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IKEA

Ikea founder Kamprad suffers broken hip

Ninety-year-old Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has suffered from a broken hip, which temporarily resulted in him being hospitalised, but is now in good recovery, his assistant said on Sunday. He may have to skip the traditional Ikea Christmas celebrations in his native Älmhult though.

Ikea founder Kamprad suffers broken hip
Photo: Thord Nilsson / TT file picture

There were, however, few details available as news about the billionaire’s health emerged in Swedish media on Sunday. In an email to Swedish tabloid Kvällsposten, Kamprad’s assistant Eva Lundell Fragnière confirmed his stint in hospital, but did not specify when he had sustained the injury, or when, or for how long, he had been in hospital.

“We can confirm that Ingvar Kamprad was admitted to hospital a while back after having broken his hip,” she wrote, adding “Ingvar has been home for a while now, he’s well and is up and about again”.

It is still unclear whether he will be able to participate in the annual Ikea Christmas celebrations in Älmhult, a village in southern Sweden and where the global flatpack furniture giant was once started up. According to Kvällsposten, Kamprad has attended the celebrations – which usually take place around December 20 – a total of 61 times. Some 1,700 Ikea staff take part, and Kamprad, who in 2014 showed up dressed as Santa Claus, usually holds a Christmas speech.

During last year’s speech, however, Kamprad – who turned 90 in March this year – admitted feeling his age, saying he had been ill for a few months. In 2011 he underwent heart surgery in Switzerland and last year he was briefly admitted to hospital in Bulgaria where he underwent a check-up.

Even though “the father of Ikea” may not show at the upcoming party in Älmhult, the staff will still have plenty of reason to celebrate since Kamprad recently announced he was donating 1 billion kronor for them to share as a Christmas bonus.

In the beginning of 2016, the Ikea founder handed over the chairmanship role at the Kamprad family fund to Katarina Olsson, but he remains active as a board member.

WEATHER

Danish Ikea store shelters staff and customers overnight during snowstorm

Heavy snowfall left 31 people looking for a spare cushion at the Aalborg branch of Ikea on Wednesday as they were forced to spend the night at the store.

A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021.
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Anyone who has found themselves wandering the mazy aisles of an Ikea might be able to empathise with the sense of being lost in the furniture store for a seemingly indefinite time.

Such a feeling was probably more real than usual for six customers and 25 staff members who were forced to spend the night at the furniture giant’s Aalborg branch after being snowed in.

Heavy snow in North Jutland brought traffic to a standstill and halted public transport in parts of the region on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a snow-in at Ikea.

“This is certainly a new situation for us,” Ikea Aalborg store manager Peter Elmose told local media Nordjyske, which first reported the story.

“It’s certainly not how I thought my day would end when I drove to work this morning,” Elmose added.

The 31 people gathered in the store’s restaurant area and planned to see Christmas television and football to pass the evening, the store’s manager reported to Nordjyske.

“Our kitchen staff have made sure there is hot chocolate, risalamande, pastries, soft drinks, coffee and the odd beer for us in light of the occasion. So we’ll be able to keep warm,” he said.

“We couldn’t just send them outside and lock the door behind them at our 8pm closing time. Absolutely not. So of course they’ll be staying here,” he added.

The temporary guests were given lodging in different departments of the store in view of the Covid-19 situation, Nordjyske writes.

“For us , the most important thing was to take care of each other and that everyone feels safe,” Elmose said.

At least Ikea’s stranded customers and staff had somewhere comfortable to lay their heads.

The same can unlikely be said for around 300 passengers at the city’s airport who had to stay overnight at the terminal.

The airport was forced to stop flights from 2:30pm yesterday amid worsening weather, which also prevented buses from transferring passengers to hotels.

“We have around 300 people in the terminal right now and have been giving out blankets on the assumption they will be staying here tonight,” Aalborg Airport operations manager Kim Bermann told Nordjyske.

READ ALSO: Ikea reopens in Denmark after country’s worst retail month this century

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