Sweden Invades China (with an Ikea in Beijing)

Did Sweden invade China?  Well, not really. But Ikea did.

The Swedish furniture giant opened its biggest Asian store in Beijing on Wednesday to capitlize on China’s home improvement trend. The new Beijing store is Ikea’s largest after its flagship in Stockholm.

Traditional Peking opera dancers performed outside the store before the official opening while throngs of shoppers were held back by metal barricades.

“Young people really like this ‘do it yourself’ style,” commented one shopper.

The massive store includes 430,000 square feet of showrooms, a 700-seat restaurant, a 1,200-car underground garage and a grocery store stocked with Swedish food.