«IKEAs arrival in Haparanda is bigger news than the Russian revolution!»
Misha Maksimovic, a 45-year-old russian teacher visiting IKEA in Haparanda, to the british newespaper The Guardian (Jan 07, 2006).
6. Public support
Within the first year of the opening, the IKEA-store in Haparanda/Tornio reached 2 million visitors annually.
The public support of what was later going to happen, was at this point rising in all the four national states. As the british newspaper The Guardian reported from Haparanda a few weeks after the opening:
«Misha Maksimovic drove more than 500 miles from Russia to northern Sweden just to be like the rest of us. Yesterday in a blizzard he drove back again with his Ikea flatpacks, full of excitement that soon a Billy bookcase would be in his hall, a Sultan mattress would grace his bed and his kitchen would carry the Rationell name.»
RUSSIA
NORWAY
FINLAND
SWEDEN
![[menu]](PublicSupport_files/shapeimage_13.png)
IKEA-love
«Now more that 12.000 North-Norwegians!»
The web-site www.gi-oss-ikea.com (give-us-ikea.com) reporting on the number of people who has signed up for a petition demanding the establishment of a new IKEA store in the north of Norway (Nov 2006).
«Norwegians love affair with IKEA is without comparison in the world!»
Collin Renwick, head of Norwegian branch of IKEA, to Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (Jan 30, 2006)
«Shopping toursim will save this region!»
Finnish newspaper Kaleva commenting on the problems - and solutions - of the northern part of Finland (March 2006).
«...IKEA is this years very clear winner, and is ranked higher than both the Swedish church and the EU-commission (...)»
Swedish press announcing that the Swedish people has more faith in IKEA than in any other institution, including God (Nov 2006).
NORWAY