Huge Queues As Ikea Reopens Stores In England And Northern Ireland Following Lockdown Closure

It's the day we've all been waiting for. No, lockdown isn't over, but it's the next best thing: Ikea is open. Yay!

Now, while you may scoff at the idea of a furniture store reopening, there are thousands of others out there who would beg to differ.

Shoppers have been lining up in their droves to get their hands on some of Sweden's finest flat-pack goods after Ikea reopened stores in England and Northern Ireland today (1 June) for the first time since UK branches closed on 20 March to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Footage shared online shows customers across England waiting patiently to get inside.

Mary Byfield is one of those people. The 49-year-old said she starting queuing outside her local Wednesbury store at 8am this morning (1 June).

The mum-of-one, from Great Bridge, West Midlands, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I arrived. I thought I was early but there was already a massive queue here.

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"A couple of people had been here since 5.30am. It's madness, really, but everything has been orderly so far. The traffic around the area is a nightmare, though.

"It's going to be interesting to see how they are going to keep people safely apart as there's going to be thousands going through the doors by the end of the day.

"We've been redecorating during lockdown, but we're just missing some finishing touches. I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

Adding: "Everything seems to have gone up in price online and you can't beat Ikea for a good bargain."

Phillip Walker, from Nottingham, says he waited over an hour to get into his local store - queuing from 8.30am to bag some of their famous meatballs.

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The 29-year-old said: "I brought along a camping chair as I thought everybody would be flocking here today.

"I saw what other stores and fast food places have been like and knew it would be chaos.

"But it's been orderly chaos so far, I'm not sure if that's all going to change once I get inside.

"It's taken well over an hour to get near the front of the queue. I just want to get in and out now - but not before I've bought some meatballs."

Ikea announced in March that it was temporarily closing all 22 of its stores in the UK and Ireland following the outbreak of Covid-19

In a bid to keep customers safe as the government's guidance surrounding lockdown has started to ease, the furniture giant took the decision to reopen, introducing strict social distancing measures.

Topics: lockdown, Interesting, Coronavirus

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom