IKEA is a retailer selling low-price furniture, home accessories, bathrooms and kitchens around the world.

IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden. The name IKEA comes from the initials of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd) and his home village (Agunnaryd).

Founded in 1943, IKEA today has over 235 stores in more than 30 countries and more than 110,000 co-workers (this is the exact word they use in egalitarian IKEA).

A survey in 2007 ranked 80-year old Ingvar Kamprad the second most admired man in Sweden.

The other survey suggests that 10 per cent of all Europeans currently alive were conceived in IKEA beds, say, such as the Dalselv.

Since Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, is dyslexic and has trouble remembering product codes, the IKEA products are named based on a special naming system. For instance coffee tables, bookshelves and doorknobs are named after Swedish place names (Klippan); beds and wardrobes are called after Norwegian place names; for bathroom items IKEA uses Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays, while chairs and desks have men’s names and children's items ate named after mammals and birds.

The free of charge IKEA catalogue first published in 1951, is distributed to over 100 million households around the world annually.

In 2007 the IKEA catalogue was produced in 55 editions and 27 languages for 34 countries.

See IKEA timeline