How's about IKEA???
What's IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble funiture such as beds, chairs, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer.
How did it start?
Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who later became one of the richest people in the world, the company is known for its modern architectural designs on various types of appliance and furniture, often associated with a simplified eco-friendly interior design.
What's so special about it?
DIVERSITY!!!
If you think IKEA is all about furniture, you are absolutely wrong. The best part in IKEA is the service. For example, you can find Swedish food market and restaurants in almost every IKEA stores. In many locations, the IKEA restaurants open daily before the rest of the store and serve an inexpensive breakfast. In Canada, this breakfast includes eggs, sausage and hash browns and various add-ons like bacon and pancakes at additional costs. In the United States, the local variation serves scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes and choice of Swedish pancakes and french toast sticks (and so on...). Also, many stores have a play area, named Småland (Swedish for small land; it is also the name of the province of Sweden where Ingvar Kamprad was born). Parents drop off their children at a gate to the playground, and pick them up after they arrive at another entrance.
Let's go back to the furniture!!
Although IKEA household products and furniture are designed in Sweden, they are largely manufactured in developing countries (for example, China accounts for about 2½ times as much supply as Sweden). Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA's furniture is designed to be self-assembled. 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. IKEA has also expanded their product base to include flat-pack houses, in an effort to make prices lower and lower involved in a first-time buyer's home
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble funiture such as beds, chairs, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer.
How did it start?
Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who later became one of the richest people in the world, the company is known for its modern architectural designs on various types of appliance and furniture, often associated with a simplified eco-friendly interior design.
What's so special about it?
DIVERSITY!!!
If you think IKEA is all about furniture, you are absolutely wrong. The best part in IKEA is the service. For example, you can find Swedish food market and restaurants in almost every IKEA stores. In many locations, the IKEA restaurants open daily before the rest of the store and serve an inexpensive breakfast. In Canada, this breakfast includes eggs, sausage and hash browns and various add-ons like bacon and pancakes at additional costs. In the United States, the local variation serves scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes and choice of Swedish pancakes and french toast sticks (and so on...). Also, many stores have a play area, named Småland (Swedish for small land; it is also the name of the province of Sweden where Ingvar Kamprad was born). Parents drop off their children at a gate to the playground, and pick them up after they arrive at another entrance.
Let's go back to the furniture!!
Although IKEA household products and furniture are designed in Sweden, they are largely manufactured in developing countries (for example, China accounts for about 2½ times as much supply as Sweden). Rather than being sold pre-assembled, much of IKEA's furniture is designed to be self-assembled. 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. IKEA has also expanded their product base to include flat-pack houses, in an effort to make prices lower and lower involved in a first-time buyer's home