IKEA was started in 1943 byIngvar Kamprad, and has been the world's largestfurniture retailer since 2008.[8][9][10][11][12] The brand name is anacronym of the initials of the names ofIngvar Kamprad, the founder,Elmtaryd, the family farm where Kamprad was born, andAgunnaryd, Kamprad's hometown inSmåland, southern Sweden.[13][14]
The company is primarily known for itsmodernist furniture designs, simple approach tointerior design, and immersive shopping concept, based around decorated room settings withinbig-box stores, where customers can interact with products. In addition, the firm is known for itsready-to-assemble model of furniture sales, continuous product development, and attention to cost control other elements which have allowed IKEA to establish lower prices than its competitors.
IKEA is owned and operated by a series ofnot-for-profit andfor-profit corporations collectively known and managed asInter IKEA Group andIngka Group.[15] The IKEA brand itself is owned and managed byInter IKEA Systems B.V., a company incorporated and headquartered in theNetherlands.[16][17] As of April 2025[update], there are 483 IKEA stores operating in 63 countries,[18] and infiscal year 2024, €45.1billion worth of IKEA goods were sold.[19] IKEA stores are operated underfranchise fromInter IKEA Systems B.V., which handles branding, design, manufacturing, and supply. Ingka Group operates the majority of IKEA stores as a franchisee and pays royalties to Inter IKEA Systems B.V.[20][21] Some IKEA stores are also operated by independent franchises.[22] The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and there were over 4.6billion visitors to IKEA's websites in FY2024.
IKEA founderIngvar Kamprad (right) shakes hands with Hans Ax, IKEA's first store manager, in 1965
In 1943, the 17-year-oldIngvar Kamprad founded IKEA as a mail-order sales business and began to resell furniture five years later.[23] The first store was opened inÄlmhult,Småland, Sweden, in 1958, under the nameMöbel-IKÉA (möbel meaning "furniture" in Swedish).[24]IKEA is an acronym that stands forIngvar Kamprad, the name of the founder,Elmtaryd, the name of the farm on which he grew up, andAgunnaryd, the name of village close to Elmtaryd.[25]
IKEA enteredLatin America in February 2010, opening in theDominican Republic.[33] As for the region's largest markets, on 8 April 2021, a store was opened inMexico City.In August 2018, IKEA opened its first store inIndia, inHyderabad.[34][35] There are now stores in Bengaluru and Mumbai.[36]
The world's largest IKEA store is located inPasay,Metro Manila, Philippines
In March 2022, IKEA announced the closing of all 17 stores inRussia, resulting from the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Because of the ongoing war and unimproved situation in Russia, IKEA said on 15 June that it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its workforce.[41] Later it became known that IKEA does not plan to sell its business but expected to return to Russia within two years.[42] By October 2022, IKEA laid off about 10,000 Russian employees.[43] In September 2023, theMEGA chain of 14 supermarkets, then owned by Ingka, was bought by the RussianGazprombank.[44]
IKEA was hit hard byCOVID-19 because of lockdowns in various countries, like in the UK and Canada.[45][46] Because demand had fallen,[47] its annual catalogue ceased publication after 70 years in print.[48] The prices of their products have risen significantly in 2022 because of rising costs and inflation.[49] In April 2022, IKEA shut down one of its stores inGuiyang when sales took a significant hit from the pandemic. Because of strictCOVID-19 lockdowns in China, IKEA closed another store inShanghai by July 2022.[50]
Interior of an IKEA store in Hong KongThe self-service warehouse area
Traditional store layout
IKEA stores are typically blue buildings with yellow accents[56] — Sweden'snational colours. They are often designed in a one-way layout, leading customers counter-clockwise along what IKEA calls "the long natural way", designed to encourage the customer to see the store in its entirety (as opposed to a traditional retail store, which allows a customer to go directly to the section where the desired goods and services are displayed). There are often shortcuts to other parts of the showroom.[57]
The sequence first involves going through the furniture showrooms, making note of selected items. The showroom usually consists of simulated room settings where customers can see the actual furniture in use, e.g., a living room with a sofa, a TV set, a bookcase, and a dining table, accessorized with plants, cushions, rugs, lamps, plates, glasses, and cutlery. Showroom sections are usually displayed in the order of the rooms of a house: living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and children’s rooms. The customer then collects a shopping cart and proceeds to an open-shelf "Market Hall" warehouse for smaller items. Lastly, theself-service furniture warehouse stores the showroom products inflat-pack form for the customer to collect the ones previously noted. Sometimes, they are directed to collect products from an external warehouse on the same site or at a site nearby after purchase. Finally, customers pay for their products at a cash register. Not all furniture is stocked at the store level, such as particular sofa colours needing to be shipped from a warehouse to the customer's home or the store.
IKEA store in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Most stores follow the layout of having the showroom upstairs with the marketplace and self-service warehouse downstairs. Some stores are single-level, while others have separate warehouses to allow more stock to be kept on-site. Single-level stores are found predominantly in areas where the cost of land would be less than the cost of building a two-level store. Some stores have dual-level warehouses with machine-controlled silos to allow large quantities of stock to be accessed throughout the selling day.
As-is area at IKEA Damansara, Malaysia
Most IKEA stores offer an "as-is" or "bargain corner" (recently rebranded as "re-shop and re-use") area at the end of the warehouse, just before the cash registers. Returned, damaged, and formerly showcased products are displayed here and sold with a significant discount.
