IKEA

IKEA (Swedish: [ɪˈkêːa]; US: /aɪˈkiːə/) is a Swedish multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been the world's largest furniture retailer since 2008.[6][7][8][9][10] The brand used by the group is derived from an acronym that consists of the founder's initials, and those of Elmtaryd, the family farm where he was born, and the nearby village Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).[11][12]

Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
IKEA (8020223012).jpg
Ikea store in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Type
Private
Industry
Retail
Founded
28 July 1943; 79 years ago[1] in Sweden
Founder
Ingvar Kamprad
Headquarters
52.1673°N 4.4819°E, Delft, Netherlands
Number of locations
445 (2021)[2]
Area served
Europe
Middle East
North Africa
East Asia
India
Southeast Asia
Oceania
North America
South America
Key people
Jesper Brodin (Chairman and CEO of INGKA Holding)[3]
Jon Abrahamsson Ring (Chairman and CEO of the Inter IKEA Holding)[4]
Products
Ready-to-assemble furniture
Homeware
Food products
Revenue
Increase €41.9 billion (2021)[5]
Website
The group is primarily known for its modernist designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with simplicity. In addition, the firm is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and continuous product development that has allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent.

As of March 2021, there are 422 IKEA stores operating in 50 countries[13] and in fiscal year 2018, €38.8 billion (US$44.6 billion) worth of IKEA goods were sold.[14] For multiple reasons, including lowering taxes payable, IKEA uses a complicated corporate structure. Within this structure, all IKEA stores are operated under franchise from Inter IKEA Systems B.V. which handles branding, design, manufacturing, and supply. Another part of the IKEA group, Ingka Group, operates the majority of IKEA stores as a franchisee and pays royalties to Inter IKEA Systems B.V.[15][16] Some IKEA stores are also operated by independent franchisees.[17]

The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and there were over 2.1 billion visitors to IKEA's websites in the year from September 2015 to August 2016.[18][19]

The group is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.[20] IKEA claims to use 99.5% recycled or FSC-certified wood.[21] However, IKEA has been shown to be involved in unsustainable and most likely illegal logging of old-growth and protected forests in multiple Eastern European countries in recent years.