Ikea

IKEA is a Swedish-foundedmultinationalgroup that designs and sellsready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful goods and occasionally home services. It has been the world's largestfurnitureretailer since at least 2008.It was founded inSwedenin 1943 by 17-year-old carpenter,Ingvar Kamprad, who was listed byForbesin 2015 as one of the ten richest people in the world, worth more than $40 billion. The company's name is anacronymthat consists of the initials ofIngvarKamprad (name of founder),Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), andAgunnaryd(his hometown inSmåland, southern Sweden)

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

• FURNITURE AND HOME WARE

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 customers using public transport, because flat packs can be more easily carried.

• 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.IKEA's media team has confirmed that smart home project will be a big move. They have also started a partnership withPhilips Hue.The wireless charging furniture, integrating wirelessQi charginginto everyday furniture, is another strategy for the smart home business.

• HOUSES AND FLATS

KEA has also expanded its product base to include flat-pack houses and apartments, in an effort to cut 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 includeLondon,Ashton-under-Lyne,Leeds,Gateshead,WarringtonandLiverpool.

• SOLAR PV SYSTEMS

At the end of September 2013, the company announced that solar panel packages, so-called "residential kits", for houses will be sold at 17 UK stores by mid-2014. The decision followed a successful pilot project at the Lakeside IKEA store, whereby onephotovoltaic systemwas sold almost every day. The solarCIGS panelsare manufactured bySolibro, a German-based subsidiary of the Chinese companyHanergy.By the end of 2014, IKEA began to sell Solibro's solar residential kits in theNetherlandsand inSwitzerland.In November 2015, IKEA ended its contract withHanergyand in April 2016 started working withSolarcenturyto sell solar panels in the United Kingdom. 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.

• 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 the fact 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, 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".

• OTHER VENTURES

IKEA owns and operates theMEGA Family Shopping Centrechain in Russia.
On 8 August 2008, IKEA UK launched avirtual mobile phone networkcalledIKEA Family Mobile, which ran onT-Mobile.At launch it was the cheapestpay-as-you-gonetwork in the UK.In June 2015 the network announced that its services would cease to operate from 31 August 2015.