Mighty New Zealand is missing from an Ikea Björksta map and Kiwis are not taking it lying down. A Reddit user in Washington D.C. posted this photo from an Ikea store with the title “Ikea’s map game is not on point.”
Kiwis have filled Twitter with their responses:
https://twitter.com/UttingD/status/1093691361075769344
and
Hopefully #Ikea won’t be using their own map to find us when they open their first store in #NewZealand https://t.co/PLWfeMo9N4
— Nicola Cox 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@nicolacoxint) February 8, 2019
Though some seem to prefer the peace and quiet of neglect:
Bjorksta Ikea world map doesn’t include New Zealand (nor do most other maps) #keepthesecret #stayaway https://t.co/iJfu67huLu
— 💧Pepper is Ashamed💦 (@WakatipuLady) February 8, 2019
This is not the first map-related calamity to involve the land of the long white cloud. In fact, so many maps neglect the country that its tourism department launched the #GetNZontheMap campaign last year.
It also isn’t even the first Ikea map to make the mistake as the country is missing from a wall decal map in some shops, though elsewhere it appears to be included.
The New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has yet to weigh in on this particular incident, but she took part in last year’s map campaign, co-starring in a video with Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby.
Ikea announced last month that it would build its first two stores in New Zealand soon. So far, Ikea Australia has referred New Zealand media outlets to Swedish headquarters for comment.
In the meantime, bemused Kiwis and Aussies can still order the Björksta map on Ikea’s Australian website.
