Ingvar Kamprad

Who is Ingvar Kamprad?

Ingvar Kamprad was the founder of Swedish retailing monster IKEA, one of the world's most recognized brands known for upscale, functional and affordable furniture. Naturally introduced to humble beginnings, Kamprad founded IKEA as a direct import and mail order business at 17 years old.

Kamprad started selling furniture in 1948 and introduced the IKEA list in 1950. In 1953, IKEA disclosed level pack, self-gathering furniture — an innovation that tackled high costs and damage rates and further developed its distribution channels, which in go prompted a blast in business.

For the company's 2020 fiscal year, IKEA reported 39.6 billion euros in retail sales, down somewhat from 41.3 billion euros the year before. It had expanded its span to in excess of 500 sales areas worldwide, staffed by 217,000 employees.

Kamprad passed on at his home in Sweden on January 27, 2018, at 91 years old. Forbes estimated Kamprad and his family to be worth $3.5 billion as of March 2015.

Ingvar Kamprad and the IKEA Story

Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943 with assistance from his dad. He started with mail order sales of small things, for example, wallets, photo placements and ballpoint pens. The IKEA name gets from Kamprad's initials (Ingvar Kamprad), the name of the farm on which he was raised (Elmtaryd) and the name of his home village (Agunnaryd).

IKEA didn't pivot towards furniture until 1948, in the wake of seeing it become an increasingly beneficial revenue stream. Kamprad obtained furniture from neighborhood designers, and fostered the level pack system for transporting prepared to-collect products that could be gotten effectively in store or shipped by truck.

Kamprad before long found himself in a pinch as nearby providers boycotted the business. This forced Kamprad to bring production and design in-house and refine his business model. IKEA opened its most memorable display area in 1953, establishing the model of having customers see and peruse products before buy — an experience that has turned into a sign of shopping at IKEA.

IKEA opened its most memorable store outside of Sweden in 1963, in Norway. A subsequent international store continued in 1969 in Denmark. An introduction to the Japanese market failed in 1986. It entered the U.S. market in 1985 and had opened 26 stores by 1996. IKEA has since expanded all around the world and continues to be the major force in home furniture.

IKEA's Corporate Structure

Kamprad was a broadly parsimonious man with a sharp mind for business. One of his most farsighted moves was structuring IKEA within a controlling trust that utilizes holding companies to possess and operate different business capabilities. IKEA permits some franchising, yet a large amount of its business is managed directly through the trust, including its manufacturing and distribution arms. IKEA publicly reports essential figures on a voluntary basis, including the number of stores and overall revenue.

Investors have yearned longed for seeing IKEA open up to the world. In any case, even with the passing of its founder, Kamprad's children are guiding the business and have made no indication that they will at any point look for a IPO.

Kamprad's Controversy

There are numerous positive tales about Kamprad's thrifty lifestyle, populist view toward IKEA employees, and lifelong philanthropy. Nonetheless, Kamprad's involvement with extremists in Sweden during his teenage years — and particularly his relationship with prominent Swedish fundamentalist Per Engdahl — raised doubt about his legacy. Kamprad addressed this debate in a 1994 letter to employees, calling his relationship to Engdahl "a part of my life I harshly regret."

Highlights

• Ingvar Kamprad was the founder of IKEA. He made the business model that laid out the furniture company as a dominant global brand.
• IKEA has in excess of 500 areas and 217,000 staff globally.
• Kamprad was naturally introduced to humble beginnings and founded IKEA at age 17 with assistance from his dad.