In March 2022, IKEA swiftly exited the Russian market, due toRussia's invasion of Ukraine,[58] leading to a surplus of items that were earmarked for the Russian market in IKEA's warehouses. To offload these items quickly, IKEA sold them in a number of non-Russian IKEA stores near the bargain corner at a discount.[59]
Alternative smaller store formats
The majority of IKEA stores are located outside of city centres, primarily because of land cost and traffic access. Smaller store formats have been unsuccessfully tested in the past (the "midi" concept in the early 1990s, which was tested inOttawa andHeerlen with 9,300 m2 (100,000 sq ft), or a "boutique" shop inManhattan).
New formats for full-size stores
IKEA located in the city centre ofSouthampton, England
A new format for a full-size, city centre store was introduced with the opening of theManchester store, situated inAshton-under-Lyne in 2006. Another store, inCoventry, opened in December 2007. The store had seven floors and a flow different from that of other IKEA stores; however, it closed down in 2020 due to the site being deemed unsuitable for future business.[60] IKEA'sSouthampton store that opened in February 2009 is also in the city centre and built in an urban style similar to that of the Coventry store. IKEA built these stores in response to UK government restrictions on large retail establishments outside city centres.[61]
Adaptation to Japanese market
Japan was another market where IKEA performed badly, exited the market completely, and then re-entered with an alternative store design and layout with which it finally found success. IKEA entered the Japanese market in 1974 through a franchise arrangement with a local partner, only to withdraw in failure in 1986. Japan was one of the first markets outside its original core European market. Despite Japan being the then-second-largest economy in the world, IKEA did not adapt its store layout strategy to the Japanese consumer. Japanese consumers did not have a culture of DIY furniture assembly, and many in the early days had no way to haul flat-packs home to their small apartments. Nor did the store layouts familiar to European customers initially make sense to Japanese consumers, so before re-entering the Japanese market in 2006, IKEA management did extensive local market research on more effective store layouts. One area of local adaptation was the room displays common to every IKEA store worldwide. Rather than just replicate a European room layout, the Japan management was careful to set up room displays more closely resembling Japanese apartment rooms, such as one for "a typical Japanese teenage boy who likesbaseball andcomputer games".[62]
IKEA adapted its store location and services to the 'inner-city' format for expansion in China, unlike other countries where IKEA stores, for economic and planning restrictions reasons, tend to be just outside city centres. In China, planning restrictions are less of an issue due to the lack of cars for much of its customer base. Accordingly, in store design alternatives, IKEA has had to offer store locations and formats closer to public transportation. The store design alternative thinking and strategy in China has been to locate stores to facilitate access for non-car owning customers.[63] In some locations in China, IKEA stores can be found not in the usual suburban or near airport locations like other countries, but rather places such as downtown shopping centres with a 'mini-IKEA' store to attract shoppers. One store design alternative trend IKEA has implemented has been 'pop-up' stores along social media platforms in its advertising strategy, for the first time as a company, to reach new customer demographics while still reinforcing its global brand locally in China.[64]
IKEA moved into Topshop's former flagship store on 214 Oxford Street, central London, with the store officially opening on 1 May 2025.[65]
Small-sized stores
In Hong Kong, where shop space is limited and costly, IKEA has opened four stores, all in multi-storey commercial buildings. They are smaller than other IKEA stores but large by Hong Kong standards. In addition to tailoring store sizes for specific countries, IKEA alters the sizes of products to accommodate cultural differences.[66] In 2015, IKEA announced it would attempt smaller store designs at locations in Canada. IKEA claimed this new model would allow it to expand quickly into new markets rather than spending years opening a full-size store.[67]
IKEA at Mall Taman Anggrek, Jakarta
In 2020, IKEA opened atAl Wahda Mall inAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which, at 2,137 m2 (23,002 sq ft), was one of the smallest IKEA stores to date.[68][69][70][71] The company also opened at360 Mall inKuwait and inHarajuku, a trendy part ofTokyo, that same year. The size of the Kuwaiti 360 Mall store was slightly larger than Al Wahda's (despite bringing a similar concept), at 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft), built as an extension of the mall.[72] As for IKEA Harajuku, the 2,500 m2 (26,910 sq ft), 7-storey store houses the chain's first and onlykonbini concept.[73][74] In 2021, IKEA opened another one of its smallest stores, located at theJEM Mall in Jurong East,Singapore. Replacing the liquidated department storeRobinsons, IKEA Jurong is only 6,500 m2 (70,000 sq ft), encompassing three levels; it was the first location in Southeast Asia that did not provide the "Market Hall" warehouse in its store.[75][76] Also during 2021, IKEA opened a small-store-format location onBali, Indonesia, replacing the liquidated formerGiant hypermarket. IKEA Bali is dubbed "Customer Meeting Point", and is the smallest store to open thus far, at 1,200 m2 (13,000 sq ft).[77][78][79][80]
Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA's furniture is designed to beassembled by the customer. The company claims that this helps reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also more practical for European customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried.
IKEA contends that it has been a pioneering force insustainable approaches tomass consumer culture.[88] Kamprad calls this "democratic design", meaning that the company applies an integrated approach to manufacturing and design (see alsoenvironmental design). In response to theexplosion of human population and material expectations in the 20th and 21st centuries, the company implementseconomies of scale, capturing material streams and creating manufacturing processes that hold costs and resource use down, such as the extensive use ofmedium-density fibreboard ("MDF"), also called "particle board".
