Is IKEA Giving Danes the Doormat Treatment?

Emotions against IKEA are running high in Denmark, where researchers claim the wildly popular Swedish home furnishings company only names cheap doormats and wall-to-wall carpeting after Danish towns, reserving Swedish names for its more expensive furniture. The discovery has the proud Danes itching for revenge.

Is IKEA Giving Danes the Doormat Treatment?

(thank you lou)

Comments

[helen:)]

That's kind of funny! IKEA with their seemingly socialist theories...not so equal opportunity after all. I wonder whether this is at all intentional.

[kelly]

Ha! Of course its intentional. There is serious disdain for the Swedes in Denmark. ( Although I wasn't sure if it was the other way around) Um lets see....

'see that drunk in the middle of the square... must be a Swede, they don't know how to hold their liquer....'

'You speak Danish like a Swede'

and many other comments I've overheard but from what I can gather its a sibling love/hate relationship. (Marsha Marsha Marsha...)

The Danes are a very small country that many people have no idea exists... and everyone knows about the Swedes. I always assumed it went back and forth.

[Benjamin]

I am danish, and only heard about this recently... and I could not care less about IKEA naming their "lesser" products after danish cities, it is an interesting fact, and strange that they do it, I have my doubts about it being intentionally. Danes and Swedes do make fun of each other, stereotype each other and so on, but they also support each other a lot when it comes to sports and other events involving different countries of the world... In Scandinavia sarcasm is much more common in humor, and people are less offended by it than in other parts of the world... I would not use the world "disdain", it is more like making fun of your younger brother, bullying yet friendly (Yes I do know that Sweden is bigger than Denmark, but come on Copenhagen is THE capital of Scandinavia, that makes us the biggest :-) ) ... loooong post