IKEA was founded by Swedish entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad, who was always destined for big things from a very young age. At just 5 years old young Ingvar was selling matches to his nearby neighbours, and by the time he was seven, he started selling further afield, using his bicycle.
He then found that he could buy matches in bulk cheaply in Stockholm and re-sell them individually at a very low price while still making a good profit. From matches he expanded to selling flower seeds, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, and later pencils and ball-point pens.
In 1943, when Ingvar Kamprad was 17, his father gave him money as a reward for succeeding in his studies. He used it to establish his own business. The name IKEA is formed from the founder's initials (I.K.) plus the first letters of Elmtaryd (E) and Agunnaryd (A), the farm and village where he grew up. IKEA originally sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewellery and nylon stockings - meeting needs with products at reduced prices.
In 1948 Furniture was introduced into the IKEA range, produced by local manufacturers in the forests close to Ingvar Kamprad's home. The response was positive and Ingvar was no longer able to run the business on a one-to-one basis, choosing to produce the now famous catalog instead and becoming a mail-order service.
The idea of flat packaging began when one of the first IKEA co-workers removed the legs of the LÖVET table so that it would fit into a car and avoid damage during transit. After this discovery, flat packs and self assembly become part of the concept.
By the 1960's the first IKEA store had opened in Älmhult, in the south of Sweden. It was such a success that others began to pop up all over the country until finally, in the 1980's, IKEA found new markets such as USA, Italy, France and the UK. It was at this point that IKEA began to take the form of today's modern IKEA.
In the 1990s children's IKEA was introduced, with a focus on home furnishing solutions to meet the needs of families with children. The IKEA Group was formed and responsibility for people and the environment is seen as a prerequisite for doing good business.
By now IKEA had taken over Europe and went online in 1997, further adding to its burgeoning mail order business. The company has now grown to include everything you can think of for your home and office, expanding into food as well. You can now buy the famous Swedish meatballs on a trip to the store for example. Could you imagine a world without IKEA? Do you go there for your furniture? Why or why not? Scroll down below to check out the rest of the couch designs, and let us know your IKEA stories in the comments!
