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The IKEA Flagship Store Is Making an Entire Town Smell Like Poop

Several attempts have been made to conceal the odor, but the "smell of fresh crap" still lingers over the city, according to one resident.
Photo via Flickr user Marco Raaphorst

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IKEA has a long and storied history of angering customers with its build-it-yourself furniture or by triggering marital spats. But over the past few years, the IKEA flagship store in Sweden has been enraging people for a different reason—it constantly reeks of shit.

The Independent reports that residents in Älmhult—the small Swedish town where the furniture giant got its start—have been complaining about a putrid stench trailing from the company's flagship location. Apparently the locals first noticed the smell back in 2012 when the furniture company relocated. Since then, several attempts have been made to conceal the odor, but "the smell of fresh crap" still lingers over the city, according to one resident.

"We are currently investigating the cause of the issue and taking the appropriate measures to rectify it as fast as we can," an IKEA spokesperson told the Independent.

It's not the first time the company has tried to fix the stench. At first, local officials thought it might be coming from the store's plumbing, and then maybe the garbage disposal or grease separators. But after installing new equipment in May, the smell continued to waft over the town.

The stench of what is probably the gastrointestinal remains of a plate of cheap meatballs has now gotten so unbearable that some locals have reported it to the country's National Land and Environment Court, which will need to decide the fate of IKEA's funk and determine how best to restore order to the town's air.

Read: IKEA Employees Share What They've Learned About Relationships from Watching Yours Fall Apart