Ikea to turn its first ever shop into a museum to attract flat-pack furniture fans
We associate it’s huge, windowless buildings with flat-pack furniture and torturous Bank Holiday weekends, but Ikea is set to be turned into a museum.
The Swedish furniture brand has decided to turn its first ever store into a visitor attraction – and attract 200,000 DIY fans every year.
The company was founded in 1943 near the southern town of Malmoe, a rural area which isn’t on Sweden’s tourist trail.
But now Ikea is hoping to tempt people to the region by turning its first store into a museum all about its history.
Michele Acuna, managing director for the site of the future museum, said: ‘The first Ikea store was open here in Aelmhult, and in 2012 it moved to a new site.
‘That gives us the opportunity to use this building for a museum.’
The building already has an exhibition space to showcase the company’s history, but now the company has made a request to revamp the whole building – an area of 11,500ft squared – into a museum, which would open in 2015.
The iconic Swedish company decided to develop the attraction after receiving visitors from Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark who were all interested in Ikea’s design heritage.
Ms Acuna said: ‘We intend to tell stories not only on our product range but also on how the Ikea business developed and about people, and of course to give a fun and interactive experience to visitors.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2626024/Ikea-turn-Swedish-shop-museum.html#ixzz31XCm3Azx Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Recent Comments