Brand birthday: IKEA turns 80 – how did they do it?
Let’s be honest: How much Ikea do you have at home? Or in the office? Or in the freezer (right, those meatballs…) Ikea is regarded as a brand for young living, now worldwide and for several generations, as the Swedish company turns an impressive 80 years old this year.
Unchanged to this day: the brand name
The founder Ingvar Kamprad was just 17 years old in 1943. I and K as well as E for the parental farm Elmtaryd and A for the village Agunnaryd became the acronym IKEA: that alone would be a romantic story. Initially, Kamprad sold everything that would pass for a general store in this country: pens and postcards, clocks, picture frames, tablecloths and stockings. Furniture was added in 1947, in 1955 Ikea had its own designs for the first time and a year later it was clear that you could save a lot of money if you sent them as a kit and let the customer screw them together.
In 1951, the first IKEA catalog was published (with a circulation of 220 million, more than the Bible!), which contributed significantly to its success: The booklet with the slogan “Beautiful living and affordable for you!” felt like it was in every living room and suggested to the reader: You can do it too!
My bag, my meatballs, my brand
IKEA established and cultivated the holistic customer: with a restaurant, changing table and play paradise for every conceivable need and with practical carrier bags that took on a life of their own as a hip status symbol. The furniture was given Scandinavian first names and addressing the customers by their first names turned everyone automatically into a family member.
However, part of the formula for success was also that IKEA was adaptable and reacted skillfully to crises and scandals (environmental protection, low wages, forced prison labor).
Brand building with good ideas and a feel for the future
Why are we telling you this? Because it is an example of how a good idea and the belief in it, a feel for the future as well a flexibility, patience and tenacity can pay off. A brand is never finished, it is constantly changing, even if it is often not immediately obvious.
So, how much IKEA is in you?
If you also want to move with the times: We will be happy to advise you on strategic issues, whether digitalization or brand management in general. How much IKEA is in you?
