An article titled “Ikea’s e-commerce was already pretty bad. During COVID-19, it absolutely fell apart,” was published last week by Fast Company.
The article details numerous customer complaints, including items not being delivered on time, out of stock inventory mistakes, inadequate support and service, and more.
Ikea’s Reddit group even has an entire thread credited to “hell stories”, which has literally become a customer complaint platform for the brand.
One frustrated Reddit user wrote: “We made the 500+ miles round trip to Ikea to pick up our Click and Collect order on Friday, and it was canceled 30 minutes before we arrived.”
Ouch.
Ikea’s response in a statement to the Fast Company reads:
“We are sorry customers have had challenges with their orders and for the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused. Like many retailers and other businesses, Ikea U.S. has been impacted by COVID-19 in many ways.”
And so, how can Ikea maybe compensate some customers by helping with COVID-19 challenges?
Maybe if it teamed up with Lego, a sister-Scandinavian band.
Recently, Ikea and Lego teamed up to create Bygglek – a solution for tidying up kids’ mess. It just might be the ultimate remedy for parents still stuck with children at home – and will be available in October.
The collection will offer Lego stackable storage boxes that come in various sizes – a very creative way to tidy up the place and decorate it while at it.
“Where adults often see mess, children see a stimulating creative environment,” said Andreas Fredriksson, designer at IKEA of Sweden, in a statement.
“Bygglek will help bridge the gap between these two views to ensure more creative play in homes around the world.”
Lego Tweeted:
It’s almost here! We teamed up with @LEGO to create a range of simple, functional storage solutions with so many possibilities.
BYGGLEK allows kids and adults alike to escape into their own imaginations to play, display and replay. Available October 2020 https://t.co/W5bwl4b31k pic.twitter.com/LbB0WePQec— IKEA UK (@IKEAUK) August 27, 2020
Meanwhile, Lego is teaming up with other brands, too. With Adidas, the brand created hip Lego sneakers:
📦 👀 @adidasoriginals #ATOZX #ADIDASZX pic.twitter.com/KUG6qYvae6
— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) September 3, 2020
The Danish toymaker also teamed up with one of the most iconic denim brands in the world –– Levi’s. (though no Northern European connection here)
The unprecedent collaboration, called Lego x Levi’s, will feature “Levis 501 with an embroidered LEGO logo, a denim jacket, dark T-shirts with a big red LEGO 2 × 4 brick, sweaters, and hoodies…” and so much more.
Though still somewhat under the radar, here’s how Levi’s teased its customers on Instagram with it:
Despite the pandemic, Lego is set to open 120 new stores. This comes after long lines of eager fans queue outside of Lego shops just recently – when businesses were re-opening.
“We have more than a million adult fans signed up to our website,” Neils Christiansen, CEO of the Lego Group, said. This could explain how vital Lego’s products are when people are stuck at home.
“We saw a very positive development during the coronavirus lockdown when families began playing and building Lego sets together.”
Something tells us these are not the last Lego collabs we’ll be hearing about.
