interesting discussion of Ikea...

[Kevin]

Low Prices, High Social Costs
The Secrets in Ikea's Closet
By OLIVIER BAILLY, JEAN-MARC CAUDRON and DENIS LAMBERT
http://www.counterpunch.org/bailly12292006.html

"Ikea, the home furnishing multinational, with 410 million customers worldwide and 160mg catalogues in circulation (more than copies of the Bible), is doing fine. Its revenues continue upwards, from $4.3bn in 1994 to $19.4bn in 2005, more than 400% growth. It would be hard to do better. Ikea now plans to conquer Russia and China, which have so far resisted its spread. As Ikea's in-house magazine Read Me explains, the aim is to improve the daily life of the largest possible number of people and, to achieve that, shops must constantly sell more things to more customers (1).

"Ikea is in no doubt that the act of purchase is the secret of happiness.

"What is remarkable about a multinational so strongly associated with global uniformity and consumerism is that Ikea manages to fend off the attacks of consumer organisations, third-world activists and environmental watchdogs. This is no mean achievement. It has succeeded in establishing close links with its customers thanks to unbeatable prices and special children's areas in all shops, inventing an all-embracing concept in which buyers can find everything immediately--and preferably plenty of other items they didn't really want."


The Opaque Legacy of Ingvar Kamprad
Who Owns Ikea?
By OLIVIER BAILLY, JEAN-MARC CAUDRON and DENIS LAMBERT
http://www.counterpunch.org/bailly12302006.html

"Ikea is not quoted on any stock exchange. There is no way of knowing who really owns the Ikea idea, and still less of obtaining a consolidated balance sheet or a breakdown of investments. It seems that the Stichting Ingka Foundation in the Netherlands owns the limited company Ingka Holding, which embraces all the Ikea companies. ...

"Who runs Inter Ikea Systems, with its ownership of the concept and franchise rights? Stellan Björk, a Swedish journalist who investigated it, said: "As far as we know Inter Ikea Systems belongs to several foundations and offshore companies, some of which are registered in the Caribbean" (1). So we know nothing, although the Kamprad family cannot be far away. ..."

What are your experience and feelings about Ikea?

[lekizz]

What are your experience and feelings about Ikea?

IKEA impresses me, they sell some very clever items, though I feel guilty admitting that

I also liked the way they built their local store on columns above the carpark, thereby visually reducing the endless acres of steel, rubber and plastic you find around most out-of-town stores.

[lekizz]

Impressive! IKEA UK gave each of its 9000 employees a folding bicycle for Christmas

http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/newsitem.php?id=25105

Certainly a good publicity stunt that reinforces IKEA's 'green' message. Though I expect many staff would have preferred £200 cash!

[Kevin]

This action by IKEA a few years back, to deface a significant work of architecture for the convenience of a parking lot, dimished any sense we had of design idealism at the company.

IKEA Threatens Breuer Icon
http://www.architectureweek.com/2002/1113/news_1-1.html

"From the perspective of ArchitectureWeek, this is a sad and unnecessary controversy. Shouldn't we expect IKEA to find a way to creatively coexist with a design icon? We believe an ostensibly design-oriented company should be willing to absorb the minor cost of a bit of structured parking to accommodate their occasional peak parking requirements. We hope that IKEA has not become just another big-box retailer, hiding behind a thin veneer of branded style."