Notable items of IKEA furniture include thePoäng armchair, theBilly bookcase, and theKlippan sofa, all of which have sold by the tens of millions since the late 1970s and early 1980s.[89][90]
The IKEA and LEGO brands teamed up to create a range of simple storage solutions for children and adults.[91]
Furniture and product naming
IKEA products are identified by one-word (occasionally, two-word) names, predominantly in theSwedish language (or otherwiseScandinavian in origin).[92] With few exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by the company.[93] The company founder Kamprad wasdyslexic, and found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a long product code, made the products easier to identify and remember.[94] Products are usually named after locations in Scandinavian countries, using names of places in Sweden for sofas and coffee tables, Denmark for textiles, and Norway for beds. Lamps get their names from seas and lakes, while outdoor furniture is named after islands.[95]
A number of IKEA's products bearing Swedish names have (or have had) pronunciations that are humorous to some andoffensive to others (but no less "lost-in-translation"), by not only English-speakers but speakers of many different languages. At times, this product identification has resulted in certain names being changed or withdrawn completely from certain markets. More often than not, this confusion is simply a result of the Swedish language not being executed correctly, let alone understood, by the reader; nonetheless, this has resulted in potentially "naughty"—or even gravely offensive—connotations, depending on the area in question. Notable examples (for English-speakers) include a since-discontinued (2013) computer desk calledjerker (referring to "the jerks" or "jerks"), a foliar plant spray calledfukta ("moisten"), aworkbench calledfartfull ("speedy", "quick"),[96] and a table calledlyckhem (pronounced roughly as "look-em"), meaning "bliss" or a "happy home".
Due to several products being named after real places, some locales have ended-up sharing names with objects considered generally unpleasant, such as atoilet brush being named after the lake ofBolmen, or arubbish bin named after the Norwegian village ofTofte. In November 2021, VisitSweden.com launched ajocular campaign named "Discover the Originals", which invited tourists to visit the physical locations that have received such unfortunate associations with IKEA products.[97][98]
Design services
The first US Planning Studio located inManhattan, United States, in 2019, which closed in January 2022[99]
In March 2021, IKEA launched IKEA Studio in partnership withApple Inc., an app enabling customers to design full-scale rooms with IKEA furniture usingaugmented reality on aniPhone.[100]
Smart home
In 2016, IKEA started a move into the smart home business. The IKEA TRÅDFRI smart lighting kit was one of the first ranges signalling this change.[101] IKEA has also started a partnership withPhilips Hue.[102] The wireless charging furniture, integrating wirelessQi charging into everyday furniture, is another strategy for the smart home business.[103]
A collaboration to buildSonossmart speaker technology into furniture sold by IKEA was announced in December 2017.[104] The first products resulting from the collaboration launched in August 2019.[105]
Under the product name SYMFONISK, IKEA and Sonos have made two distinct wireless speakers that integrate with existing Sonos households or can be used to start with the Sonos ecosystem, one that's also a lamp and another that's a more traditional-looking bookshelf speaker. Both products, as well as accessories for the purpose of mounting the bookshelf speakers, have gone on sale worldwide on 1 August.[106]
From the start, IKEA SYMFONISK can only be controlled from the Sonos app, but IKEA added support for the speakers in their own Home Smart app to be paired with scenes that control both the lights, air purifiers, smart plugs and smart blinds together with the speakers.[8]
Houses and flats
IKEA has also expanded its product base to include flat-pack houses and apartments, in an effort to cut the prices involved in a first-time buyer's home. The IKEA product, named BoKlok, was launched in Sweden in 1996 in a joint venture withSkanska. Now working in the Nordic countries and in the UK, sites confirmed in England include London,Ashton-under-Lyne,Leeds,Gateshead,Warrington, Bristol, andLiverpool.[107]
Solar PV systems
At the end of September 2013, the company announced that solar panel packages, so-called "residential kits", for houses would be sold at 17 UK stores by mid-2014. The decision followed a successful pilot project at the Lakeside IKEA store, whereby onephotovoltaic system was sold almost every day. The solarCIGS panels are manufactured bySolibro, a German-based subsidiary of the Chinese companyHanergy.[108][109] By the end of 2014, IKEA began to sell Solibro's solar residential kits in the Netherlands and in Switzerland.[110] In November 2015, IKEA ended its contract withHanergy and in April 2016 started working withSolarcentury to sell solar panels in the United Kingdom.[111] The deal would allow customers to be able to order panels online and at three stores before being expanded to all United Kingdom stores by the end of summer.[112]
Furniture rental
In April 2019, the company announced that it would begin test marketing a new concept, renting furniture to customers. One of the motivating factors was that inexpensive IKEA products were viewed as "disposable" and often ended up being scrapped after a few years of use. This was at a time when, especially younger buyers, said they wanted to minimize their impact on the environment. The company understood this view. In an interview, Jesper Brodin, the chief executive of Ingka Group (the largest franchisee of IKEA stores), commented that "climate change and unsustainable consumption are among the biggest challenges we face in society".[113] The other strategic objectives of the plan were to be more affordable and more convenient. The company said it would test the rental concept in all 30 markets by 2020, expecting it to increase the number of times a piece of furniture would be used before recycling.[114]
Restaurant and food markets
An IKEA Bistro in Hong KongSwedish Food Market in Hong KongIKEA restaurant inCoquitlam, British Columbia, CanadaSwedish meatballsAn IKEA Bistro inSantiago, Chile
The first IKEA store opened in 1958 with a small cafe that transitioned into a full-blown restaurant in 1960 that,[115] until 2011, sold branded Swedish prepared specialist foods, such as meatballs, packages ofgravy,lingonberry jam, various biscuits and crackers, and salmon andfish roe spread. The new label has a variety of items, including chocolates, meatballs, jams, pancakes, salmon, and various drinks.[116][117]
Although the cafes primarily serve Swedish food, the menu varies based on the culture, food, and location of each store.[118] With restaurants in 38 countries, the menu often incorporates local dishes, including shawarma in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, poutine in Canada, macarons in France, and gelato in Italy.[119] In Indonesia, the Swedish meatballs recipe is changed to accommodate the country's halal requirements.[120] Stores in Israel sellkosher food under rabbinical supervision.[121] The kosher restaurants are separated into dairy and meat areas.[122]
In many locations, the IKEA restaurants open daily before the rest of the store and serve breakfast.[123][124] All food products are based on Swedish recipes and traditions. Food accounted for 5% of IKEA's sales by 2019.[125]
IKEA sells plant-based meatballs made from potatoes, apples, pea protein, and oats in all of its stores.[126] According to United States journalistAvery Yale Kamila, IKEA began testing its plant-based meatballs in 2014, then launched the plant-based meatballs in 2015 and began testingvegan hot dogs in 2018.[127][128][129] In 2019, journalist James Hansen reported inEater London that IKEA would only sell vegetarian food at Christmas time.[130]
Småland
Every store has a children'splay area, named Småland (Swedish forsmall lands; it is also the Swedish province ofSmåland where founder Kamprad was born). Parents drop off their children at a gate to the playground and pick them up after they arrive at another entrance. In some stores, parents are given freepagers by the on-site staff, which the staff can use to summon parents whose children need them earlier than expected; in others, staff summon parents through announcements over the in-store public address system or by calling them on their mobile phones.[131] The largest Småland play area is located at the IKEA store inNavi Mumbai, India.[132]
IKEA Preowned
In August 2024, Ikea announced it would be trialing an online marketplace where customers can connect to buy and sell pre-owned items made by Ikea.
