‘Stop dreaming!’: backlash after Hong Kong IKEA outlets slammed for using public housing blocks as show flat window view
- IKEA accused of ‘mocking’ Hongkongers by using window views of public housing blocks in show flats in city outlets
- But online observers hit back with, ‘Do you want a view of Mount Fuji?’ backing Swedish company for their realistic portrayal of city
A Hong Kong man has triggered an online debate by slamming the Swedish furniture giant IKEA for using Hong Kong public housing blocks instead of beautiful scenery in the window views of its mockup showrooms.
The man, who posted a picture of a Hong Kong apartment showroom on the LIHKG online forum on January 8, suggested that the brand was deliberately mocking the city’s populace.
He claimed that by using a view of the characteristic public housing blocks – affordable housing provided by the government to lower-income residents – the Swedish interior design giant was sneering at Hongkongers for dreaming, being realistic and falling for “the illusion that buying IKEA products means living in northern Europe,” HK01 reported.
Online observers were of a different mind, however, with many saying the move proved IKEA had a down-to-earth attitude towards Hong Kong life and was displaying a “clear brand positioning”.
“People complain about brands being out-of-touch with reality, but even if they are down-to-earth people still complain,” one person said in defence of IKEA.
Another suggested that IKEA was targeting customers with average and lower incomes: “What’s wrong with being honest? People living in big mansions don’t go to IKEA after all.”
