Ikea being diplomatic with the constitutional truth?
That’s how it looks on this artists impression… They almost managed to hide the Union flag behind the Swedish one, but not quite… H/T Gareth!
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Could be the answer to all our problems
Annexation by Sweden anybody?
If you look at http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/img/local_img/belfast/elevation_1000x592.gif, a slightly more controversial flag choice can be seen.
Why are there flags on it anyway?
Ikea. Bits missing. What’s new?
kensei
why not?
“why not?”
Well, as a company, I would be reluctant to do things that would generate controversy and upset potential customers. What is the benefit in doing it?
Lets see hwo long it takes someone to complain or get upset by this.
What a country of losers…..
I’d be greatly surprised if there were any such flags at their Belfast store.
Kensei: it seems every Ikea store in England has a Swedish flag and a Union flag on flagpoles near the front door – it’s certainly the case at Thurrock and Brent Cross. Presumably it’s a standard feature of Ikea stores everywhere, but it may need non-standard implementation in NI…
Hands up who won’t be shopping in Ikea because of a flag.
Anyone…anyone…?
I’d be amazed if they had flags at their Belfast store. Ikea aren’t coming here to get involved in our local tribal disputes. They’re coming here to do business and make money. Getting caught up in political mud-slinging would cost them business and profits. And there’s no way a company like Ikea will allow that to happen.
“Hands up who won’t be shopping in Ikea because of a flag”
I wont be shopping in it, but it has nothing to so with the flag. Cheap, over-rated goods, would be more the reason…
Bonar Law
“Hands up who won’t be shopping in Ikea because of a flag. Anyone…anyone…?”
It wouldn’t prevent me, but I know some who would.
It’s a simple equation.
How many customers would Ikea lose if it simply flew no flags?
= Probably zero.
How many customers would Ikea gain if it flew union flags? (ie people who wouldn’t shop there unless there was a union flag flying outside.)
= probably zero
How many customers would Ikea lose if it flew Union flags?
= perhaps a few hundred, perhaps a few thousand.
How many customers would Ikea gain if it flew no flags?
= perhaps a few hundred, perhaps a few thousand.
In short: Ikea have nothing to gain from flying union flags, while they would unquestionably lose some business by doing so.
Conclusion: Ikea aren’t in the business of chasing even one customer away.
QED. No flags in Belfast.
Non-issue. No one will care. Look at how many people hold British and Irish passports, or who alternate between. Ikea are out to make money, but shoppers are out to save money. I’m sure people can swallow their pride if it means a cheap bookcase.
What if they flew the old Stormaont flag?………..
Perhaps they might even paint a whopping great fuckin ugly mural on the side of the building. Just to fit in with all the bollocks…….
I see SDLP Youth are onto it: http://sdlpyouth.com/news_view.php?id=131
I wonder would our unionist friends on here say it was a ‘non-issue’ if IKEA were flying tricolours or sunburst flags. Of course, I would expect the stock response that ‘those aren’t the flags of our country’ etc. to be rolled out if such a scenario were put to them.
Animus
“Non-issue. No one will care.”
If there was a union flag, some people would care. Maybe not many, but some customers would be put off, for no tangible benefit to Ikea. Conversely, if there’s no flag, there’s no issue.
So the solution for Ikea is, no flags.
Ikea are not unionists. They are capitalists. They’ll do what’s best for business.
Unless you think that flying the union flag will boost business? If so, how?
I would say the number of customers put off will be infinitely small – we have travelled to Ikea in Glasgow and the blinding combination of yellow against blue meant that I didn’t even notice what flags were flying.
It will be an issue to the chattering classes, who will then disdain to shop there anyway. Do people avoid Next because they sell t-shirts with union jacks?
Excellent link gareth!
Competition from Ikea will likely spell the end of Dekko – maybe they’ll retaliate by flying a tricolour to get the ikea-boycott customers
Thanks DK. I’m not sure if anyone has noticed, but on the link in post 2 above the plan shows an Ulster banner between the Swedish and Union flags. It wasn’t my intention for people to argue which flags should be flown, rather at what point in the design process our peculiar situation here will be noted by IKEA!
Animus
“I would say the number of customers put off will be infinitely small – we have travelled to Ikea in Glasgow and the blinding combination of yellow against blue meant that I didn’t even notice what flags were flying.”
Why fly any flags? I’m proposing no flag-flying. You seem to want there to be a UJ. Why?
“It will be an issue to the chattering classes, who will then disdain to shop there anyway.”
So you want to fly the UJ now, and opposition to it is a class issue? Because, like, working class areas of Belfast, say, never get het up about flags, eh?