The marketplace, called "IKEA Preowned", would run from August until December 2024 and be centred on the cities of Oslo, Norway and Madrid, Spain.[133][134]
As of 2012[update], IKEA has a joint venture withTCL to provide Uppleva integrated HDTV and entertainment system products.[140][141]
In mid-August 2012, the company announced that it would establish a chain of 100 economy hotels in Europe, but, unlike its few existing hotels in Scandinavia, they would not carry the IKEA name, nor would they use IKEA furniture and furnishings – they would be operated by an unnamed international group of hoteliers.[142] As of 30 April 2018, however, the company owned only a single hotel, the IKEA Hotell in Älmhult, Sweden.
It was previously planned to open another one, inNew Haven, Connecticut, United States, after converting the historic Pirelli Building. The company received approval for the concept from the city's planning commission in mid-November 2018; the building was to include 165 rooms, and the property would offer 129 dedicated parking spaces. Research in April 2019 provided no indication that the hotel had been completed as of that time.[143][144] The building was then sold to Connecticut architect and developer Becker + Becker for $1.2million.[145] Opening in 2022 underHotel Marcel, it is managed by Charlestowne Hotels and became part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection.[146][147]
In September 2017, IKEA announced it would be acquiring the UD companyTaskRabbit. The deal, completed later that year, has TaskRabbit operating as an independent company.[149]
In March 2020, IKEA announced that it had partnered withPizza Hut Hong Kong on a joint venture. IKEA launched a new side table called SÄVA. The table, designed to resemble apizza saver, would be boxed in packaging resembling apizza box, and the building instructions included a suggestion to order a Swedish meatball pizza from Pizza Hut, which would contain the same meatballs served in IKEA restaurants.[150][151]
In April 2020, IKEA acquired AI imaging startup Geomagical Labs.[152][153]
Ingka Centres, IKEA's malls division, announced in December 2021 that it would open two malls, anchored by IKEA stores, inGurugram andNoida in India at a cost of around₹9,000 crore (US$1.1 billion). Both malls are expected to open by 2025.[155]
In 2016, IKEA Canada partnered with the Setsuné Indigenous Fashion Incubator, co-founded bySage Paul, to design and produce the collection ÅTERSTÄLLA, which means to restore, heal, or redecorate, and it was made entirely from salvaged Ikea textiles, reflecting the traditional Indigenous value to "use everything".[156]
Flowchart showing the structure and ownership of IKEA companies. Parent companies are at the top of the chart. Provides services to |Is the parent of |Provides funding to
IKEA is owned and operated by a series ofnot-for-profit andfor-profit corporations. The corporate structure is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising.
INGKA Holding B.V., based in the Netherlands, owns the Ingka Group, which takes care of the centres, retails, customer fulfillment, and all the other services related to IKEA products. The IKEA brand is owned and managed byInter IKEA Systems B.V., based in the Netherlands, owned byInter IKEA Holding B.V. Inter IKEA Holding is also in charge of design, manufacturing and supply of IKEA products.
Inter IKEA Systems is owned by Inter IKEA Holding BV, a company registered in the Netherlands, formerly registered in Luxembourg (under the name Inter IKEA Holding SA). Inter IKEA Holding, in turn, is owned by the Interogo Foundation, based in Liechtenstein.[157][158] In 2016, the INGKA Holding sold its design, manufacturing and logistics subsidiaries to Inter IKEA Holding.[159]
In June 2013, Ingvar Kamprad resigned from the board of Inter IKEA Holding SA, and his youngest son, Mathias Kamprad, replaced Per Ludvigsson as the chairman of the holding company. Following his decision to step down, the 87-year-old founder explained, "I see this as a good time for me to leave the board of Inter IKEA Group. By that we are also taking another step in the generation shift that has been ongoing for some years."[160] After the 2016 company restructure, Inter IKEA Holding SA no longer exists, having reincorporated in the Netherlands. Mathias Kamprad became a board member of the Inter IKEA Group and the Interogo Foundation.[161] Mathias and his two older brothers, who also have leadership roles at IKEA, work on the corporation's overall vision and long-term strategy.[160]
Along with helping IKEA make a non-taxable profit, IKEA's complicated corporate structure allowed Kamprad to maintain tight control over the operations of INGKA Holding, and thus the operation of most IKEA stores. The INGKA Foundation's five-person executive committee was chaired by Kamprad. It appoints a board of INGKA Holding, approves any changes to INGKA Holding's bylaws, and has the right to preempt new share issues. If a member of the executive committee quits or dies, the other four members appoint their replacement.
