IKEA lures sleepers with showroom in Beijing Airport
IKEA is giving Chinese customers a new place to rest their heads: Terminal Three, Beijing International Airport.
(Editor: Leona) IKEA is giving Chinese customers a new place to rest their heads: Terminal Three, Beijing International Airport.
This week the maker of the Fjellse and Årviksand bed frames launched a sleeping zone with two bedrooms, two living rooms and a children’s room in the Chinese capital’s main airport, enabling weary travelers to catch a few z’s between connections or while waiting out one of the country’s infamous flight delays.
The state-run China News Service ran photos of passengers testing out the zones – and yes, nodding off in the beds – on Wednesday.
“More and more people are traveling,” said Margrett Ma, a spokeswoman for IKEA, adding, “And we welcome them to have a rest.”
The promotion builds on IKEA’s popularity as a hotbed for China’s nappers. Chinese families, from grandpa to grandson, frequently head to the massive outlets to browse the display rooms and then crawl under the covers for a siesta. IKEA has said that the phenomenon is spontaneous and that the company “does nothing to prevent nor anything to attract sleepers.”
The idea for the airport display did not come from its store snoozers, Ms. Ma said. She said that the company is merely “promoting sleep.”
IKEA tends to attract a wide following in China. In 2011, senior citizens in Shanghai flocked to the store there to find a new shot at romance and a free cup of coffee.
Ms. Ma said the airport display, open until Dec. 30, aims to even widen its consumer base.