PETALING JAYA, Jan 18 — Ikea Malaysia turned a mistake into an opportunity after a batch of its reusable bags sported a glaring printing error.
The home furnishing store’s Klamby reusable bags were meant to feature the URL ‘www.ikea.com.my’ but what got through the printers was ‘www.ikea.co.my’ instead.
The missing ‘m’ could have spelled disaster for online shoppers.
Following the typo, Ikea Malaysia has rebranded the bags as the ‘alamak’ bag which have earned them single batch status thanks to the slip-up.
Alamak is a reference to the Malay phrase typically used to express shock or dismay, similar to ‘oops’ or ‘uh-oh’ in the English language.
Malay Mail found the erroneous bags were being sold on Ikea Malaysia’s website after the same mistake that befell Ikea Singapore made headlines.
Just like Malaysia, Ikea Singapore’s URL was incorrectly printed ‘www.ikea.co.sg’.
The URL typo across the Causeway was spotted by Facebook user Alicia Cho at an Ikea Singapore store.
“I wonder who approve the design before printing...how can make such a mistake (sic),” she wrote.
Taking the boo-boo in their stride, the Swedish brand got creative and decided to sell the bags as a limited edition item with the description “limited, unique, alamak”.
Ikea made up for the oversight with a witty sales pitch that will no doubt amuse many.
“At Ikea, it’s OK to make a mistake,” the message to customers read.
“We printed the wrong website address on the Klamby reusable bag but because it’s reusable we won’t scrap them.
“They’re limited edition and they won’t be back!”
Cho’s Facebook post came with a snapshot of the clever copywriting in-store while the same disclaimer is spotted above the product page on the Malaysian website.
In Malaysia, the Klamby reusable bag is priced at RM4.90 while Ikea Singapore is selling it for SG$1.90 (RM5.77)