In Kamprad's absence, the foundation's bylaws include specific provisions requiring it to continue operating the INGKA Holding group and specifying that shares can be sold only to another foundation with the same objectives as the INGKA Foundation.[157]
Financial information
IKEA Concept Centre inDelft – the head office of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., which owns the IKEA trademark and concept
The net profit of IKEA Group (which does not include Inter IKEA systems) in fiscal year 2009 (after paying franchise fees to Inter IKEA systems) was €2.538billion on sales of €21.846billion.[citation needed] Because INGKA Holding is owned by the non-profit INGKA Foundation, none of this profit is taxed. The foundation's nonprofit status also means that the Kamprad family cannot reap these profits directly, but the Kamprads do collect a portion of IKEA sales profits through the franchising relationship between INGKA Holding and Inter IKEA Systems.[citation needed]
As a franchisee, the Ingka Group pays 3% ofroyalties to Inter IKEA Systems.[21][20] Inter IKEA Systems collected €631million offranchise fees in 2004 but reported pre-tax profits of only €225million in 2004. One of the major pre-tax expenses that Inter IKEA systems reported was €590million of "other operating charges". IKEA has refused to explain these charges, but Inter IKEA Systems appears to make large payments to I.I. Holding, another Luxembourg-registered group that, according toThe Economist, "is almost certain to be controlled by the Kamprad family". I.I. Holding made a profit of €328million in 2004.
In 2004, the Inter IKEA group of companies and I.I. Holding reported combined profits of €553m and paid €19m in taxes, or approximately 3.5 percent.[157]
IKEA has avoided millions of euros in taxes[162] performing some intricate mechanisms[163] and it was noted by the EU back in 2017. The main countries where they operated their business using tax loopholes were theNetherlands,Luxembourg, andBelgium.
Public Eye, a non-profit organisation in Switzerland that promotes corporate responsibility, has formally criticised IKEA for its tax avoidance strategies. In 2007, the organisation nominated IKEA for one of its Public Eye "awards", which highlight corporate irresponsibility.[164]
Although IKEA originated in Sweden, their household products and furniture products are manufactured in many different countries, in order to achieve cost efficiency. For most of its products, the final assembly is performed by the end-user (consumer).
Swedwood, an IKEA subsidiary, produces all of the company's wood-based products, with the largest Swedwood factory located in Southern Poland. According to the subsidiary, over 16,000 employees across 50 sites in 10 countries manufacture the 100million pieces of furniture that IKEA sells annually. IKEA furniture uses the hardwood alternativeparticle board.Hultsfred, a factory in southern Sweden, is the company's sole supplier.
Distribution centre efficiency and flexibility have been one of IKEA's ongoing priorities, and thus it has implemented automated, robotic warehouse systems andwarehouse management systems (WMS). Such systems facilitate a merger of the traditional retail and mail order sales channels into anomni-channel fulfillment model.[166] In 2020, Ikea was noted bySupply Chain magazine as having one of the most automated warehouse systems in the world.[167]
In the 1980s under the rule of the Romanian dictatorNicolae Ceaușescu, Romania's secret police, theSecuritate, received six-figure payments from IKEA.[168][169] According to declassified files at the National College for Studying the Securitate Archives, IKEA agreed to overcharge for products made inRomania and some of the overpayment funds were deposited into an account controlled by the Securitate.[170]
Labour practices
During the 1980s, IKEA kept its costs down by using production facilities inEast Germany. A portion of the workforce at those factories consisted ofpolitical prisoners. This fact, revealed in a report byErnst & Young commissioned by the company, resulted from the intermingling of criminals and political dissidents in the state-owned production facilities IKEA contracted with, a practice which was generally known in West Germany. IKEA was one of a number of companies, including West German firms, which benefited from this practice. The investigation resulted from attempts by former political prisoners to obtain compensation. In November 2012, IKEA admitted being aware at the time of the possibility of use offorced labour and failing to exercise sufficient control to identify and avoid it. A summary of the Ernst & Young report was released on 16 November 2012.[171]
IKEA was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 and 2005 byWorking Mothers magazine.[174] It ranked 80 inFortune's 200 Best Companies to Work For in 2006 and in October 2008, IKEA Canada LP was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc.[175]
Environmental initiatives
Yellow IKEA recyclable shopping bagLED lamp display at an IKEA in Hong Kong
Umbrella initiatives
After initial environmental issues like the highly publicizedformaldehyde scandals in the early 1980s and 1992,[176][177][178] IKEA took a proactive stance on environmental issues and tried to prevent future incidents through a variety of measures.[179] In 1990, IKEA invitedKarl-Henrik Robèrt, founder ofthe Natural Step, to address its board of directors. Robert's system conditions for sustainability provided astrategic approach to improving the company's environmental performance. In 1990, IKEA adopted the Natural Step framework as the basis for its environmental plan.[180] This led to the development of an Environmental Action Plan, which was adopted in 1992. The plan focused on structural change, allowing IKEA to "maximize the impact of resources invested and reduce the energy necessary to address isolated issues".[180] The environmental measures taken include the following:
Replacingpolyvinylchloride (PVC) in wallpapers, home textiles, shower curtains, lampshades, and furniture – PVC has been eliminated from packaging and is being phased out in electric cables;
Minimizing the use offormaldehyde in its products, including textiles;
Introducing a series of air-inflatable furniture products into the product line. Such products reduce the use of raw materials for framing and stuffing and reduce transportation weight and volume to about 15% of that of conventional furniture;
Reducing the use ofchromium for metal surface treatment;
Using wood from responsibly managed forests that replant and maintainbiological diversity;
Using onlyrecyclable materials for flat packaging and "pure" (non-mixed) materials for packaging to assist in recycling;[180]
Introducing rental bicycles with trailers for customers in Denmark.[181]
In 2000, IKEA[182] introduced its code of conduct for suppliers that covers social, safety, and environmental questions. Today,[when?] IKEA has around 60 auditors who perform hundreds of supplier audits every year. The main purpose of these audits is to make sure that the IKEA suppliers follow the law in each country where they are based.
