Ingvar Kamprad was born on March 30, 1926 in the province of Småland in southern Sweden. Despite dyslexia, already in early childhood the future billionaire discovered his entrepreneurial skills by starting to sell matches. The child realized that he could earn a little extra money by selling matchboxes bought in bulk at a sale to his neighbors individually. In subsequent years, Kamprad traded in everything: berries, seeds, fish, New Year's decorations, stationery... Trade was also carried out through postal catalogs. In 1943, when he was 17 years old, he founded the IKEA company. The first two letters are the initials of the entrepreneur, the last two come from the name of the family farm Elmtaryd and the local parish of Agunnaryd. Five years later, Kamprad added furniture from local manufacturers to his catalogue. The demand for it impressed the businessman so much that he soon focused entirely on selling household goods.
What will happen to IKEA now?
Ingvar Kamprad is a visionary man. Back in 2012, he realized that he could not manage the company on his own and he was ready to transfer everything into the hands of his sons. By the way, all this time he carefully prepared them for this role and did not show them anywhere. In 2012, the helm of the company was taken over by the three sons of Ingvar Kamprad, who by that time were in their fifties. At that time, everyone was wondering which path IKEA would take—remaining a family business or going public. Six years have passed and some conclusions can be drawn - the company remains a family business, but some changes have nevertheless occurred. In 2017, IKEA experienced some upheaval: Inter IKEA was strengthened and now not only owns the IKEA brand and concept, but is also responsible for development, production and supply chain. The IKEA company will move from the image of a home-based, “lamp” supermarket with furniture to the same “lamp” online store. The online market has already brought down more than one retail chain and sent it to the bankrupt list.
IKEA understands this, so they are now actively working to move their business online. For example, in some countries they began to open points for dispensing goods in the city center: now you don’t need to walk around the hypermarket for a long time in search of the right chair. Now you can simply choose on the Internet and pick up a chair at the pick-up point on the way home - it’s simple. The guys are constantly trying to expand their online range of products. Currently there are more than 9,000 products, and there will be even more in the near future. What do you and I know about IKEA? This furniture, after you have bought it, needs to be assembled. Ingvar Kamprad came up with this in order to reduce the cost of production, and also in order to strengthen your connection with the product, because you will assemble it yourself, therefore, put a part of yourself into it. This, of course, is great, but not everyone wants to assemble furniture - that’s a fact. Therefore, very soon, IKEA furniture buyers will have a choice: assemble the furniture themselves or call furniture assembly specialists. It’s not for nothing that at the end of 2017, IKEA bought the promising startup TaskRabbit, which allows you to find furniture assembly specialists. Another step towards flexible digital sales. What conclusions can be drawn from all this? The company was preparing for Ingvar Kamprad to leave this world. Now IKEA is in the hands of the Kamprad family, it is actively developing and trying to gain a foothold in the online market. Will she succeed? It's hard to say: time will tell.
Store transformations
The opening of the first furniture exhibition in 1953, which Ingvar held in a small renovated building, gave a great impetus to the development of IKEA. He realized what people were missing: a catalog to attract buyers, and a large room where simple interiors and all the products would be presented. Customers will be able to evaluate each item independently and order it here. In addition, Kamprad promised everyone who came to the opening coffee and buns. It was the first mail-order exhibition in the world to operate in this way. The success was amazing.
Kamprad's business developed. The number of customers grew, the catalog became thicker, the photographs became more professional, and the IKEA “family” grew. 5 years later, in 1958, he opened a full-fledged store in Älmhult.
From the opening of the first exhibition to the present day, IKEA has undergone many changes, but Kamprad perceived every obstacle that stood in the way as a new opportunity. “The only important thing is to see her,” said Ingvar.
Ingvar Kamprad - short biography, interesting facts, Forbes rating
After Ingvar Kamprad sold the rights to use the IKEA brand for $12 billion in 2012, he somehow disappeared from the Forbes list, but before that he was a regular guest: 2010 - 11th place, 2011 - 53rd, 2012 – 5th place.
We will not retell the biography of Ingvar Kamprad. If you are interested, you can watch it in video format - it’s more informative (video at the very end of the article). We would like to share interesting facts about Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA:
- Ingvar Kamprad created IKEA in 1943 at the age of 17. At first she was engaged in postal transportation.
- Ingvar Kamprad was the chairman of one of the world's richest charitable organizations, the Stichting INGKA Foundation, with assets of up to $40 billion.
- IKEA is the second largest family-owned company in the world. The Kamprads are second only to the Mulier family, which owns the Auchan retail chain.
- Ingvar Kamprad is one of the most stingy billionaires. He always flew second class, stayed only in three-star hotels, drove a budget Volvo '93, always bought clothes on sales, used the same seat for 32 years.
- Ingvar Kamprad was not a good boy. There are also dark spots in his biography. Ingvar Kamprad sometimes went on binges. Information about them leaked to the media every few years. In his youth, Ingvar Kamprad sympathized with the ideas of fascism. For this he publicly apologized in 1994.
- Ingvar Kamprad loved to play on the feelings of the public, which allowed him to “turn on” the effect of word of mouth. For example, in the 1990s there was a massive struggle for the rights of sexual minorities. Ingvar Kamprad came up with the idea and launched the world's first TV commercial featuring a gay couple. Can you imagine the resonance?
