IKEA stores could become shelters in Denmark as Europe ramps up disaster preparedness

In the event of a critical attack on essential infrastructure, a blackout or a massive flood, large IKEA stores and warehouses could be used as shelters for the population and even as temporary hospitals. Its facilities would make it possible to offer food to those affected, maintain basic services thanks to electrical generators and enable additional beds with the furniture available in warehouses.

This possibility is part of a change in the European security strategy, in which governments seek to expand collaboration with the private sector to ensure that essential services continue to function during an emergency, according to Reuters.

Concern about alleged acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and other incidents attributed by European officials to Russian hybrid warfare has reinforced the need to prepare for this type of scenario. Danish intelligence services also warn that Moscow could intensify these actions against NATO countries and other Western states in the coming months, a possibility that Russia rejects.

The European Union is encouraging Member States to work more closely with businesses as part of its Union Preparedness Strategy, launched in March 2025.

IKEA is part of the Danish Business Coalition for Crisis Preparedness, a network that catalogs the resources that private companies can provide in an emergency, from beds and food supplies to trucks and specialized personnel.

"IKEA is a very good example because no one would naturally include it in a list of crisis resources. An IKEA store has space, merchandise, food preparation facilities and generators," said Maja Broloes, the network's executive director.

The possibility of giving this use to its establishments already has a precedent. During DANA 2024 in Valencia, an IKEA store welcomed more than 600 people.

The company, for its part, points out that it does not have a global emergency preparedness plan, so measures of this type are organized independently in each country.

Companies, as support

Other Danish distributors are also preparing for emergencies. Salling Group, Denmark's largest supermarket operator, is opening the first of 51 stores designed to operate for up to 48 hours without electricity or internet access.

Estonia obliges 300 companies by law to maintain essential services during a crisis, while Finland has a network of authorities, non-governmental organizations and companies responsible for ensuring security of supply. In Poland, some companies are required by law to allow the Armed Forces to use their vehicles, machinery and property in a crisis situation.

The Danish network includes more than 200 companies employing more than 300,000 people, from distributors and construction groups to telecommunications providers. “If a crisis occurs, authorities will have one place to go, and we will find companies that can help,” Broloes said.

It has already been possible to glimpse how an IKEA store could function as a refuge. In December 2021, a snowstorm left six customers and approximately 24 employees trapped overnight at an IKEA store in Aalborg, forcing them to sleep on display beds.

The next morning, staff had changed the sheets and reopened the store to customers.