As of March 2018[update], IKEA has signed on with 25 other companies to participate in theBritish Retail Consortium's Better Retail Better World initiative, which challenges companies to meet objectives outlined by the United NationsSustainable Development Goals.[183]
Product life cycle
To make IKEA a more sustainable company, a product life cycle was created. For the idea stage, products should be flat-packed so that more items can be shipped at once; products should also be easier to dismantle and recycle. Raw materials are used, and since wood and cotton are two of IKEA's most important manufacturing products, the company works with environmentally friendly forests and cotton, whereby the excessive use of chemicals and water is avoided.[184]
IKEA stores recycle waste and many run on renewable energy. All employees are trained in environmental and social responsibility, while public transit is one of the priorities when the location of stores is considered. Also, the coffee and chocolate served at IKEA stores isUTZ Certified.[185]
The last stage of the life cycle is the end of life. Most IKEA stores recycle light bulbs and drained batteries, and the company is also exploring the recycling of sofas and other home furnishing products.
Energy sources
In August 2008, IKEA announced that it had created IKEA GreenTech, a €50million venture capital fund. Located inLund (a university town in Sweden), it will invest in 8–10 companies in the coming five years with a focus onsolar panels, alternative light sources, product materials, energy efficiency, and water saving and purification. The aim is to commercialise green technologies for sale in IKEA stores within 3–4 years.[186][187]
On 17 February 2011, IKEA announced its plans to develop a wind farm inDalarna County, Sweden, furthering its goal of using only renewable energy to fuel its operations.[188] As of June 2012[update],[needs update] 17 United States IKEA stores are powered by solar panels, with 22 additional installations in progress,[189] and IKEA owns the 165 MW Cameron Wind farm inCameron County on the South Texas coast[190] and a42 MW coastal wind farm in Finland.[191]
In September 2019, IKEA announced that they would be investing $2.8billion in renewable energy infrastructure. The company is targeting making their entire supply chain climate positive by 2030.[192]
The group is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it the largest individual user of wood in the world.[193][194] IKEA claims to use 99.5% recycled orFSC-certified wood.[195] However, IKEA has been shown to be involved in unsustainable and most likelyillegal logging of old-growth and protected forests in multiple Eastern European countries in recent years.[193][196][197]
IKEA is the world's largest buyer and retailer of wood.[193] In 2015, IKEA claimed to use 1% of the world's supply of timber.[198]
According to IKEA's 2021Sustainability Report, 99.5% of all wood that the company uses is either recycled or meets the standards of theForest Stewardship Council. IKEA states that "[a]ll wood used for IKEA products must meet our critical requirements that ensure it's not (e.g.) sourced from illegally harvested forests [...]".[195] However, despite these claims, IKEA has been involved in unsustainable and most likely illegal logging of wood in multiple Eastern European countries in recent years. It has been accused ofgreenwashing by organisations such asCorporate Europe Observatory andGreenpeace which criticized the company's logging practices inRussian,Romanian andUkrainian forests.[199][200][201]
IKEA owns about 55,000 hectares (136,000 acres) of forest in the US and about 180,000 hectares (450,000 acres) in Europe.[202][203]
On 14 January 2021, IKEA announced that Ingka Investments had acquired approximately 4,386 hectares (10,840 acres) near theAltamaha River Basin in the US state ofGeorgia fromThe Conservation Fund. The acquisition comes with the agreement "to protect the land from fragmentation, restore the longleaf pine forest, and safe-guard the habitat of the gopher tortoise".[204][205]
IKEA is reported to be the largest private landowner in Romania since 2015.[193]
Use of wood
In 2011, the company examined its wood consumption and noticed that almost half of its global pine and spruce consumption was for the fabrication ofpallets. The company consequently started a transition to the use of paper pallets and the "OptiLedge system".[206] The OptiLedge product is completely recyclable, made from 100% virgin high-impactcopolymer polypropylene (PP) plastic. The system is a "unit load alternative to the use of a pallet. The system consists of the OptiLedge (usually used in pairs), aligned and strapped to the bottom carton to form a base layer upon which to stack more products. Corner boards are used when strapping to minimize the potential for package compression." The conversion began in Germany and Japan, before its introduction into the rest of Europe and North America.[207] The system has been marketed to other companies, and IKEA has formed the OptiLedge company to manage and sell the product.[208]
Packaging and bags
Since March 2013, IKEA has stopped providingplastic bags to customers, but offersreusable bags for sale.[209] The IKEA restaurants also only offer reusable plates, knives, forks, spoons, etc. Toilets in some IKEA WC-rooms have been outfitted withdual-function flushers. IKEA has recycling bins forcompact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), energy-saving bulbs, and batteries.
