All sold out at Ikea: "anti-government" stuffed animals
HONG KONG -- A stuffed animal designed and sold by Ikea of Sweden has flown off store shelves in Hong Kong, where it has become a mouthy anti-government symbol.
The animal is a wolf dressed in a red-and-white checked shirt and bluejeans. It comes with a small grandmother doll that fits inside its belly, from where grandma can be rescued. The toy was inspired by the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale.
According to a statement from Ikea's headquarters, the wolf is sold by the name of Lufsig around the globe. In Hong Kong, it has been sold out since Dec. 10 and is not expected to be back on shelves until sometime in January.
Lufsig gained fame in Hong Kong on Dec. 7, when one of the dolls was thrown at the city's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying during a public meeting. Many who are against Leung refer to him as "Wolf," an allusion to his style of politics that his detractors derisively describe as cunning.
Lufsig also has another claim to fame: The transliteration of his name given for the Mandarin-speaking Mainland China market sounds cunningly similar to an obscene phrase in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong.
Ikea has since given the grandma-eater a new name in Mainland China, where the toy has also become a hot item.
HONG KONG -- A stuffed animal designed and sold by Ikea of Sweden has flown off store shelves in Hong Kong, where it has become a mouthy anti-government symbol.
The animal is a wolf dressed in a red-and-white checked shirt and bluejeans. It comes with a small grandmother doll that fits inside its belly, from where grandma can be rescued. The toy was inspired by the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale.
According to a statement from Ikea's headquarters, the wolf is sold by the name of Lufsig around the globe. In Hong Kong, it has been sold out since Dec. 10 and is not expected to be back on shelves until sometime in January.
Lufsig gained fame in Hong Kong on Dec. 7, when one of the dolls was thrown at the city's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying during a public meeting. Many who are against Leung refer to him as "Wolf," an allusion to his style of politics that his detractors derisively describe as cunning.
Lufsig also has another claim to fame: The transliteration of his name given for the Mandarin-speaking Mainland China market sounds cunningly similar to an obscene phrase in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong.
Ikea has since given the grandma-eater a new name in Mainland China, where the toy has also become a hot item.
