Ok, now that I’ve gone to an Ikea with a Swede, I can never go back without one.
I went with Dominik because he missed Swedish goodies.
Dominik stocked up on Swedish delights, like cookies, candies, and traditional Christmas pop stuff ( “julmust” ). This stuff has 80% market share at Christmas time. He said Coke tries really hard though…We looked at Lingonberry Jam and candies. They look kinda like Holly or Rosehips. Dominik said that Swedes put it on meat. They also sold sparkling juice, licorice, and Swedish Meatballs made in the USA. Dominik refused to buy them. He also showed me herring in a jar, and then Salmon and Caviar in a tube like toothpaste. It was really fun to see. I should’ve bought some caviar, silly me.
Dominik then went into the history of Ikea. The founder is from his region in the south of Sweden. When he was 16, his dad gave him money and he bought some clothes hangers. He then went out selling the clothes hangers and never had to borrow money to start his business. Now he’s like the 6th richest man in the world.
This store was a labyrinth. On and on we went through the furniture aisle. We met Billy the bookcase (that doesn’t mean bookcase in Swedish: none of the names are Swedish translations). Dominik said that Billy is Ikea’s oldest seller and has been on the market for something like 50 years.
I had so much fun and learned about Sweden. So if you ever meet a Swedish person…invite them to Ikea. You won’t regret it.
