...I’m gonna talk about Ingvar Kamprad. He was born 30th Mars, 1926 in Kronobergs municipality. He’s a Swedish entrepreneur and founder of the furniture chain IKEA. Ingvar founded IKEA in 1943 and the name stands for his initials and address. - Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd. (Write up on whiteboard.) - Kamprad is currently ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world. In July 2012, the time script Bloomberg estimated that his net worth was up to 42.6 billion dollars, which makes him the 5th richest person in the world. Kamprad was born in Pjätteryd, Sweden. He was raised on a farm called Elmtaryd near the small village of Agunnaryd in Ljungby municipality in the province of Småland. His grandfather was from Germany but moved to Sweden with his family. Kamprad is very well-known for his “cheapness.” He drives a 1993 Volvo 240, flies only economic class and encourages IKEA employees always to write on both sides of a piece of paper. Kamprad explains his social philosophy like this: “Testament of a Furniture Dealer”: “It is not only for cost reasons that we avoid the luxury hotels. We don’t need flashy cars, impressive titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We rely on our strength and our will!” Kamprad began to develop a business as a young boy, selling matches to neighbors from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheap from Stockholm, sell them himself and make a good profit. From matches, he started selling fish, Christmas tree decorations...
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...IKEA stands for Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd (his farm), and his county Agunnaryd. This is fitting because IKEA is really an extension of Kamprad himself: IKEA began its flowering from Sweden into Switzerland, then into the rest of Europe, then into Canada and finally into the United States – all under the philosophies set forth by Kamprad which became a company-wide dogma. While usually such centralized decision making would be harmful for a company going abroad so rapidly, it seemed to have worked out for IKEA in its early life, because Kamprad seemed to have all the answers, because the culture could drive the business. His management style invoked the kind of motivation and loyalty in his subordinate managers that the strong direction and culture that Kamprad had penned nearly flowed effortlessly from Kamprad to the IKEA showrooms. The mythos and legend that had built up around him would keep employees after-hours to fraternize with Kamprad and be inspired. During expansion in the 1970s, management functioned in a more hierarchal fashion: a European Manager oversaw Expansion/Operations Group managers that ran the business functions in their country. The inherent issue with having one manager overseeing all of Europe is that there are not enough voices close-to-the-market in board meetings. Decision making was more decentralized and the organization more horizontal as expansion continued into the 1980s. This would tend to benefit organizations because having regional voices...
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...LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS OF INGVAR KAMPRAD ! !1/!11 Leadership Analysis of Ingvar Kamprad IKEA, founded in 1943 in Sweden. The IKEA Group has become the largest furniture household businesses in the world. It products including seat / sofa series, office supplies, bedroom series , kitchen series, about 10,000 products. IKEA has 31 stores in 38 countries, 16 stores in China. China has become one of the most important space of IKEA 's largest procurement market and business growth, playing a decisive role in IKEA 's global strategy. The CEO of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, one of the richest men in the world. He was born in Mar. 30, 1926 , a town in the south of Sweden. His father is a farmer. He had the rich life in his childhood. But he was interesting in riding a bicycle, selling the products to the neighbors.From this he can feel the happy of earning money. He was not only good at finding others needs but also good at promoting his products. In 1943, Kamprad established his own company, called IKEA. In my paper, I will comb how Ingvar Kamprad grew up in the business world and his leadership behaviors and traits. (Zuvela, 2013) Life Experience Childhood period Ingvar Kamprad was the first child in his family, when he was a little boy he had a strong talent in doing business. Such as his aunt helped him to buy 100 boxes match cost €88, then he sold them out by €2-€3 even if €5. So his profit margin is €1-€2. He was very excited about that. He also sold the fishes and...
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...prime example of out of box innovation as they introduced things like flat pack furniture , furniture catalog , particle board furniture , restaurant in furniture store , and store layout ( ikea maze) where customers travel to all the departments of the store making people imaging their future homes which have previously never done by furniture store as only traditional furniture store were there with their expensive needed to be custom made. Main purpose of the report understand how innovation leads and supports entrepreneurship. This report also give brief history and knowledge of Ingvar Kamprad : the father of modern furnishing and how his idea caused the cultural shift in todays society and also factors leading to the success of his idea and how academic literature defines his success. BACKGROUND (ENTERPRENUR & BUSINESS) Ingvar Kamprad was born on in south Sweden in 1926 and raised in a farm called Elmtardy near the village of Agunnaryd. According to Cantillon (1734)...
