Beauty store opening in Stockholm turns chaotic
The grand opening of Lyko’s new flagship store in Stockholm turned chaotic as hundreds of young people queued overnight in hopes of scoring a goodie bag filled with beauty products worth several thousand kroner.
Teenager Esther Gyllenhak, 14, and her two friends arrived at the store as early as 2 AM on Saturday to secure their spots in line. They were just a few of many who braved the cold and fatigue to be among the first 500 customers and get their hands on the exclusive goodie bags.
However, the lack of a proper queuing system led to chaos as people pushed and fought to be first in line. Esther described the scene as chaotic and mentioned that many people experienced panic attacks and were left in tears.
Esther’s mother, Elin Sundin, who was also present at the store, criticized the event’s organization and lack of crowd control. She expressed concern for the safety of the young girls who had congregated outside the store and pointed out that such situations can quickly become conflict-laden.
Lyko founder Rickard Lyko acknowledged the unexpected turnout and admitted that they were not prepared for the enormous pressure that arose. While the company had guards on site, they could have done better in managing the crowd.
The chaotic scene did not require police intervention, but the incident has sparked debate about the need for better event management and crowd control in similar situations in the future.