Was browsing the obscure store, and came across this interesting article how Ikea is perceived as being rather unfashionable in its home country of Sweden:

“In Scandinavia, Ikea is much lower end and not so fashionable a brand,” said Steven Addis, chief executive of Addis, a Berkeley consulting firm that specializes in brand image. “It’s similar with Ecco shoes. They are seen as fashionable abroad, but not in their home country of Denmark.” […] “In Sweden, going to Ikea is like going to the supermarket to buy paper towels in bulk. But in (America), Ikea is a wonder of super design,” said Barbro Osher, the Swedish consul general in San Francisco.

I don’t feel so bad now about not having an Ikea Supercenter nearby, though I still want better display shelving for my robot toys…