1926
The founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, is born in Smaland, in the south of Sweden.
He was raised on a farm called Elmtaryd, near the small village of Agunnaryd. Even as a young boy, Ingvar knew that he wanted to develop a business. He started by selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm and sell them individually at a very low price but still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds and later ball-point pens and pencils.

1943
IKEA is founded by Ingvar Kamprad.
In 1943, when Ingvar was 17, his father gave him a gift for succeeding in his studies. The gift was used to establish his own business. The name IKEA was formed from the founder's initials (I.K.) plus the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, the farm and village where he grew up. IKEA originally sold pens, wallets, picture frames, table runners, watches, jewellery and nylon stockings-whatever Ingvar found a need for that he could fill with a product at a reduced price.

1945
The first IKEA advertisements appear in local newspapers.
When Ingvar Kamprad outgrew his ability to make individual sales calls, he began advertising in local newspapers and operating a makeshift mail order catalogue. He distributed his products via the county milk van, which delivered them to the nearby train station.

1947
Furniture is introduced into the IKEA product range.
The furniture was produced by local manufacturers in the forests close to Ingvar Kamprad´s home. The positive response was gratifying, and the line expanded.

1951
The first IKEA furniture catalogue is published.
The founder of IKEA saw the opportunity of becoming a furniture provider on a larger scale. He soon made the decision to discontinue all of the other products and focus directly on low-priced furniture, and the IKEA that we know today was born.

1953
The furniture showroom is opened in Älmhult.
The IKEA range focused to home furnishing products in the early 1950s. The opening of the showroom was an important moment in the development of the IKEA concept. For the first time customers could see and touch our furnishings before ordering. This came about as a solution to a problem. IKEA found itself in a price war with its main competitor. As both companies lowered prices, quality came at risk. By opening the showroom, IKEA could in three dimensions present its products with function, quality and low price. And people did just what IKEA had hoped: they wisely chose the products with the best value for the money.

1955
IKEA begins designing its own furniture.
There were several reasons for IKEA to start designing its own furniture. But what actually led to this—possibly our best move ever—was quite ironic. Pressure from our competitors caused suppliers to boycott IKEA. This reaction to our early success required us to begin designing our own furniture, and became the basis for future growth. Ultimately, this would lead to innovative design and improved function at lower prices. Then, by lucky inspiration, one early IKEA employee decided to remove a table´s legs so it would fit into a car, and to avoid transport damage. From that point on, we began to think in terms of design for flat packaging. Which led to even further reductions in price for our customers. A pattern had begun to establish itself at IKEA. Turning problems into opportunities.

1956
IKEA begins testing flat packages.
Designing products that they can be packed flat and assembled by our customers greatly reduces their cost. This was obvious from the very first day we took the legs off a table and put it in a car. We can ship more items in one truck, less storage space is required, labour costs are reduced and transport damages are avoided. For the customer, this means lower priced products and easy transportation home. But all of this began carefully, one product at a time.

1958
The first IKEA store is inaugurated in Älmhult.
6,700 square metres of home furnishings! At the time, it was the largest furniture display in Scandinavia.

Gillis Lundgren — the fourth employee at IKEA — designs TORE, possibly our biggest sales success ever.
While visiting a kitchen manufacturer, he noticed the simple, practical storage ideas we use in our kitchens and had the inspiration to apply that same thinking throughout the home. As soon as he got back to Älmhult, he sat down and designed TORE.

The hundredth employee joins IKEA.

1963
The first IKEA store in Norway opens outside Oslo.
This was also our first store not located in Sweden.

Marian Grabinski, consul and architect, designs the MTP bookcase.
It was a contemporary classic, and spawned numerous imitators over the years. In building this and other wood products, IKEA forged good relations with Polish suppliers in the 50s and 60s. These relationships still provide the basis for many of our efforts to maintain prices at levels which the majority of people can afford.

1964
OGLA chair is redesigned to fit the IKEA concept of form, function and price.

1965
The IKEA store in Stockholm is opened.
Thousands of people queued for the opening of our flagship store. The 45,800 square metre store has a circular design, inspired by New York’s Guggenheim Museum. The success created huge capacity problems in serving the customers. By opening the warehouse and letting people serve themselves, an important part of the IKEA concept was born.

1969
The first IKEA store opens in Denmark.
The arrival of particleboard makes its mark on IKEA during the 60s.
This inexpensive, hard-wearing and easy to process material was a natural fit for IKEA. In 1969, the PRIVAT sofa was designed by architect Ake Fribryter. It had a particleboard base with a white lacquer finish, and brown floral cretonne covers designed by the textile artist Sven Fristedt. The straight lines, no-nonsense practicality and unbeatable low price were a tremendous success for the times.

1973
The first store outside Scandinavia is opened outside Zurich, Switzerland.
Its success paved the way for a rapid expansion in Germany, which is the largest IKEA market today.

