I think I'm in love. No..really...I love him for his mind....
On the contrary, several persons who possess insight into this matter view it as more or less evident that Kamprad has made certain financial arrangements in order to avoid taxation by Swedish authorities and is in fact in perfect, sole, control of the company he founded back in 1943 in Älmhult, Småland, Sweden.
As I view things, This petty controversy doesn't matter much. The achievement of Kamprad towers above it.
Just like this founder of a truly magnificent company makes me feel proud of being Swedish, Americans ought to feel proud over someone like Bill Gates.
Some of the things Microsoft and IKEA have sold me haven't been all that well-functioning. However, most products I've bought of them have been very priceworthy considering their actual cost. This aspect is the key to their immense success.
I think I'm in love. No..really...I love him for his mind....
IKEA sells nothing of real quality. I guess it's ok if your a college kid or just starting out.
Back in the late 90's, I bought a "table" that was an accessory to an Ikea desk/workstation unit, for the purpose of using it as my primary computer table. It was cheaper to purchase it on a visit to California (from the Carson store), and pay for delivery to Chicago via common-carrier, than purchase its equivalent in one of Chicago's "Scandanavian-style" stores. I remember thinking that those Chicago stores had better wake up.
The Top Ten
This might explain the declining birthrate in Europe. Cheap fiberboard doesn't lend itself to, um, athletic endeavors.
LOL!!!!!
I understand that the Ikea shipping containers are the heaviest ones around. Essentially packed fully with particle board, and little else. 50 lb/cubic foot, or about 60 tons per container.
I was kind of stunned by how he was like teflon based on so many various things he would say or believe or act .
To his credit, he is a good business man, but I'm stunned none of any real controversy has ever totally stuck with him or to him or to his company.
Ironically, (or maybe not so), he is pretty open about his views, beliefs and business practises, one of the more easier papers I ever had to write.
Either way you look at it, capitalist entrepreneurs like Kamprad and Gates have taught us all something about how to build a fortune and founding healthy companies.
Their key to success was not that of supplying customers with products of the highest quality around, but that of finding intelligent ways to manufacture, market and to distribute standardized items matching the needs of a vast public.
While their competitors slept.
ten thousand swedes, run through the weeds,
Chased by one Norweigian...
Ikea is absolutely THE place to go for lighting. Other than that, I pretty much avoid the place.
I wouldn't be surprised if Ingvar Kamprad is pro-ecology. Seems to be part of Scandinavian/Northern culture.
Ikea has some nice stuff, if you are VERY selective. Problem is, you better buy it when you see it because it will disappear from the catalog quickly. Don't even think about buying anything with the intention of matching it in the future, or expanding on any of their modular designs. What you need won't be there in a year.
The one thing they sell that beats anything else on the market is the unfinished wood modular shelving, good only for the basement or garage, but it's cheap and sturdy.