IKEA Founder Ingvar Kamprad has passed away
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Ingvar was born in 1926 in Småland in southern Sweden. In 1943, at the early age of 17, Ingvar founded the trading firm IKEA, a small mail order company selling all kinds of merchandise, and turned it into a global home furnishing company with 11 franchisees, currently operating 412 IKEA stores in 49 countries.
A man with a genuine human interest in how people live, Ingvar believed that everyone deserves a better life, and that IKEA can answer to their needs and dreams at home, even with small means. This built a strong foundation for the IKEA vision ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’, as well as its business idea, ‘to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.’
Ingvar was a great entrepreneur of the typical southern Swedish kind - hardworking and stubborn with a lot of warmth and a playful twinkle in his eye. Since 1988, Ingvar did not have an operational role within IKEA but he continued to contribute to the business in the role of senior advisor, sharing his knowledge and energy with the IKEA co-workers.
“We are mourning the loss of our founder and dear friend Ingvar. His legacy will be admired for many years to come and his vision – to create a better everyday life for the many people – will continue to guide and inspire us”, said Jesper Brodin, CEO and President of the IKEA Group.