IKEA

IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden and it is owned by a Dutch-registered foundation controlled by the Kamprad family. IKEA is an acronym comprising the initials of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home county (Agunnaryd, in Småland, South Sweden).[2] IKEA was founded in Älmhult, Sweden, in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, when he was 17. The acronymIKEA is incidentally similar to the Greek word οικία [oikia] (home) and to the Finnish word oikea (true, correct, right), but was originally an abbreviation for "Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd" which is the initial letters of his first and last name, the farm where he grew up and the town he lived in.

Originally, IKEA sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewelry and nylon stockingsor practically anything Kamprad found a need for that he could fill with a product at a reduced price.Furniture was first added to the IKEA product range in 1948 and, in 1955, IKEA began to design its own furniture. The company motto is: "To create a better everyday life for the many people."

At first, Kamprad sold his goods out of his home and by mail order, but eventually a store was opened in the nearby town of Älmhult. It was also the location for the first IKEA "warehouse" store which came to serve as a model for IKEA establishments elsewhere. On 23 March 1963, the first store outside Sweden was opened in Asker, a Norwegian municipality outside Oslo.