“Do people avoid Next because they sell t-shirts with union jacks?”
The point is, if Next thought they might, those t-shirts would be gone!
You haven’t dealt with my point. Why on earth would Ikea fly a union flag in Belfast?
They’re here to do business, not to make political statements!
Concerned citizens might also like to be aware that Ikea has a bookcase on sale called The Billy. Clearly this company is just trying to antagonise a section of the population in the north of Ireland.
loved the sdlp youth statement
down with “this sort of thing”!!
Ikea
Knuckleheads
Exhibit
Arseholeness
I don’t want a flag – I’m not a unionist, nor am I a republican. Nor did I imply that I want a flag, I merely said that a flag won’t make much of a difference. And I still think it won’t.
Billy I’m saying that this issue will generate chat, but probably won’t make one iota of difference to shoppers. If other cut-price retailers had a range of flags outside, most people wouldn’t care either. People care about councils and flags, but businesses are generally given a bye ball. Are you genuinely worried about this issue? Does it not strike you as silly and faintly ridiculous? I would say working class people are less likely to navel gaze and more likely to be pragmatic.
Gareth – I only noticed the union flag. But I wouldn’t care if they has the Ulster flag, the tricolour and the union jack.
Not talking about the Company.
“I only noticed the union flag. But I wouldn’t care if they has the Ulster flag, the tricolour and the union jack.”
It’s not on the artist’s impression, only on the floor plan. Anyway, what I think is that it is time for a neutral symbol. Why do we need to be unique freaks who can’t have ANY flag outside our IKEA?! Design something someone!
How about a Keith Haring-esque picture of people bowing to a giant pound sign?
this is a good example of how ridiculous nationalists get sometimes. if the companys standard is to fly the swedish flag alongside the flag of the country the shop is located in, then ofcourse they would fly the union jack for shops in the UK !! duh !! most likely they would fly the tricolour for shops in the republic, what a shock !
just because some people like to live in a pretend world were northern ireland doesnt exist and they are actually part of the republic, doesnt mean anyone should take any notice of such silliness..
Whats the big deal? This crap goes on all the time.
Hey. It was recently Walk to School Week. The promotional poster was up at my kids primary school.
http://www.travlewiseni.com/primary_w2s.pdf
I see all or part of the 6 counties EXCEPT for Derry_Stroke_Londonderry. It appears that happy hikers are walking said county.
Derry. Trodden down and walked all over. Again and again.
Plus ca change plus la meme
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6746905.stm
Seems Ikea are beating a hasty retreat:
making money in new area = good;
offending locals regardless of how easy it is to do in NI = bad;
apologising when you’ve not actually done anything wrong = best option.
As usual the SDLP try to out do their former gun slinging shinner buddies.
Bloody artists impression, it carries the red hand flag, though I still don´t understand why they find it so offensive.
It was the very same prats who made Tesco change their colours to green, white and gold when they set up in beggar land.
Doctor Who, I presume you eman the ROI by “beggar-land” (amusing enough given the number of sound Norn Ironers dependent on state handouts, but however), so how did the SDLP make Tesco change colours “down there”?
So a party that wants an irish language act that would pretty much guarantee the substantial expansion of Irish in our public space scream “segrationist” and present flying a Union flag as the sole preserve of “Orange Halls” and “flute bands” over a drawing. Hmmm.
Looose and potentially dangerous language from SDLP youth.
We had this sort of thing about poppies and Olympic supporting insignia on uniforms before followed by fire-bomb attacks on some of the businesses concerned.
I know I am not good with colours but how does Doctor Who make out that Tesco changed their colors in forst world Ireland?
Uh-oh – Ikea have now swung into anoying the unionists, not only are they only flying the Swedish flag, but note the following announcement where they get the name of the country wrong (if you’re unionist):
“Ikea is looking forward to opening its first store in Ireland at Holywood Exchange and has been working closely with the Equality Commission to ensure best practice is in place and has developed an Employment Equality Plan which goes beyond basic legal requirements.”
Ireland=the island of Ireland is OK. The term ‘Ireland’ shouldn’t be used by the Irish Republic anyway – there are two countries on the island of Ireland.
On the issue of flags, I trust Ikea will NOT be flying the Irish Tricolour when they open in the Irish Republic. Equality and all that. Otherwise in Northern Ireland all stores should be flying the flag of the British nation as well as our region in the UK i.e. the Northern Ireland flag.
Perhaps the SDLP Youth should grow up and study the facts. Northern Ireland is British despite the murders and bombings carried out by the Sinn Fein-IRA death squads – along with the SDLP giving them cover.
