Did you know that one in ten Europeans is conceived in an IKEA bed? Can you guess in which city the IKEA store management had to designate a "match-making corner" for the many middle-aged singles congregating in the store? We read the recent New Yorker article on IKEA and pulled out the answer to this question and more random facts below the jump…
The answer to the question above: a Shanghai IKEA recently designated a "match-making corner." The New Yorker article "House Perfect; Is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy?" by Lauren Collins provided an exhaustive history of IKEA, along with many fascinating stories and facts. The article even quoted our very own Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan as stating: "A brand-new IKEA store that's fully stocked can be a happy place, but one that's been trampled by the crowds on a Saturday is an ugly place to be."
More Interesting IKEA Facts from The New Yorker:
1. The IKEA museum in Almhult contains a file cabinet filled with "unfortunate" IKEA product names, including Anis, Dick and Fanny.
2. The IKEA catalogue is only slightly less popular than Harry Potter books.
3. IKEA is the third largest consumer of wood in the world, ahead of Walmart and behind Home Depot and Lowe's.
4. Last year IKEA's business in China grew by twenty per cent. IKEA sells certain products tailored to Chinese clientele, including water fountains, chopsticks and mosquito nets.
5. The LACK table (introduced in 1979) and the BILLY bookshelf are the most iconic IKEA products.
6. The founder, Ingvar Kamprad, is 85 years old and is referred to as "The Founder" or "Ingvar"
7. Ingvar Kamprad opened the first IKEA store in Almhult, Sweden in 1953.
8. IKEA invented flat pack furniture in 1951, when an employee took the legs off of a table trying to get it into his Volvo.
• IKEA staff conduct thousands of yearly "home visits" where they visit customers' homes (in exchange for an IKEA credit voucher) to find out what frustrates customers about IKEA products.
READ MORE: House Perfect; Is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy?
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ugh... can't read the linked article. I bet it's interesting...?
I wonder how many other companies do that last bit - the visiting of customers to find out what they like/dislike.
That's a pretty good idea.
In the spirit of the Occupy Wall Street movement, I would add the following points:
9. IKEA is not a Swedish company, it is Dutch.
10. IKEA is controlled by means of a Dutch stitching -- a tax-exempt non-profit foundation, into which most of the IKEA profits flow.
11. The non-profit charitable foundation which controls IKEA has an estimated net worth of $36 Billion, which makes it larger than the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation worth $33. (And unlike the Gates Foundation, it does precious little charitable work...)
stichting, not stitching.
@mschatelaine:
Do you have evidence on your points? Well, they don't belong in this post as this is titled "Fascinating IKEA Facts, Figures & Insider Info" Obviously yours are not fascinating at all.
The article cited in this post has the same information has mschatelaine has posted: "IKEA is not really a Swedish company. It is controlled by a company called INGKA Holding, which, in turn, is controlled by the Dutch stitchting-a tax-exempt, nonprofit foundation-to which Ingvar Kamprad transferred his ownership shares in 1982. On its Web site, IKEA bills the stitchting structure as a means of creating "an ownership structure and an organization that stand for independence and a long-term approach," but the move minimized IKEA's tax burden, and the financial oversight to which the company is subjected."
from "House Perfect; Is the IKEA ethos comfy or creepy?", New Yorker, October 3, 2011. Although I find it hard to see what difference it makes if it's Swedish or Dutch.
I appreciate everything that has been mentioned here. I had read the original article but definitely appreciate these highlights as a reminder.
I find it a bit troubling that this company pays no taxes.
How do I sign up for home visits? My house is crawling with IKEA furniture!!!!
Much as I love IKEA they are in Holland to avoid Swedish taxes and social responsibility, even though most of their design is in fact done in Sweden as I understand it. It's kind of like being in Delaware (though more usually companies go to like Monaco, etc for the tax advantages) for American corporations due to incorporation laws.
I'm gonna have to read the full article now; they did indeed play upon the Folkhem concept.
Point #3 is shocking, because as far as I can tell, Ikea furniture is made of particle board and cheap plastic bits that fall apart after a year - where is the real wood?
JasmineIsDomestic - Some of Ikea's furniture is solid wood, and they use a lot more here and there (frame for a sofa, structural peices in some furniture, etc). I also wonder if they are including wood in particle board in those numbers.
Everthingistaken and JasmineIsDomestic: yes, the wood in particle board is included in the statistic in point #3.
Flat-pack accounting // Forget about the Gates Foundation. The world's biggest charity owns IKEA — and is devoted to interior design: http://www.economist.com/node/6919139
redneckmodern: Thanks for the link. Very interesting.
The original article is interesting, too.
I think Ikea is brilliant. It does loads of charity work! hah It provides us with low cost furniture for our every need and we can refill that cup as much as we desire! What student/ new home owner would be without it?
I have heard that the biggest part of IKEA's business is from fabric sales, and NOT home goods?!!?! Could that be true, or is that fact imMATERIAL? (ha-ha)