There is a department store in Sweden so large that it has become the most popular tourist attraction in the country, receiving an average of five million visitors each year.
The superstore, Gekas Ullared, attracts such a large number of visitors that it has built two hotels, a motel, several log cabins for rent, and a campsite nearby for overnight visits.
At 40,400 square meters (434,900 square feet), it is one of the largest department stores in the world and the largest in Scandinavia, made up of 22 departments selling approximately 100,000 products, from electronics to clothing.
The average customer travels 230 km (140 miles) to reach the store, which is located in the town of Ullared, in Halland County, in the northeast of the country.
Known for its low prices, it often has massive lines on Saturdays during peak season, with a line once measuring over an eighth of a mile (1.4 km) long.
The Gekas Ullared hypermarket in Sweden is so huge that it has become the country’s most popular tourist attraction.
At 40,400 square meters (434,900 square feet), it is one of the largest department stores in the world and the largest in Scandinavia.
Acknowledging the store’s status as a tourist attraction, in 2016, store executive Jan Wallberg said berliner morgenpost: ‘Gekas Ullared is not just a department store. It is a travel destination. You come here for the overall experience. People also go to Paris to buy, like us.
Gekas Ullared’s history dates back to 1963 when founder Goran Karlsson opened the original shop on the ground floor of a village house. Initially, he focused on selling women’s scrubs and men’s jackets at low prices, and as business boomed, the store expanded into the larger, new facility it occupies today.
Known across the country, it was previously the subject of a docu-drama series called Ullared, and King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden even paid a visit in 2013 while touring County Halland.
The superstore, Gekas Ullared, attracts such a large number of visitors that it has built two hotels, a motel, several log cabins for rent, and a campsite (above) nearby. Image courtesy of creative commons
One Tripadvisor user described the store as a “shopping mecca”, while another called it “extremely huge”. Image courtesy of creative commons
Store executive Jan Wallberg previously said: ‘Gekas Ullared is not just a department store. It is a travel destination
Known for its low prices, the hypermarket often has massive queues on Saturdays during peak season.
The stores website says, ‘Our business idea is to sell everything that fits into a car for the home at unbeatably low prices.’
There are 3,200 parking spaces in the hypermarket car park, there is space for around 100 vehicles in the caravan and motorhome park and the bus park has space for up to 45 buses.
one of the hotels Hotel Ula, is a four-minute drive from the shopping center, while the second newer hotel, ‘Hotellet’, is less than a five-minute walk away. With rooms peppered with yellow accents of the superstore’s logo, Hotellet is described as a “cozy place to land after a day at the department store.” Prices for a double room start from £72 per night.
Above are shoppers outside the rental cabin complex. The average customer travels 230 km (140 miles) to get to the store
Pictured is Timmerstugan’s log cabin rental, which can accommodate up to six buyers.
Owned by the superstore, the ‘Hotellet’ hotel is described as a ‘cozy place to land after a day at the department store’
When visitors have had their fill of bargain hunting, there are attractions outside the main superstore to enjoy, including a hot tub experience (above).
There are 3,200 parking spaces in the hypermarket car park.
A cheaper alternative is the motel that is even closer to the shopping complex: a room for four is £56 per night.
When visitors have had their fill of bargain hunting, there are attractions outside the big flagship store to enjoy: there’s a paddle tennis court, a 950-square-meter (88-square-meter) children’s playground, a mini-golf course, a sauna with wood burning hot tubs and even a ski slope in the winter months.
Leaving a department store review on Tripadvisor, user ‘Lageman’ described it as ‘a shopping mecca’ while the reviewer ‘Mrskrun’ He said, ‘The store is extremely large…the prices are unbelievable.’
Meanwhile, the user ‘Orange Viking’ Travelers Advised: ‘Avoid [the] last week of the month in which pensions and salaries have been paid. Also avoid general holiday periods because it can get really crazy here.’