randomWalks

Flatpack farrago

There has been much talk about consumer greed in the wake of the Ikea riot, about the depravity of people crushing one another for a £45 sofa. But there is less talk about Ikea's greed, and in particular about the way in which this giant of a corporation manipulates its customer's emotions, sending them into ever more hysterical cycles of rage and frustration.

I've always thought the IKEA shopping experience was built to disorient shoppers. The sharp corners between sectons, broken line of vision and the "light room" at the end of the "path" all seem built to break the concentration of the consumer. I have a good six hours of true IKEA stories, including a destroyed relationship and a run-in with the Staten Island mob.