Denmark offers to shelter people in IKEA stores
Authorities in Europe are increasingly looking not only at the army and rescue workers, but also at companies that can support society in emergency situations. Reuters calls IKEA one of these structures.
Authorities in Europe are increasingly looking not only at the army and rescue workers, but also at companies that can support society in emergency situations. Reuters calls IKEA one of these structures.
According to the agency, if lights are lost, flooding occurs or there is an impact on important facilities, IKEA stores can become shelters and even temporary hospitals. Cafes and restaurants are able to give people food, generators will help buildings not to switch off, and from flat boxes from the warehouse will be able to collect extra beds.
The reason for such plans was a series of sabotage, cyberattacks and other incidents that the European authorities associate with the hybrid war allegedly unleashed by Russia. Danish intelligence believes that in the coming months, Russia is able to increase its actions against NATO states and other Western countries. The Russian side rejects these accusations.
Reuters emphasizes that this is not just a theory. During a devastating flood in Valencia in October 2024, the company opened one of its points as a shelter, where more than 600 people took refuge. At the same time, IKEA said that they do not have a single global readiness program, and each country takes such measures itself.
The EU advises its members to work more closely with entrepreneurs on the European Readiness Strategy, which was approved in March 2025. IKEA is part of the Danish “corporate coalition” created in the event of a crisis. She decides what private companies can help with emergencies: beds and food, cars and workers. The association has more than 200 companies with more than 300 thousand employees - among them sellers, builders and communications specialists. Coalition members have already trained together with government agencies on emergency preparedness exercises, but they have not yet experienced serious accidents and disasters.
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