1 IKEA is the
world’s largest furniture retailer, and the man behind it is Ingvar Kamprad, one
of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Born in Sweden in 1926, Kamprad
was a natural businessman. As a child, he enjoyed selling things and made small
profits from selling matches, seeds, and pencils in his community. When Kamprad
was 17, his father gave him some money as a reward for his good grades.
Naturally he used it to start up a business - IKEA. 2 IKEA’s name comes
from Kamprad’s initials (I.K.) and the place where he grew up (’E’ and ’A’).
Today IKEA is known for its modern, minimalist furniture, but it was not a
furniture company in the beginning. Rather, IKEA sold all kinds of miscellaneous
goods. Kamprad’s wares included anything that he could sell for profits at
discounted prices, including watches, pens and stockings. 3 IKEA first
began to sell furniture through a mail-order catalogue in 1947. The furniture
was all designed and made by manufacturers near Kamprad’s home. Initial sales
were very encouraging, so Kamprad expanded the product line. Furniture was such
a successful aspect of the business that IKEA became solely a furniture company
in 1951. 4 In 1953 IKEA opend its first showroom in Almhult, Sweden.
IKEA is known today for its spacious stores with furniture in attractive
settings, but in the early 1950s, people ordered from catalogues. Thus response
to the first showroom was overwhelming: people loved being able to see and try
the furniture before buying it. This led to increased sales and the company
continued to thrive. By 1955, IKEA was designing all its own furniture. 5
In 1956 Kamprad saw a man disassembling a table to make it easier to
transport. Kamprad was inspired. The man had given him a great idea: flat
packaging. Flat packaging would mean lower shipping costs for IKEA and lower
prices for customers. IKEA tried it and sales soared. The problem was that
people had to assemble furniture themselves, but over time, even this grew into
an advantage for IKEA. Nowadays, IKEA is often seen as having connotations of
self-sufficiency. This image has done wonders for the company, leading to better
sales and continued expansion. 6 Today there are over 200 stores in 32
countries. Amazingly, Ingvar Kamprad has managed to keep IKEA a privately-held
company. In 2004 he was named the world’s richest man. He currently lives in
Switzerland and is retied from the day-to-day operations of IKEA. IKEA itself,
though, just keeps on growing. A IKEA began as a small store selling all kinds of cheap things
B it is highly welcomed by both
C Ingvar Kamprad showed interest in and talent for doing business
D he lives happily in retirement
E here they can see and try the furniture they are going to buy.
F Ingvar successfully manages the company all by himself
27. Even when he was only a child, ______.