How was the name of the Swedish company IKEA chosen?

The company's name IKEA is an acronym that consists of the initials of Ingvar Kamprad (name of founder), Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).

IKEA formerly known by its full initials, Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, is a group of Swedish multinational companies that design and sell ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories. It has been the world's largest furniture retailer since at least 2008. Founded in Sweden in 1943 by then-17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who is now one of the ten richest people in the world and the owner of a more than 40 billion dollar fortune.

As of December 2016, IKEA owns and operates 392 stores in 48 countries. In fiscal year 2016, €36.4 billion worth of goods were sold, a total that represented a 7.6 percent increase over 2015. The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range. There were over 2.1 billion visitors to IKEA's websites in the year from September 2015 to August 2016. The company is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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15 Comments

Steve McVey

Johnny Rock, the question isn't outdated, the name will and always will be derived the same way. The explanation might be outdated but its clearly time stamped so, no problem. So the point of your comment was?

Glynis Rix

Oh I knew this, but touched the screen by accident!

Corey Taylor

Richard G Schwartz, In the market section, and they're quite good.

Michael Doherty

fdeisner, I believe that is what the answer said.

fdeisner

After answering wrong I checked it and found out from Britannica that; IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, whose paternal grandparents were German-speaking immigrants to the Småland province of southern Sweden, was a precocious trader. In 1943, at age 17, he started the company, putting together its name from his own initials and the initial letters of his family’s farm (Elmtaryd) and his home village (Agunnaryd)..