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Ikea, Wholesale | Ikea with racism flop: Had to remove picture of black man

Ikea has printed a new catalog after an image could have been perceived as racist.

The reason is a picture in the middle of the catalog that shows a black, young man wearing a t-shirt with several numbers on the back. An Ikea employee is said to have pointed out that the number similar to serial numbers prison inmates have on their uniform, writes both Qartz and Business Insider.

Showing this picture where these numbers were so clear could promote a negative stereotype of black youth, the Ikea employee thought.

A number of international media have covered the Ikea flop.

Also read: Ikea Norway gives a huge bonus as a Christmas present to its employees

Does not apply in Norway

The error that is now being corrected applies at least to the directory in the USA. It’s about not in Norway and the Norwegian catalog, communications consultant Stine Odland in Ikea Norway informs Nettavisen.

As you can see from the picture, in the first printed catalog there was a whole page that showed an injured young, black man wearing plaster and a bandage on his finger – and a t-shirt with a number of numbers on the back. Probably injured after a skateboard accident, as Qartz writes, since we see a skateboard on the left in the picture.


OLD AND NEW: This is what the old and new picture pages in the Ikea catalog look like, respectively.
Photo: @ Beardynerd / Twitter and Ikea

The point of the picture is to advertise for the Ikea-owned TaskRabbit furniture assembly service, as we see that the man in the picture obviously needs help with the assembly.

Acknowledges errors

– After taking an assessment of the image, we agree that it can lead to negative interpretation and reinforce negative stereotypes, Ikea explained in a statement to Qartz.

– As a purpose-driven organization where diversity and inclusion are core values, Ikea will contribute to a positive change in society. An important part of advocating for change is recognizing and implementing action when we make mistakes, they explained.

Also read: Ikea does not give up: Anchors the dispute over the cycle path to the Court of Appeal

In the new catalog, which you can already see from the corrected digital edition, you see a black man standing and looking confusingly at furniture parts and the instructions. This will give a more universal picture of an Ikea customer who needs help.

Also read: Ikea drops meat in meatballs

Several have commented on the directory change on Twitter, among other things one that has posted a picture of the page in the directory that is now being corrected.

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