IKEA – “Swedish furniture store”
Above is a picture that was taken of the very first IKEA store that was ever built. One of the most famous furniture outlets in the world, IKEA is certainly a name that many people associate with bargain furniture.
Like most of the world’s top companies, though, this business started off from the humblest of beginnings. A young Swedish man named Ingvar Kamprad found pleasure from buying and selling items to make money. By the age of five, he began to sell matches to his neighbors to earn pocket change. From there, he continued to grow his inventory, adding other items to sell to his patrons. These were still small items, however, like pencils and even fresh fish. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he began to sell furniture locally and coined the name IKEA for his business. After ten years of making huge profits off of furniture, he decided to focus on that as his company’s main products.
Technically the original IKEA was merely his parents’ house, but at this point in his career, Ingvar purchased the building that would serve as the very first true IKEA store. It was located in Almhult, Sweden and it would mark the beginning of IKEA being a true successful business. Needless to say, it was a big hit, making enough money for Ingvar to franchise his brand and open up new stores all throughout Sweden and Norway. Continuously garnering more and more profits, IKEA would expand into nearly all of Europe and North America, making it the largest furniture outlet in the world.
Writer / Quiz Creator
Andrew Nicholas is a passionate reader and writer on the subjects of history and mankind. He is a published author, critic, and poet who grew up in the friendly scenery of rural Ohio. He is a graduate of Wright State University and a regular student of historical curiosities.