IKEA --- A Bit of History

My family and I made our first trip to the Connecticut IKEA store this evening to look at a wall unit/bookcases for our living room. Being a homeschooling family, bookcases are frequently on our shopping list. Being an ex-retail manager and economics major, the beginnings of large retail giants are often on my curiosity list. The story of Hewlett Packard starting in a California garage comes to mind. In the case of IKEA, it was a small farming village in the woods of southern Sweden.

IKEA has been in business for more than 60 years (almost as long as Hewlett Packard, now that I think about it). During that time, they grew from a small local business to a global giant. In case you are just as curious about this furniture phenomenon as I was this evening while walking through their humungous showroom, here are a few key dates in IKEA history, taken from the chronological timeline on their website, www.ikea.com.

1940-1950
IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad. The company name was formed by combining the founder’s initials (IK) with the first letters of the farm and village where he grew up, Elmtaryd (E) and Agnnaryd (A). Furniture was added to the IKEA product line. In the beginning, they sold small items such as watches, pens, and jewelry.

1950-1960
IKEA published their first furniture catalog. This was the beginning of the oh-so-familiar IKEA store that we know today. The company opened their first showroom (apparently different from a store, but not quite clear how) and began designing their own furniture, items that would accommodate flat packaging for shipment. During this decade, IKEA also opened their first store in Sweden.

1960-1970
In 1963, IKEA opened their first store in Norway. Several innovative IKEA designs made their way into the product line (too many to list here, see their website). A flagship store was opened in Stockholm, Sweden. The first IKEA store in Denmark also began operations. Particleboard revolutionized furniture construction for reasonable prices, a perfect fit for IKEA.

1970-1980
Expansion continued with stores opening in Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Austria. IKEA began to manufacture plastic-based furnishings.

1980-1990
Stores opened in France, Belgium, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The STOCKHOLM line of furniture won the Excellent Swedish Design Award.

1990-2000
The 1990’s were a busy decade for IKEA. Stores opened in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and China. The first version of the IKEA website was launched. New product lines were introduced that utilized innovative furniture construction techniques to save on cost. The first stackable children’s chair joined the product line as well. The VARDE modular kitchen won the Red Dot for Highest Design Quality Award. In 1997, Children’s IKEA began. By 1999, the company operated over 150 stores in 29 countries. Founder Ingvar Kamprad initiated the Big Thank You Event, a single day each year when the total of worldwide IKEA sales is distributed amongst their employees. Talk about a bonus!

2000-present
IKEA opens a store in Russia. The company joins forces with UNICEF to prevent child labor in northern India by encouraging education and the improvement of opportunities for women.

To quote Paul Harvey, “Now you know the rest of the story.”