April 29, 2021, 11:58 AM
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It's said that Singaporeans love two things: Shopping for home decorations and new launches.
Snaking queues were seen outside the newly opened IKEA Jem on April 29, with queues appearing to occupy the entire area.
Gif adapted via video taken by Syahindah Ishak
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Speaking to Mothership, a staff employee said that queues had started forming since 9am.
Only entrances on two levels for the three-storey outlet had been opened, but many could still be seen patiently waiting for the official opening at 10am.
More about IKEA Jem
The Jem outlet is IKEA's first small-store concept located in a mall in Southeast Asia.
Image via Syahindah Ishak
It occupies level two to four of the Jurong East mall.
It carries a variety of new interesting features, said to provide a more convenient and seamless shopping experience.
This includes cashless check-outs, shopping baskets with wheels, and interactive play projections for the kids.
New kid on the block
Most members of the public Mothership spoke to indicated that they had gone down to check out the new outlet in the West out of interest and curiosity.
One housewife said that she had arrived around 9am and had travelled from Bukit Timah.
She had wanted to check out a cupboard and anticipated a long queue, which is why she had gone early.
Another, who lives in Woodlands, said that she had come down "for fun" to "see see" with her husband.
Another lady said she had just decided to drop by before work since she lives in Jurong, and didn't think the queue would be crazy.
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Image via Syahindah Ishak
Crowd control in 20 minutes
Luckily, IKEA seemed to have things under control.
The crazy crowds appeared to disperse within 20 minutes.
Image via Syahindah Ishak
A staff employee told Mothership that the number of people allowed inside the outlet was 1,300, across all levels.
Security and safe distancing ambassadors were also observed patrolling the area.
Image via Syahindah Ishak
IKEA staff added that as they were at maximum capacity, new individuals who joined the queue would either be asked to wait outside Level 3 for crowd control, or come back later.
Details
Address: Jem 50 Jurong Gateway Road, #02-12/13/14, #03-15/16/17 & #04-20/21/22, Singapore 608549
Opening hours: 10am to 10pm, daily
Top images via Syahindah Ishak.
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