- What kind of empire did Ingvar Kamprad build? Currently, IKEA has 403 of its stores in 49 countries (of which 70% are in Europe).
- The search for “ikea unboxing” on YouTube will show almost 2 million videos – just awesome advertising.
- Over the course of a year, 10% of the world's population visits IKEA - everyone needs furniture!
The cheapest furniture in Sweden
My first experience with furniture was an advertisement for a chair from a neighboring workshop, which Ingvar called “Rug”. He had difficulty remembering SKUs and numbers due to his dyslexia, so he made up names for each product. This later became one of the most interesting features of IKEA.
The result of the advertising was impressive: the chairs were sold in huge quantities. The entrepreneur began to work in this direction. Kamprad added more furniture, put together a product brochure, and hired his first employee because the family could no longer pack and ship the goods themselves. The number of orders grew, and with it the competition. In this struggle for buyers, prices fell, and with them quality.
Kamprad found a way out. In order not to lose profit and maintain the quality of goods, he decided:
- reduce the cost of goods by starting to work without intermediaries;
- open an exhibition of furniture so that people can see and touch it for themselves and see its quality;
- buy a small factory where he started his own production.
IKEA's success was so overwhelming that it put other companies at risk. Competitors ensured that loggers boycotted him. But Ingvar inherited his grandmother’s persistence and did not give up. When the local market closed, the whole world opened up. Kamprad found an inexpensive supplier in Poland, where, moreover, labor costs were lower.
Kamprad wanted people with the lowest income to be able to buy beautiful, elegant furniture. This idea turned into Ikea's mission.
State
Kamprad is called the most modest billionaire. Despite their savings or even thanks to them, from 2005 to 2010. he was one of the ten richest people in the world according to Forbes. True, in 2011 Ingvar left this list with the title of “main loser.”
As of January 2021, according to Bloomberg sources, Kamprad's fortune was estimated at $58.7 billion.
Going international
After success at home, IKEA began to rapidly spread throughout the world. This was also facilitated by Ingvar's trip to Switzerland. There, in one of the stores, he heard an argument between a married couple. The wife wanted to buy a chair, but the husband replied that it was too expensive for them. Kamprad took this conversation as a sign.
In 1973, the first store outside Scandinavia opens: in Switzerland. IKEA then goes to Germany, Austria and the UK. In the 1980s The first store opens in Philadelphia, USA. At this time, the hippie spirit was still in the air in America, so the informal and democratic store immediately became popular.
At the same time, in the 1980s, IKEA moved to the East. In 1988, the first store opened in Shanghai, China.
A forest lease agreement was concluded with the USSR for 99 years. It was planned to open production and provide the company with logging for a long time, and then open branded stores. But, according to Ingvar, the Russian mafia and the Soviet bureaucracy intervened in the matter. For example, important parts were stolen, without which the sawmill could not operate. IKEA lost about 60 million Swedish kronor and was forced to abandon the project. For a long time, Kamprad did not want to return to Russia. It was a serious failure that he suffered. But later Ingvar was finally convinced. In 2000, a store opened in Khimki near Moscow, which was visited by more than 37 thousand people on the first day.
As of August 2021, IKEA has a total of 422 stores in 50 countries. 14 stores are located in Russia. And plans to grow further.
Notes
- [svt.se/svt/road/Classic/article/615/jsp/Render.jsp?a=2510239&d=149146&index=0&popup=true State Security Service document on Kamprad’s activities]
- [svt.se/2.22620/1.2510115/nya_avslojanden_om_kamprads_nazi-forflutna Nya avslöjanden om Kamprads nazi-förflutna. SVT.se]
- ↑ 123
[lenta.ru/news/2015/10/31/ikea/ The founder of IKEA paid income tax in Sweden for the first time in 42 years: Companies: Finance: Lenta.ru] - [www.20min.ch/finance/news/story/Ikea-Gruender-bleibt-Reichster-in-der-Schweiz-20977817 Ikea-Gruender bleibt Reichster in der Schweiz] December 4, 2009 (German)
- ↑ 12
Kamprad, Torekul, 2013. - www.gazeta.ru/news/business/2011/09/19/n_2015461.shtml The head of IKEA will allocate €100 million to charity after publications about his Nazi past
- [www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Rank.html The World's Billionaires - Forbes.com]
- [www.forbes.com/profile/ingvar-kamprad/ Ingvar Kamprad & family. The Swedish billionaire is the year's biggest loser]
- [topics.bloomberg.com/bloomberg-billionaires-index/Bloomberg Billionaires Index]
- [www.forbes.com/profile/ingvar-kamprad/ Ingvar Kamprad & family]
Books
Despite the fact that Ingvar suffered from dispersion all his life and could not read, he managed to participate in the creation of several books.
In 2002, the famous book created by Ingvar Kamprad “I have an idea!” was published. About the history of IKEA, co-authored with Bertil Thorekul. An honest revelation, a guide for young businessmen. In it, the already middle-aged 82-year-old Ingvar spoke about his childhood, how he came up with the idea of a furniture store “for everyone” and charitable activities.
Thorekul Bertil's book “IKEA Sagas” was written as a result of numerous interviews given by Ingvar. He never spared time for his biographer.
Ingvar’s best work is considered to be the book “The Testament of a Furniture Dealer,” in which he outlined all the basic principles of his company’s work, talked about how to increase sales and corporate governance.
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