Ever heard that a furniture store would lead to massive traffic jams and a wait time of over three hours just to get an entry? Well, the opening of IKEA in Bengaluru did just that and much more. The first weekend since the opening of IKEA at Nagasandra saw thousands of people flock to the store. The crowd was so much that the store had to close its gates till the security could manage the situation. At one point, IKEA said that the wait time to get inside their store was a staggering three hours, and asked its customers to plan their visit accordingly.
Bengaluru, we are overwhelmed by your response❣️ Current wait time at Nagasandra store is 3 hours. Please plan accordingly or shop online. For latest wait time updates, visit: https://t.co/XF0WzAZPFE
— IKEAIndia (@IKEAIndia) June 25, 2022
Despite waiting for several hours, many customers returned empty handed, without even getting the chance to enter the store. The Nagasandra metro station that sees an average of 13,000 riders (on the Green Line) and 16,000 boardership (People who switched from Purple Line to Green Line) everyday on June 25, saw a whopping 23,878 riders and 30,067 boarders.
BMRCL managing director Anjum Parwez said the train frequency was eight minutes on Saturday since there is usually no rush on weekends. "We will improve the frequency of services between Majestic and Nagasandra based on the traffic demand/footfall. We want to check whether this crowd is an initial euphoria or a regular phenomenon. We will analyse the situation for a few more weeks and take a decision," he told the Times of India.
Netizens were quick to comment on the crowds and memes too, began doing the rounds on Twitter.
Crowds at the IKEA store in Bangalore today. Looks like Tirupati finally has some competition pic.twitter.com/fQiS4e87rA
— Suyog Gaidhani (@suyogg) June 25, 2022
IKEA store opens in Bangalore
— Hemant (@Sportscasmm) June 26, 2022
People: pic.twitter.com/Hx29OE2Ehn
IKEA store opened...
— Bengaluru Betala (@gururaj_mj) June 26, 2022
People: pic.twitter.com/GlcNNZuKTv
Me entering Nagasandra metro station after shopping from IKEA pic.twitter.com/OAyWqVh3px
— JT Meme Store (@kaapi_kudka) June 24, 2022
It’s not MLAs queuing in Maharashtra to form government,
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) June 26, 2022
It’s not an immigration queue to enter our country,
It’s not a vaccination queue to avoid Covid wave,
It’s not pilgrims queueing in Tirupati for darshan,
It’s the opening of IKEA store in Bangalore!
pic.twitter.com/Qqnd0p9n8v
Everyone in Bangalore right now pic.twitter.com/K35fnAh886
— Anuj Tripathi (@depressedsebfan) June 25, 2022
The IKEA store was inaugurated by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on June 22. The store at Nagasandra is the Swedish furniture conglomerate’s third and largest store yet in India. The other two stores are located at Hyderabad and Navi Mumbai.