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A dinner conversation about IKEA Food

Three IKEA Food veterans meet over hot dogs, plant balls and other yummy IKEA classics. Jan Kjellman, Miriam Swärdh and Michael La Cour talk about the past, present and future – sharing stories about everything from the first IKEA restaurant in 1960, to the Swedish food market and food becoming an integral part of the IKEA identity.

First store abroad

IKEA went international and opened a store in Norway. But how did that decision come about? Through a combination of planning, business and instinct. And a pinch of Norwegian anger.

History of the logotype

IKEA today is one of the best-known brands in the world, and its hallmark is the characteristic blue and yellow logotype. But the logo (or logotype, or insignia, or emblem) hasn’t always looked like this. Because just like IKEA and its business, the logo has constantly been developing. Here we look at the logo’s evolution from 1943 to 2018, when the latest changes were made. So get your magnifying glass out, and join us for the story of the IKEA logo, from letterhead to head of everything!

IKEA in Stockholm

When IKEA opened its first store in Stockholm in summer 1965, it was Europe’s largest furniture store. It was big and it looked good, but it wasn’t exactly efficient. In fact you might say that it wasn’t until the store burned down five years later that IKEA really got the hang of the store concept. Along the way there were colourful little plastic balls, revolutionary posters, and a famous museum in New York. But it all began with a king in a muddy ditch.

Ingvar in America

In the early 1960s, Ingvar Kamprad started planning for further expansion of IKEA in Scandinavia and the wider world. But before focusing on the company’s journey, he wanted to broaden his own horizons. He went to the US to learn everything he could about distribution. But could the Americans really impress a man from Agunnaryd?

Retail revival in Japan

By the turn of the millennium, it had been almost 20 years since IKEA made its first failed attempt to set up business in Japan. The embarrassing retreat of 1986 was still fresh in the collective IKEA memory, so the return was handled with great care and humility.

Spinning new yarns

When IKEA asked Vivianne Sjölin to take care of textiles at IKEA, her first instinct was to say no. After a decade in the crisis-ridden Swedish textile industry, she was ready for a change.

The first IKEA store

When IKEA opened its new furniture showroom in Älmhult in 1958, everyone was there: the county governor, the chairman of the municipal board, along with press and critics from Stockholm, all curious to see the latest move from furniture rebel Ingvar Kamprad.

The store part 1

Explore the development of IKEA stores, from the very first showroom in little Älmhult to today’s city stores. IKEA people behind the scenes reveal the inner workings of setting up a store and striking the balance between home furnishing inspiration and sales.

The store part 2

An IKEA store is of course filled with home furnishings, but above all it’s full of people. What are they up to in there all day and half the night? Meet the truck drivers and salespeople, store managers, chefs, interior decorators and, perhaps most importantly, the customers. Together they make it all work.

The world’s biggest restaurant

When Ingvar Kamprad opened the doors on his first furniture showroom in Älmhult back in 1953, he wanted to offer visitors coffee and a biscuit – a new phenomenon in the thrifty county of Småland back then. And it was a huge success. The queues were long, and when the biscuits started running out there was something of a panic.

Too big in Japan

In the early 1970s, IKEA decided to take on the Japanese market. Expansion outside of Sweden was going well in Northern Europe, and for many Japan felt like the natural, logical next step. They could see similarities between the Scandinavian design tradition, and Japan’s simplicity and wooden furniture.