items that you tried in vain to assemble (twice) only to decide that you just didn’t want the stupid thing anymore, we couldn’t find any evidence of it on their website. Nevertheless, reader Drew says buying and returning (rather than exchanging) a defective bookcase cost him $60 and a sore back.