I assume the DUP will remain silent about the flying of flags in Northern Ireland. They only seem interested in counting their money up in Stormont these days.
Questions.
1.If you where to buy some items from a Tesco store in ROI, what colour is the logo.
2. Can someone please tell me why the former govt. of NI flag is offensive.
3. Can the members of the so called “SDLP Youth” all fit into a telephone box.
I commend SDLP Youth for raising this issue.
I would feel very uncomfortable if I turned up at work and they had flags outside. In NI flags are mis-used to mark terrority and do create many problems
The Equality Commission agree, and that’s why flags, emblems etc. are banned in most workplaces. IKEA realised their mistake and changed their plans.
Doctor Who
perhaps you should consider the govt at that time and whether they had the support of everyone in NI.
The flag is adapted from the actual Ulster flag and a crown normally on it. It’s divisive.
Don’t you wonder why the flag is no longer used?
The only time is it used it up lampposts whenever one side wants to piss off the other side.
east belfaster
“The only time is it used it up lampposts whenever one side wants to piss off the other side.”
Balls.
This is the official Northern Ireland Commonwealth flag, many have stood by it proudly. Seem to remember Barry McGuigan flying it at the Commonwealth games.
Lets face it, everything without a tint of green, white and gold is offensive to Nationalist bigots, wether it´s up a lamp post or not.
It’s not an issue of being nationalist or unionist. I certainly do not think I’m a bigot for feeling uncomfortable under a flag frequently used by paramilitaries.
Quote from Wikipedia that I think explains it well:
“This flag is often flown by loyalists and in many republican minds has become associated with loyalist paramilitaries. For this reason, and its inclusion of the British Crown, it is disliked by many nationalists and republicans who consider it to be sectarian.”
You are right that it used by sporting teams, but I wouldn’t say the NI football team gather support from both communities! While it has increased in recent years, there are still many sectarian issues surrounding flag flying and chanting at matches.
We aren’t yet ready for tricolours or union flags due to the connotations associated with them, and I don’t think outside a shopping chain is really a suitable place.
What a sheer load of bollocks over pretty much nothing. It was a damn artists impression, probably drawn up by some swedish artist before they knew what the score was and the SDLP are getting their knickers in a knot over that? As for calling it an “upmarket orange hall” I sure can’t remember the last time I went down to Ballymacarret Orange Hall to pick up some flat pack shelves and a cheap garden set. Morons.
Dr Who-
You know perfectly well the esteem, or lack thereof, in which nationalists hold the union jack and the ‘Northern Ireland flag’. I don’t see the SDLP calling for tricolours or anything to be flown here- they’re just asking for neutrality. If you can’t see the logic behind that, you’re merely illustrating your own intolerance of the views of your neighbours.
As for your your Tesco comments- I’ve no idea what you’re on about. Next you’ll be claiming that the SDLP is trying to force Sainsbury’s to stop using orange in its logo!
El Matador
The SDLP would be better employed trying to rescue themselves from political oblivion, than criticising an artists impression of a new IKEA store.
Perhaps the Sweedish firm can do a new range in self assembling, long lasting political parties.
As far the lack of respect Nationalists have for the Northern Ireland flag, well that´s my point. Without the crown add on it should not be anyway offensive. This has echoes of that prat who called that blonde Blue Peter presenter Zoe what´s her name, a bigot for favouring a plane design that incorporated the red hand. Even though the red hand is symbolised on many many Irish cultural and sporting badges.
While agreeing that outside a furniture store is not really an appropriate place to fly the flag, although IKEA had no intention of doing that, what this shows us is the Irish Nationalist intolerance to anything perceived as Unionist, when it is not used in the manner Nationalist´s wish it.
Tesco BTW had to change the colour of their logo in ROI as red, white and blue is apparently offensive to Irish Nationalists.
Needless to say that one particular mobile phone network had to change their advertising campaign in the ROI and their name. “The futures bright the futures…….”
Shows how far from John Hume the SDLP have moved.
And to think Mark Durkin once had the cheek to acuse the Shinners of stealing their policies and tactics.
“Without the crown add on it should not be anyway offensive.”
For Republicans? Are you kidding? Monarchy is offensive, thankyouverymmuch.
The Parliament represents the old Stormont Parliament. That is what it was designed for. “Offensive” is the wrong word. It should be held in the same contempt as the Parliament it represents.
But, really all irrelevant. Your problem is that your neighbours don’t think like you do. Rather than bitching about that, accepting neutrality as the sensible alternative will save everyone hassle and have the same result.