This boy will become one of the great business leaders of the 20th century.
At 17 years old, as a world war rages,
he starts what will change and influence millions of homes around the world.
Because the war will end. Better times will follow.
And Ingvar Kamprad and his company will be sure to keep up with the times.
When Ingvar Kamprad is born in 1926,
Sweden's population has decreased dramatically
following decades of emigration to America.
Although Ingvar's family lives in Småland, the hardest-hit province,
they are fortunate.
He is allowed to play while other children work.
And in his play, he copies his grandfather, the village shopkeeper.
This will influence Ingvar profoundly.
On 28 July 1943,
the play becomes real and he founds IKEA.
The name is made up of his initials,
E for the farm where he lived, Elmtaryd,
and A for Agunnaryd, the local parish.
PEACE GERMANY CAPITULATES
After years of darkness, 1945 brings a light at the end of the tunnel.
The war is over, and Sweden is one of the few countries in Europe
to come through the ordeal unharmed.
This gives the country a head start,
and in just a few years it will become one of the richest in the world.
This optimism rubs off on Ingvar Kamprad.
From having sold a wide range of products,
in 1948 IKEA starts selling furniture by mail order
and takes on its first employee.
A new era is dawning and IKEA has some innovative ideas.
Bypassing all the middlemen in order to keep prices down.
This will benefit both IKEA and its customers.
To give the products an identity, they are given names instead of numbers.
And they're advertised in supplements in a farming gazette.
Swedes have a reputation for being both stupid and incredibly smart.
The truth is likely somewhere in between, but one thing is certain:
Sweden is a country that loves engineering.
Swedes build, measure and calculate everything,
from aircraft, to the precise, perfect dimensions of the kitchen.
Everything can and will be planned with mathematical perfection.
From this, IKEA will grow and become one of the world's best-known brands.
From playing shops to global economy.
But that's not where we are yet in this story.
A tough journey lies ahead.