In 2001, IKEA was one of the first companies to operate its own cross-border goods trains through several countries in Europe.[210]
Electric vehicles
IKEA has expanded its sustainability plan in the UK to include electric car charge points for customers at all locations by the end of 2013.[211][needs update] The effort will includeNissan andEcotricity and promise to deliver an 80% charge in 30 minutes.[212]
From 2016, IKEA has only sold energy-efficientLED lightbulbs, lamps, and light fixtures. LED lightbulbs use as little as 15% of the power of a regularincandescent light bulb.[213]
Donations made by IKEA
TheINGKA Foundation is officially dedicated to promoting "innovations in architecture and interior design".[157] The net worth of the foundation exceeded the net worth of the much better knownGates Foundation (now the largest private foundation in the world) for a period.[214] However, most of the Group's profit is spent on investment.
IKEA is involved in several international charitable causes, particularly in partnership withUNICEF, including:
In the wake of the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, IKEA Australia agreed to match dollar-for-dollar co-workers' donations and donated all sales of the IKEA Blue Bag to the cause.
IKEA has provided furniture for over 100 "bridge schools" in Liberia.[216]
Following the2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, IKEA Beijing sold an alligator toy for 40yuan (US$5.83, €3.70) with all income going to the children in the earthquake-struck area.
In 2013, IKEA donated more than $2.6million to UNICEF to help children and families affected byTyphoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
In September 2005, IKEA Social Initiative was formed to manage the company's social involvement on a global level. IKEA Social Initiative is headed by Marianne Barner.[222]
On 23 February 2009, at theECOSOC event in New York, UNICEF announced that IKEA Social Initiative had become the agency's largest corporate partner, with total commitments of more than US$180million (£281,079,000).[225][226]
Examples of involvement:
The IKEA Social Initiative contributes €1 (£1.73) to UNICEF andSave the Children from each soft toy sold during the holiday seasons, raising a total of €16.7million (£28.91million) so far.[227] In 2013, an IKEA soft toy,Lufsig, created a storm and sold out in Hong Kong and in Southern China because it had been misnamed in Chinese.[228]
The IKEA Social Initiative provided soft toys to children in Burma afterCyclone Nargis.[229]
Starting in June 2009, for every Sunnan solar-powered lamp sold in IKEA stores worldwide, IKEA Social Initiative will donate one Sunnan with the help of UNICEF.[230]
In September 2011,[231] the IKEA Foundation pledged to donate $62million to help Somali refugees in Kenya.[23]
According toThe Economist, however, IKEA's charitable giving is meager, "barely a rounding error in the foundation's assets".[23]
In 2009, Sweden's largest television station,SVT, revealed that IKEA's money—the three per cent collection from each store—does not actually go to a charitable foundation in the Netherlands, as IKEA has said. Inter IKEA is owned by a foundation inLiechtenstein, called Interogo, which has amassed $12billion (£18billion), and is controlled by the Kamprad family.[23]
IKEA used to publish an annual catalogue, first published in Swedish in 1951.[232] It is considered to be the main marketing tool of the company, consuming 70% of its annual marketing budget.[233] The catalogue is distributed both in stores and by mail,[234] with most of it being produced by IKEA Communications AB in IKEA's hometown ofÄlmhult, Sweden.[235] At its peak in 2016, 200million copies of the catalogue were distributed in 32 languages to more than 50 markets.[236] In December 2020, IKEA announced that they would cease publication of both the print and digital versions of the catalogue, with the 2021 edition (released in 2020) being the final edition.[237]
In common with some other retailers, IKEA launched aloyalty card called "IKEA Family". The card is free of charge and can be used to obtain discounts on certain products found in-store. It is available worldwide. In conjunction with the card, IKEA also publishes and sells a printed quarterly magazine titledIKEA Family Live which supplements the card and catalogue. The magazine is already printed in thirteen languages and an English edition for the United Kingdom was launched in February 2007. It is expected to have a subscription of over 500,000.[238]
IKEA Place app
On 12 September 2017, IKEA announced the augmented reality app, IKEA Place, following by Apple's release of its ARkit technology andiOS 11.[239] IKEA Place helps consumers to visualize true to scale IKEA products into real environment.[240]
Advertising
In 1994, IKEA ran a commercial in the United States, titledDining Room, widely thought to be the first to feature a homosexual couple; it aired for several weeks before being withdrawn after calls for a boycott and a bomb threat directed at IKEA stores.[241] Other IKEA commercials appeal to the widerLGBTQ community, one featuring atransgender woman.[242]
In 2002, the inaugural television component of the "Unböring" campaign, titledLamp, went on to win several awards, including aGrand Clio,[243] Golds at the London International Awards[244] and the ANDY Awards,[245] and the Grand Prix at theCannes Lions International Advertising Festival,[246] the most prestigious awards ceremony in the advertising community.
A debate ensued between Fraser Patterson, Chief Executive of Onis, and Andrew McGuinness, partner atBeattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB), the advertising and PR agency that was awarded the £12 million IKEA account.[247][248] The essence of the debate was that BMB claimed to be unaware of Onis's campaign as Onis was not an advertising agency. Onis's argument was that its advertising could be seen in prominent landmarks throughout London, having already been accredited, showing concern about the impact IKEA's campaign would have on the originality of its own. BMB and IKEA subsequently agreed to provide Onis with a feature page on the IKEA campaign site linking through to Onis's website for a period of one year.
In 2008, IKEA paired up with the makers of the video gameThe Sims 2 to make astuff pack calledIKEA Home Stuff, featuring many IKEA products. It was released on 24 June 2008 in North America and on 26 June 2008 in Europe. It is the second stuff pack with a major brand, the first beingThe Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff.
In November 2008, a subway train decorated in IKEA style was introduced inNovosibirsk, Russia.[249] Four cars were turned into a mobile showroom of the Swedish design. The redesigned train, which features colourful seats and fancy curtains, carried passengers until 6 June 2009.
