IKEA Celebrates 80th Anniversary... Highlighting the Founder’s Entrepreneurial Spirit

The first IKEA store opened in 1958 in ?lmhult, Sweden.

Global furniture company IKEA has celebrated its 80th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, IKEA adopted the slogan "Assembling a Better Future Together" and took time to reflect on its history and legacy.

IKEA was founded on July 28, 1943, in the small village of ?lmhult in Sm?land, Sweden. The founder, Ingvar Kamprad, who was 17 years old at the time, started with a small-scale mail-order business, personally transporting products by bicycle. Today, IKEA operates 462 customer touchpoints across 62 countries worldwide. In the 2022 fiscal year (September 1, 2021 ? August 31, 2022), the offline stores recorded approximately 700 million cumulative visits, online visits reached about 2.6 billion, and the IKEA application was downloaded over 20 million times. Around 231,000 employees worldwide contribute to creating better living for many people.

Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO of Inter IKEA Group, expressed, “We extend our deepest gratitude to all who have contributed to making IKEA what it is today, including customers, employees, suppliers, and partners,” adding, “IKEA will continue to strive humbly to become a part of more people’s homes and lives.”

Starting from curiosity about life at home, needs, and dreams, IKEA’s 80-year history encompasses innovation and solutions, iconic products, and efforts for people and the planet, forming a special legacy. IKEA plans to continue focusing on the ever-changing needs and dreams of people to create a “Better Future Assembled Together” with more people.

Fredrika Inger, Head of Product Development and Production at IKEA, stated, “IKEA is committed to designing products and value chains for the future by maintaining product quality while lowering prices, considering environmental impacts,” and added, “Based on a proud past and a positive outlook for the future, we will continue to foster creativity, leadership, and a proactive and dynamic attitude.”

Ingka Group, which operates IKEA Retail in 31 countries including Korea, aims to make IKEA more accessible to more people through urban stores, new retail formats, online shopping, and services.

Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, said, “As an industry-leading company, IKEA maintains curiosity and strives to continue change and innovation for more people with a positive and humble attitude,” and added, “Together with the many members of the IKEA value chain, including employees, customers, suppliers, and partners, we will cherish the past and build a better future.”

Meanwhile, IKEA recently launched the 80th anniversary collection ‘Nytillverkad.’ This collection is a modern reinterpretation of iconic designs carefully selected from IKEA’s past archives. It features IKEA’s simple and practical original designs enhanced with bold and vibrant colors and new materials.