Tuesday, May 08, 2007
5/08/2007 11:13:00 AM | 
Posted by
JoeSettler
Last week I read an article about a shul in Ikea (hattip: Muqata for finding me the link)
So as part of the JoeSettler policy of going to the scene and getting the inside story, I packed up the Settler family and traveled into parts of Israel usually reserved for the Leftist elites (actually Ikea’s biggest buyers are from the “territories”). (Special Thanks to Jameel for directions from Kvish 6).
I even took pictures of the shul (but am having trouble downloading them from my phone, so they will have to wait).
There is a sign there explaining that the shul’s furniture was designed and built by Kibbutz Lavi – and is presumably for sale, though no price tag was visible.
But that is hardly the point of this post.
Last time I went to Ikea was the week they went Kosher sometime last year I think – I immediately wanted to try it out their cafeteria which in the past I merely had to pass by.
What was interesting was the reactions of the people in the shul, “There’s a shul/minyan in IKEA!” being the most common exclamation.
But that isn’t the whole story.
You see, ever since Mathew Bronfman took over Ikea, the store has undergone an even more serious change, beyond opening a shul and going kosher.
You see, the store is now closed on Shabbat (open Thursday nights till midnight, and Motzei Shabbat a ½ hour after Shabbat ends).
Of course if you listen to the rhetoric of the secularist in this country and their demands to open malls on Shabbat as a basic economic necessity you would be confused by this decision.
Furthermore you would be confused by the results.
You see, not only has IKEA not suffered economic devastation by closing on Shabbat, but their business improved.
In fact, since becoming Shomer Shabbat, IKEA Israel sales have improved to the point where all employees received a 2.5 month bonus on their salaries at the end of the year – their largest bonus ever, because it was their best year ever.
Let that be a lesson.
So as part of the JoeSettler policy of going to the scene and getting the inside story, I packed up the Settler family and traveled into parts of Israel usually reserved for the Leftist elites (actually Ikea’s biggest buyers are from the “territories”). (Special Thanks to Jameel for directions from Kvish 6).
I even took pictures of the shul (but am having trouble downloading them from my phone, so they will have to wait).
There is a sign there explaining that the shul’s furniture was designed and built by Kibbutz Lavi – and is presumably for sale, though no price tag was visible.
But that is hardly the point of this post.
Last time I went to Ikea was the week they went Kosher sometime last year I think – I immediately wanted to try it out their cafeteria which in the past I merely had to pass by.
What was interesting was the reactions of the people in the shul, “There’s a shul/minyan in IKEA!” being the most common exclamation.
But that isn’t the whole story.
You see, ever since Mathew Bronfman took over Ikea, the store has undergone an even more serious change, beyond opening a shul and going kosher.
You see, the store is now closed on Shabbat (open Thursday nights till midnight, and Motzei Shabbat a ½ hour after Shabbat ends).
Of course if you listen to the rhetoric of the secularist in this country and their demands to open malls on Shabbat as a basic economic necessity you would be confused by this decision.
Furthermore you would be confused by the results.
You see, not only has IKEA not suffered economic devastation by closing on Shabbat, but their business improved.
In fact, since becoming Shomer Shabbat, IKEA Israel sales have improved to the point where all employees received a 2.5 month bonus on their salaries at the end of the year – their largest bonus ever, because it was their best year ever.
Let that be a lesson.
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12 comments:
As long as I can remember Ikea has always been closed on Shabbat...
You may be right, but I seem to recall that it initially used to be open, and certainly everyone in the shul was also under that impression too.
Maybe I'll change the post to the "Power of Kashrut"
and launch an attack on McDonalds Israel.
Something interesting that I just found.
Yeah, so I thought. Feel free to rip on McDonalds though.
Joe, that "something interesting" item you linked to in the 3rd comment: I notice it's dated from 5761.
If I'm not mistaken, Bronfman acquired IKEA about 4 years later.
-- MAOZ
This entire post is irrelevant anyway due to the fact that IKEA in Israel has never been open on Shabbat.
"You see, not only has IKEA not suffered economic devastation by closing on Shabbat, but their business improved.
In fact, since becoming Shomer Shabbat, IKEA Israel sales have improved to the point where all employees received a 2.5 month bonus on their salaries at the end of the year – their largest bonus ever, because it was their best year ever."
So where are you getting these "facts" from?
I don't think the post is irrelevant at all. They are doing far better since becoming kosher.
The fact is that despite not being open on Shabbat they are thriving, nor are they forcing the other local stores to compete with them by being open on Shabbat either.
Nor do I like your quote around "facts".
On Ikea Finances:
Record Breaking Income in 2005 - around when Bronfman took over.
8.4% increase in 2006 over 2005
Do you have some sort of problem that you are taking such an aggressive tone?
My tone isn't aggressive at all. I'm just challenging your point. Ikea has never been open on Shabbat, so its impossible that their business has increased since they've become Shomer Shabbat, as you claim. You are distorting facts to make your point. And their restaurant went kosher in late 2006 (though lacking a teudat, it never featured outright treyf), so I doubt the increase is as a result of the restaurant going kosher. Though perhaps it will make it more attractive to more religious consumers. But cheap furniture is cheap furniture, right? I don't think the restaurant is going to make it or break for anyone. But, I might be wrong.
A) It went kosher at the end of 2005 beginnning of 2006, not late 2006 as you said.
B) I addressed and conceded to your point in the second comment, so I am not sure why you are rehashing on it again a day later.
C) Utilizing the term Kosher as you are is the same as when McDonalds said all their products are kosher. Technically truthful on an individual product level, but not true on the overall level where milk and meat are mixed (as the term kosher is popularly used today).
Get a load of comment #2 in the Haaretz article.
when i was in yeshivah one of our teachers (from the kibbutz where the yeshivah was located) told us a story that a non-religous kibbutznik chided him because the religious kibbutzim don't work on shabbat and thus lose revenus. in fact, at the time (1992) the religious kibbutzim (overall) were in better shape than the non-religous ones. (and i think that is still the case today, though they are all in pretty bad shape.)
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