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It's not okay to stay over, Ikea warns pranksters

This article is more than 12 months old

STOCKHOLM: A new fad that has people hiding out in Ikea stores overnight and walking out the next morning has left the Swedish retailer displeased.

In Europe, pranksters seeking a thrill have followed in the footsteps of Bram Geirnaert and Florian Van Hecke, two Belgian students who filmed and posted on YouTube a video clip about the night they spent at an Ikea store in Ghent.

Their video - Two idiots at night in Ikea - has been viewed 1.7 million times.

"We were thinking about something crazy we could do after we graduated from high school," Geirnaert told AFP.

Hiding out for hours each in a separate cramped display wardrobe, the two ventured out into the showroom once they were sure the cleaning staff had gone for the night.

"We didn't go too far inside the store because we didn't want to risk being caught by a motion sensor," Geirnaert said.

When the store opened the next morning, they coolly walked through the aisles to the exit, as unsuspecting sales staff greeted them and thanked them for visiting the store.

Ikea spokesman Jakob Holmstrom advised against re-creating their prank, stressing that Ikea "can't guarantee people's safety. If something were to happen they wouldn't be able to get out", in the event of a fire, for example.

In addition, intrusions of this kind amount to trespassing, punishable by law, he said. - AFP

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