Ikea has been on a tear lately, killing books, quarantining men, and now, apparently, building micro-cities. According to a piece in today's Daily Mail, Inter Ikea Systems, the intellectual-property owner and franchisor of the Swedish furnishings chain, has plans to build a roughly 25-acre suburb, of sorts, next to London's Olympic Park. On the site: 1,200 homes, 480,000 square feet of office space, a 350-room hotel, and other urban necessities such as restaurants. No word yet about the exact degree of Ikea-fication here, but we're assuming the branding will be quite extensive. After all, according to blog Ikea Fans, "the objective of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is to increase the availability of IKEA products through world-wide franchising of the IKEA Concept." Let there be S-wrenches!
· Welcome to Ikeaville: Flatpack furniture giant to build 26-acre suburb at London's Olympic Park (let's just hope they don't lose the manual) [Daily Mail]
· Ikea Tests Out "Manland," a Holding Pen For Bored Male Shoppers [Curbed National]
· Ikea Admits the End of Books [Curbed National]
· IKEA Corporate Structure [Ikea Fans]