Real Estate Drives Shoppers Crazy... "Britain's biggest Ikea store opened at midnight yesterday -- but closed just 40 minutes later as 6,000 frenzied shoppers stampeded for bargains, leaving 20 in need of hospital treatment.

"One woman was said to have been threatened by a man with a mallet, and another waiting in the checkout queue was 'mugged' for her cut-price sofa. Security guards were reported to have fled the scene." Shoppers went berserk trying to buy £325 ($610) sofas for just £49 ($92). (Daily Telegraph, Feb 11, 2005, free signup required)

And according to Fast Company (Feb 11, 2005), "It's not the first time an Ikea store opening has gone seriously wrong. Last September, three men were trampled to death in a rush to claim vouchers when
Ikea opened its first store in Saudi Arabia."

So now I'm wondering if scientists will some day find an abnormal real estate gene in the human genome. Remember the Starbucks fanatic who had visited over 4,000 locations (Starbucks Everywhere: "Normal Life Is Boring", Jul 6, 2004) and the folks camping out the night before an Apple Store opening (News Flash: Groupies Swarm Apple Store, Dec 16, 2003)?

Or maybe the message is simpler: management needs to develop a better understanding of its customers. I guess that's why Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A restaurants, camped out with customers awaiting new store openings sixteen times last year. Wow, that's a lot of cold nights on hard ground. (Customer-Centered Leader: Chick-fil-A, Fast Company, Oct 2004)

--Peter Pike