Ikea scolds pranksters to stop sleeping in its stores

Ikea is very serious in telling off would-be trespassers from spending the night in their stores after closing hours. Image from INQUIRER.net

Ikea is sending out a warning to people that they should stop attempting to sleep in its stores after these have closed.

The Swedish company says those that are caught sleeping in an Ikea store would be considered trespassers and will get into a lot of trouble, reports The Guardian.

Ikea spokeswoman Johanna Iritz says that they are taking the matter seriously and adds, “We can’t guarantee safety.”

This trend apparently started in 2015 when a pair of teens spent the night in an Ikea store in Belgium and reported their exploits online through a video.

Since then, Ikea has had 10 more recorded incidents from various stores in Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Japan, Poland, Sweden, and the United States. However, Ikea was unclear as to whether anyone has been prosecuted.

The latest incursion by crafty teens involved two 14-year-old girls who tried to sleep over in an Ikea branch in Jönköping, Sweden, last weekend.

Iritz referred to sleeping in an Ikea store after closing time as “overrated”.

It is rather ironic that two years ago, Ikea had invited people to stay in one of their Australian stores. This was part of their joint publicity stunt with Airbnb and even listed one of its Sydney stores on a homesharing site. Alfred Bayle