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Mail Order at 17
In 1943, in rural Sweden, 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad registered his first business. He used a small sum of money his father had given him as a reward for his academic achievements. Initially, his venture did not involve furniture; instead, he delivered items like pens, wallets, picture frames, and watches by bicycle to homes in his local village. The company name, IKEA, was formed from his own initials (IK) combined with the name of his family farm, Elmtaryd (E), and his home village, Agunnaryd (A). This naming convention was a deliberate choice, intended to permanently embed his birthplace into the very first letters of the company he would build.
1948: Furniture's Beginning
In 1948, local furniture craftsmen began to feature their pieces in Kamprad's catalog. The public response was overwhelmingly positive, leading furniture to quickly become IKEA's primary product. The company opened its first physical store in Älmhult, Sweden, in 1953. A significant innovation arrived in 1956 with the discovery of "flat-pack" furniture. The concept was inspired by a simple observation: an employee, struggling to load a table into a car, removed its legs to make it fit. This practical solution became the foundation for IKEA's iconic self-assembly design, revolutionizing furniture logistics and accessibility.
Frugality in the Company's DNA
Ingvar Kamprad, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 91, maintained a remarkably frugal lifestyle throughout his life. He consistently chose economy class for air travel, often ate the affordable meatballs at IKEA's staff restaurants, and drove a 1993 Volvo 240. His guiding philosophy was, "To demand thrift from employees, the boss must first be frugal." This deeply ingrained spirit of economy is a fundamental reason why IKEA's prices have always remained low, as the company's entire culture is built upon principles of cost reduction and efficiency.
Roots in Chinese Characters
The Chinese character "根" (geun), meaning "root," is formed by combining "木" (mok), which signifies "tree," with "艮" (gan), meaning "to stop" or "to remain." This combination aptly describes "the place where a tree remains firmly in the ground, its root." Related terms such as "근원" (geunwon - origin), "근거" (geungeo - basis), and "근본" (geunbon - foundation) all share this fundamental character. IKEA's choice to incorporate the founder's birthplace, Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, into its company name is a practice that resonates deeply and is considered very natural in Eastern cultures. It reflects the enduring wisdom that individuals who never forget their origins are those destined to grow into great trees.
