IKEA in Israel - 30% higher prices?

The Marker, one of Israel's leading economic magazines reports today what many of us have long suspected: IKEA's prices in Israel are significantly more expensive than other IKEA branches around the globe -- a hand towel (choose your own appropriate catalog word; frap, kwoodle, blargo...) in IKEA Sweden costs 1 NIS and in IKEA Israel costs 15 NIS.

On average, the prices in IKEA Israel are 30% higher than IKEA Britain and Holland, and 24% higher than France and Sweden. The Marker price checked 21 items that in Israel totaled
17,000 NIS, yet the exact same items in France or Sweden would have cost 13,000 NIS. In England and Holland the total price tag was even lower; only 12,000 NIS.

Shlomo Gabbai, CEO of IKEA Israel provided 2 main reasons for the higher cost;

1. The high shipping and Logistics costs of getting their merchandise from Sweden to Israel.

2. The strong Shekel vs. the weaker foreign currencies.

I personally only discovered IKEA after I made aliya, since it was only starting to gain popularity in the US when I made aliya. We were very excited about it at first, and purchased many items for our "lift", but we were soon underwhelmed by the quality of the items -- some are definitely sturdier than others.

On the bright side, the food court is Kosher, they are closed on shabbat, and IKEA Israel even has its own shul!

Follow me, the rabbi whispers to me mysteriously, and leads me to a hidden door, between the recliner department and the sofa display. We go down one floor, he opens a door, and I am totally stunned. Not a corner, not a small prayer room, but a synagogue. An honest-to-goodness synagogue. The Great Synagogue of IKEA.

Little by little, more good Jews gather in the secret bunker. Some work in the store, others are customers - the rabbi has assured their wives that he will personally see to it that they return within 15 minutes to the same mirrored shelf unit in the same model bathroom. I go to check out the bookshelves and am bowled over. Everything is so neat and spiffy. Every synagogue should be so orderly. Printed on each book is "Property of IKEA." There's an IKEA-siddur, and IKEA-chumash, a new set of IKEA-Rambam and even a Torah ark with a velvet curtain on which the following is embroidered: "For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem. Donated by Yehiel Moshe (Edgar) and Matityahu Bronfman." HaAretz

From what I can see around the web, many people are disappointed with IKEA's customer service department, but for those of us living in Israel, it should be par for the course! (It can't possibly be worse than dealing with Highway-6 customer service or the Ministry of the Interior)

The adjoining comic was too good not to include, even if it may not be fully justified.














Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד