Ikea had to respond after a woman filmed a sex tape in one of their stores
More under this adFootage of a woman masturbating in an Ikea store in China, most likely in the south of the country, quickly went viral on Chinese social networks.
You can find almost anything at Ikea, and this makes customers feel so at home that they could almost sleep and live in one of their stores.
Discover our latest podcast
In China, the Swedish furniture brand has had some problems with their customers. Management called on customers to behave 'in an orderly and civilised way,' after a video of a woman masturbating on the premises of one of its stores in China went viral.
More under this adMore under this adMasturbating among customers
This short video was widely circulated on social networks in China. The footage shows a customer pleasuring herself on a chair, and on a bed in one of the Swedish company's stores. In other words, a female masturbation session took place in the middle of the store, while customers can be seen walking around the showrooms in the background.
The original video was quickly censored on Chinese social networks. The person has not yet been identified and for the moment, we don't know who made the video, nor where it was shot.
More under this adMore under this adIkea 'condemns this kind of behaviour'
Nevertheless, several internet users noticed that the announcements in the background were in Cantonese: this may suggest that the video was shot in the south of the country, in Guangzhou (Canton).
Customers are not wearing protective masks in the footage, so the video was certainly made before the coronavirus epidemic, which developed in China in December.
More under this adMore under this adThe band then made a press release in which they did not refer directly to the sex tape, but merely said that Ikea 'condemns this kind of behaviour,' and in which they pointed out that the police have been notified. The brand also said that security measures in its stores will be stepped up, and called on its customers to be 'civilised.'
Not a first in China
This is a singular event, but it is not the first time it has happened in the country. For example, in 2015, another sex tape tarnished the reputation of a Uniqlo store in the capital, Beijing. It showed a couple making love in one of the clothing shop's fitting rooms.
More under this adMore under this adThe footage then circulated all over the country, to the point where the couple became strangely popular: the store for a while became a kind of attraction for many Chinese, who had their pictures taken in front of, or inside the store while making provocative poses.