In March 2010, IKEA developed an event in four importantMétro stations in Paris, in which furniture collections are displayed in high-traffic spots, giving potential customers a chance to check out the brand's products. The Métro walls were also filled with prints that showcase IKEA interiors.
In September 2017, IKEA launched the "IKEA Human Catalogue" campaign, in which memory championYanjaa Wintersoul memorized all 328 pages of the catalogue in minute detail in just a week before its launch. To prove the legitimacy and accuracy of the campaign, live demonstrations were held at press conferences in IKEA stores across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand as well as aFacebook Live event held at the Facebook Singapore headquarters and talk show demonstrations in the US withSteve Harvey among others.[250] The advertising campaign was hugely successful winning numerous industry awards including theWebby award 2018 for best social media campaign,[251] anOgilvy award and is currently a contender for theCannes Lions 2018.[252]
In 2020, IKEA conducted a "Buy Back Friday" campaign with a message to present a new life to old furniture instead of offering customers to buy new items for Black Friday.[253]
In June 2021, IKEA said it had suspended adverts onGB News because of concerns the channel's content would go against its aim to be inclusive. In a statement, IKEA said: "We have safeguards in place to prevent our advertising from appearing on platforms that are not in line with our humanistic values. We are in the process of investigating how this may have occurred to ensure it won't happen again in future, and have suspended paid display advertising in the meantime."[254]
At the end of August 2023, IKEA launched a 6-second advertisement titled “Ads That Skip You” highlighting the benefits of neat organization.[255][256] Created by agency Leo Burnett India, the ad illustrates quickly finding items with time to press "skip ad."[257][258][259] The view-through rate exceeded expectations by over 35%, reaching above 90% in all targeted markets. Additionally, there was an overall increase of 32% in clicks compared to the original target.[260] In September 2024, IKEA added a fresh twist to its marketing strategy by transforming everyday windows into out-of-home advertising spaces.[261]
In popular culture
In 2018, the company's plush toy shark "Blåhaj" was widely used in aninternet meme,[262][263][264] with social media users posting humorous photos of it in their homes.[265]
IKEA has been referenced a number of times in novelty music. In 2003, American musicianJonathan Coulton released the song "IKEA" on the albumSmoking Monkey. In 2005, British musicianMitch Benn with the bandThe Distractions penned thenovelty song "Ikea".[266] In December 2019,comedy metal bandNanowar of Steel released the songValhallelujah which is dedicated toOdin and IKEA. The music video features alongship with the sail adorned with the IKEA logo, and a fictional IKEA catalogue written inOld Norserunes. The lyrics include references to various IKEA products, namely BEDDINGE, KIVIK, VITTSJÖ, KNOPPARP, BESTÅ and SLATTUM.[267]
The 1999 American movieFight Club references IKEA furniture to show the consumerist culture of modern times.
IKEA stores have been featured in many works of fiction. Some examples include:
The 2009 American film500 Days of Summer features the main characters flirting around the showroom of an IKEA store. It was filmed on location at an IKEA store. One of the tracks from the film's score is entitled "Ikea" to reflect the scene.[269]
The 2014 novelThe Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by French authorRomain Puertolas features a trip to an IKEA store in Paris, France.[271]
The 2014 horror comedy novelHorrorstör is set in a haunted store called ORSK, modelled on IKEA, and the novel is designed to look like the IKEA catalogue.[272]
TheSCP Foundation, an online collaborative horror writing community documenting fictional anomalies, features an entry (numbered SCP-3008) originating in 2017 about an IKEA store which is notably bigger on the inside than its exterior implies, and from which escaping is difficult.[273][274] The interior of this store is populated by entities dressed in IKEA staff attire, resembling highly deformed, faceless humanoids, which are normally passive during the "day" (when the lights are switched on) but become aggressive during the "night" (when the lights are switched off), informing 'customers' to "leave the store", and enforcing this if not listened to.
A number ofsurvival horror video games have been created based on SCP-3008.[275]
The 2021 children's picture bookBears Out of The Box features IKEA's Fabler Bjorn doll, who is trying to venture outside the store.[276][277]
^Fortini, Amanda (12 September 2016)."Ikea Forever".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved2 October 2017.
^"The Solibro CIGS Technology".Solibro GmbH. Archived fromthe original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved20 January 2017.Residential kit for IKEA in the Netherlands and Switzerland
^"IKEA to test furniture rental in 30 countries".Reuters. 6 April 2019.Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved9 April 2019.KAARST, Germany (Reuters), IKEA wants to roll out furniture rental to all its main markets in a bid to appeal to its increasingly environmentally conscious and transient customers.
^"Pirelli Hotel Plan Survives Surprise Attack".Independent. 15 November 2018.Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved9 April 2019.The approved plans call for a 165-room hotel, 129 dedicated parking spaces, 200 square feet of bicycle storage in the bottom of the IKEA sign, stormwater management, and landscaping improvements, a reconfiguration of IKEA's existing 1,241-space surface lot, and the repair and cleaning up of the building's facade. The proposal does not call for any changes to be made to the building's exterior.
^abcdSammon, Alexander; Renault, Marion; Renault, Marion; Cummins, Eleanor; Cummins, Eleanor; Lee, Kevin; Lee, Kevin; Shapiro, Walter; Shapiro, Walter; Beyerstein, Lindsay; Beyerstein, Lindsay; Haas, Lidija; Haas, Lidija (16 February 2022)."Ikea's Race for the Last of Europe's Old-Growth Forest".The New Republic (published 6 February 2022).Archived from the original on 22 July 2022. Retrieved22 July 2022.
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