IKEA is the world’s biggest furniture store. It is concluded that around 10% of all Europeans alive today were conceived on an IKEA bed. Despite its success, though, every company has some secret and IKEA still has quite a few dark secrets and a number of exciting trivia bits. These 10 facts about the company are sure to spark your interest in the things that happen behind the scenes of IKEA. And everybody loves to know secrets. Let’s get started.
Picture Courtesy: www.ikea.com
1. The Store Was Designed By A Nazi Sympathizer. Founder Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA in 1943. He was only 17 year young at the time. He was also associated with fund-raising and recruitment for the pro-fascist, New Swedish Movement, an anti-Semitist group that indicated Swedish Nationalism. But in 1994, Kamprad declared it was the biggest mistake of his life. He regretted his engagement with the group and wrote a letter to every Jewish employee on his team to personally apologize for his acts. The issue caused a minor dispute when IKEA opened its 1st store in Israel. The country seemed to forgive him in the end and IKEA is now only a handful of companies to have stores in Israel and other Muslim Middle Eastern countries.
2. It is originally A Charity. If Nazism wasn’t bad enough, IKEA is also has one of the most detailed tax evasion schemes of any company that still controls to operate within the law. INGKA Holding B.V., a Dutch corporation owned IKEA that is managed by a non-profit Dutch foundation associated as the Stitching Ingka Foundation, which was established by Kamprad in 1982. This Foundation is headed by a 5 person committee that involves Kamprad, his wife, and his attorney. IKEA’s intellectual property is maintained by Inter IKEA Systems, indirectly owned by the Inerogo Foundation, which is also managed by Kamprad and his family. IKEA has to pay 3% of its earnings to the foundation to license its own trademarks. Because IKEA is owned by foundations, none of its earnings are taxed, making the Ingka Foundation the biggest charity in the world, with a net worth of 36 billion dollars. The charity isn’t nearly as generous as most, so it only gave away 65 million Dollars in 2010. To put that in the scene, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a net worth of 33 billion Dollars and they give away around 1.5 billion Dollars each year. The whole scheme is pretty complicated, so we leave this topic here.
3. The Name is basically An Acronym. While most people think IKEA is a Swedish word or a senseless word like Kodak, it is actually an acronym with close ties to Ingvar Kamprad’s heart. The letters stand for his initials, the first alphabet for the farm he grew up in, Elmtaryd, and the town the farm was located in, Agunnaryd. Now it’s not just a nonsense word. Right?
Picture Courtesy: www.ikea.com
4. Few peoples know that IKEA Also Sell Houses. If you live in Scandinavia or the UK, don’t need to search for a real estate agent, head to IKEA and take a flat-pack house for a portion of the cost. The BoKlok houses were basically released in Sweden in 1996 and have since expanded to IKEA stores across Northern Europe.
5. Their Catalog Is More Famous Than The Bible. Sounds like a rumour or a lie. Ok, but every year, there are almost 3 times more copies of the catalog published than the bible. They began printing the catalog in 1951 and it has since taken on a world of its own, using a full 70% of the company’s marketing budget each year and generating a devoted fan base of people who examine the images looking for obscure books in the bookshelves, Mickey Mouse references and cats sneaking in the fake households. There are now 55 editions published in 27 languages each year.
Picture Courtesy: www.ikea.com
6. You Can Purchase Their Merchandise For Your Virtual Family. If you’re running out of place in your home for all the great IKEA stuff you really want to have, perhaps you should consider shopping for your virtual home preferably. Since 2008, players of The Sims 2 have had the feature to buy the IKEA Home Stuff pack and set out their character’s houses with the décor.
7. The Store Really Is A Big Name now. Most of you have apparently become used to IKEA and no longer want to consider other store, because all that special stuff could not there, and for many people, the opportunity to shop in the Swedish furniture store is an exciting chance – especially you know, they are offering 150$ gift certificates to the first people who buy there. This specific promotion actually leads to the deaths of 3 people when the store opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2004. Please check the crowd first when you go there. It’s a joke. Well, be cautious.
Picture Courtesy: www.ikea.com
8. It Can Be An Excellent Way For Parents To Get A Break. Many stores give free daycares centres with playgrounds and beepers that can be used to reach the parent if the child needs mom or dad before they complete shopping. Stressed-out parents can also enjoy a nice meal, a rest in one of the bedroom displays or an actual shopping tour knowing their little ones are protected and secure within the same building.
9. They Were The First Company To Highlight A Gay Relationship In a Commercial. While the commercial only showed once in 1994, it was still a big deal for such a big company to publish an ad with a homosexual couples. Since then, the company had run a number of ads aiming the gay community, containing one of the first ads to star a transgender person.
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