1974
The first IKEA store opens in Munich, Germany.

SKOPA chair is designed by Olle Gjerlov-Knudsen and Torben Lind.
Modern plastics give designers lots of new ways to construct good furnishings. But choosing the right production method becomes an important question in the design process. When it came to choosing a manufacturer for our SKOPA chair, the answer was wonderfully simple, even if it did cause a few raised eyebrows. After months of fruitless searching, we took another long look at the shape of the chair and hit upon the idea of asking a manufacturer of plastic bowls and buckets to lend us a hand. Neither form or function were compromised by this unorthodox solution. On the contrary, the final lines were even neater.

1975
The first IKEA store opens in Australia.
The first IKEA store opens in Hong Kong.

1976
The first IKEA store opens in Canada.

1977
The first IKEA store opens in Austria.

1979
The first IKEA store opens in the Netherlands.

1980
The KLIPPAN sofa appears.
The same year that the United Nations declared "The Year of the Child," IKEA declared "The Year of the Children's Living Room." Our KLIPPAN sofa was tough enough to soak up the kind of punishment only children know how to dish out, yet soft enough to fall asleep on when bedtime stories grow too long. The entire cover was removable for machine washing.

1981
The first IKEA store opens in France.

1982
LACK shelves are born.

1983
The six-thousandth employee joins IKEA.

1984
The first IKEA store opens in Belgium.

The Stockholm range of furnishings appears.
IKEA designed a series of high quality furnishings using some of our favorite materials-birch wood, leather and cretonne. Our STOCKHOLM range had everything you would expect of classic high quality, except the high price tag. STOCKHOLM was a winner of the Excellent Swedish Design award.

1985
The first IKEA store opens in the USA.
At first, we weren't sure the USA needed IKEA. After all, what could we bring to the country that has everything? But we discovered there is a need everywhere for useful, attractive home furnishings at prices for every wallet.

MOMENT sofa is designed by Niels Gammelgaard.
When we were looking for a suitable manufacturer for this sofa, we went to a supermarket trolley factory to make use of all they knew about strength and stability. We took that as a starting point, and created a stylish, comfortable and low-priced sofa with a modern look. When we designed the matching table in 1987, it won the Excellent Swedish Design prize-something few supermarket trolleys can boast of.

1987
The first IKEA store opens in the UK.

1989
The first IKEA store opens in Italy.

1990
The first IKEA stores open in Hungary and Poland .

1991
The first IKEA stores open in Czech Republic and United Arab Emirates.

1993
IKEA reaches 114 stores in 25 countries.

1994
The first store opens in Taiwan
KUBIST storage units appear.
This was one of the first IKEA products built with board-on-frame construction. We used a technique for door manufacturing to create inexpensive, sturdy and lightweight storage units. To make beautiful, functional and affordable products for the majority of people, IKEA designers carried out product development on the shop floor. Working with existing manufacturers of board-on-frame doors, IKEA saved money. In this case, old factories in Poland were retooled to make parts for KUBIST and other IKEA products.

1995
DAGIS kids chair, by Richard Clack, is born.
He obviously took a long, hard look at kids before he designed it. And then he designed his chair for children-safe, soft, durable, cute and stackable.

1996
The first IKEA store opens in Spain.

1997
IKEA introduces Children's IKEA.
IKEA has always provided furnishings for the entire family. But since kids are the most important people in the world, IKEA decided to put them in the spotlight. We worked with two groups of experts to develop products. Child psychologists and professors in playing helped us develop things that are good for kids' motor skills, social development and creativity. Then the other experts, kids, helped us choose the winners. Play areas, children's room settings, baby areas, special meals in the restaurant and still more play areas make IKEA a place kids love to visit.


The first version of www.IKEA.com launches.

1998
IKEA opens its first store in China.

1999
IKEA numbers 53,000 co-workers across a global network of over 150 stores in 29 countries on four continents.
IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad initiated the Big Thank You Event as a millennium reward to the many co-workers within the IKEA group. The total of all sales worldwide on this special day was given to the employees. The goal for the day was high, but the actual result was higher -- approximately 187 million NLG. Every co-worker, from the snack bar staff and stock clerks to the president, got the same bonus. For most, this bonus was more than a month's pay. It turned out to be a great way to thank the hard working IKEA co-workers for contributing to the success over the last millennium. And this is only the beginning.

IKEA wins an international design award for VARDE kitchen
VARDE is a whole new way to think about the kitchen. Because of VARDE’s unique, modular design, you can create an entire kitchen from scratch or simply add a piece here or there. This and its attractive design in classic birch veneer with white details helped it win the Red Dot for Highest Design Quality award. The Red Dot prizes are internationally recognized seals for innovative design and are awarded annually in the "Design Innovations" competition held by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany. Judges evaluate entered products on their degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, ecological compatibility, and durability.


2000
The first IKEA store opens in Russia.