IKEA
IKEA is a Swedish home furnishing retailer. It has 192 large stores in 37 countries as of Spring 2004. Most are throughout Europe, the rest are in the US, Canada, Asia and Australia. The IKEA Catalogue, containing about 12,000 IKEA products is reputedly the second most widely distributed book after the Bible with a hundred million copies produced every year.
IKEA is pronounced ee-kay-uh (X-SAMPA /i.ke.a/) by Swedes and other continental Europeans. In the English-speaking world it is pronounced "eye-KEE-uh" (X-SAMPA /aj.ki.@/), rhyming with the word "idea".
History
The company was founded by Ingvar Kamprad at age 17 in 1943. The name is a composite of the first letters in his personal name, the names of the property and the village where he grew up: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. Originally IKEA sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewellery and nylon stockings or practically anything Kamprad found a need for that he could fill with a product at a reduced price. The first furniture was introduced into the IKEA product range in 1947 and in 1955, IKEA began to design its own furniture.
At first Kamprad sold his goods out of his home and by mail order, but eventually a store was opened in the nearby town of Älmhult. It was also the location for the first IKEA "warehouse" store which came to serve as a model for IKEA establishments elsewhere and in 1963 the first store outside Sweden was opened in Asker, a Norwegian municipality outside Oslo.
Products
IKEA furniture is well-known for its modern (often unusual) design, and because much of it is self-assembly furniture (also known as "flatpack"), designed to be assembled by the consumer rather than being sold pre-assembled. IKEA claims this permits them to reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air — the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped disassembled rather than assembled.
All shops generally have restaurants serving typically Swedish food. Outside of Sweden these restaurant are usually complimented by mini-shops selling swedish-made, swedish-style groceries.
IKEA has also pioneered the use of more sustainable approaches to mass consumer culture. Its founder calls it "democratic design", meaning that the company applies an integrated approach to manufacturing and design. Responding to the explosion of human population — and material expectations — in the 20th century, the company has mastered economies of scale, capturing material streams and creating manufacturing processes that hold costs and resource use down. The result is flexible, adaptable home furnishings, scaleable both to larger homes and the increasing, yet generally ignored, number of smaller dwellings. IKEA prides itself on creating a new approach to consumption--one not driven by conventional U.S. or European approaches to home furnishings, and focused on a frugal, yet conscious, aesthetic.
Corporate structure
IKEA operates on a franchise basis. Despite IKEA's Swedish roots, the owner (franchisor) of the IKEA concept is a Dutch company, Inter IKEA Systems BV. The operator (franchisee) of the majority of the stores worldwide is a separate entity, the IKEA Group, a private group of companies owned by a Dutch charitable foundation.
See also