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...Case Analysis: Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA Our group will illustrate IKEA’s general development in chronological order. We analyze its’ different strategy in corresponding stage, and look into IKEA’s future development. Part 1：IKEA’s initial development 1. Sources of IKEA’s successful entry in Sweden: Ingvar Kamprad saw a great opportunity when the furniture prices increased 41% faster than household goods between 1935 and 1946, and started selling low price, good quality and simpler design furniture primarily to the younger generation of customers who wanted to buy furniture for their first apartment. The tradition in Sweden was to sell expensive, long lasting (family heirloom) furniture, which after the war was too expensive for people. Instead of locating small stores in the central –more expensive part- of the city, he positioned his warehouses in the suburbs, which was a more cost efficient location which also allowed customers to park their cars. Also, because the furniture cartel banned Kamprad to sell directly to customers at shows and persuaded the manufacturing cartel to stop supplying furniture, IKEA started to sell with the help of catalog and started to supply from a different supplier, which allowed him to reduce his prices even more. He also introduced less expensive raw materials and a less-formal working environment. 2. Management process in the Europe-wide operation: In the Europe-wide operation process, we think the most challenging task for IKEA is...
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...low-priced products that contribute to helping more people live a better life at home. The IKEA Concept guides the way IKEA products are designed, manufactured, transported, sold and assembled. All of these factors contribute to transforming the IKEA Concept into a reality. How the IKEA Concept Began The IKEA Concept began when Ingvar Kamprad, an entrepreneur from the Småland province in southern Sweden, had an innovative idea. In Småland, although the soil is thin and poor, the people have a reputation for working hard, living frugally and making the most out of limited resources. So when Ingvar started his furniture business in the late 1940s, he applied the lessons he learned in Småland to the home furnishings market. Ingvar's innovative idea was to offer home furnishing products of good function and design at prices much lower than competitors by using simple cost-cutting solutions that did not affect the quality of products. Ingvar used every opportunity to reduce costs, and he scraped and saved in every way possible - except on ideas and quality. This is how the IKEA Concept began. The name IKEA comes from the initials of Ingvar Kamprad, I and K, plus the first letters of Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd, which are the names of the farm and village where he grew up. Today, the IKEA trademark represents the leading home furnishings brand in the world with more than 300 stores in more...
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...Case Analysis: Kamprad, Leader of IKEA MBA-530 - Organizational Behavior Introduction – Ingvar Kamprad Sustaining a healthy lifestyle consists of having a rewarding job surrounded by great leadership. A defining career is what Ingvar Kamprad has made for himself and has helped others to achieve. His sole purpose was not to be extremely wealthy, although he is. Mr. Kamprad chose to follow his values, including a responsible work ethic that began from a young age. Born within a class of people that thrived on hard work, Mr. Kamprad understood the meaning of dedication. He started as a teenage entrepreneur selling small office accessories and greeting cards “ . . . using the local milk van to deliver orders” (Chan, 2013). Regardless of the size of his business then, Mr. Kamprad had a clear vision for better things to come. The following examines Mr. Kamprad and how he built IKEA into a corporate empire. He is a prime example of an excellent leader to his people and a well-informed manager of his business. Managing business and leading people have important distinctions however. Colleagues respect Mr. Kamprad as a person who genuinely cares about his employees with a talent for influencing them to succeed. There were mistakes along the way, but a proven leader like Mr. Kamprad faced them head on. IKEA, with its expansively designed stores and loyal customer base, was ranked in Forbes (2013), as “#41 World’s Most Valuable Brands”. Leading vs. Managing Managing and leading...
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...IKEA's historical product line policy. Others wondered if the company had not bitten off too much by attempting major new market entries simultaneously in two European countries (United Kingdom and Italy), the United States, and several Eastern bloc countries. Finally, there was widespread concern about the future of the company without its founder, strategic architect, and cultural guru, Ingvar Kamprad. IKEA BACKGROUND AND HISTORY In 1989, furniture retailing worldwide was a fragmented industry in which small manufacturers and distributors catered to the demands of their local markets. Consumer preferences varied by region, and there were few retailers whose operations extended beyond a single country. IKEA, however, had repeatedly bucked market trends and industry norms. Over three and a half decades, it had built a highly profitable worldwide network of furniture stores (see Exhibit 1). COMPANY ORIGINS IKEA is an acronym for the initials of the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, his farm Elmtaryd, and his county, Agunnaryd, in Smäland, South Sweden. In 1943, at the age of 17, Kamprad began his entrepreneurial career by selling fish, Christmas magazines, and seeds. Within a few years, he had established a mail-order business featuring products as diverse as the new ballpoint pens and furniture. It was in furniture, however, that he saw the greatest opportunity. The postwar boom changed the traditional Swedish practice of handing down custom-made furniture through...
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...IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad. He was born in Småland in southern Sweden. In 1943, when Ingvar Kamprad was 17, he registered his company. The name IKEA is formed from his name’s initials (I- Ingvar & K- Kamprad) plus the first letters of Elmtaryd (E) & Agunnaryd (A), the farm and the village where he grew up. This IKEA originally sold typical general store goods. Five years later, in 1948, IKEA introduced furniture into the range. After 10 years, the first IKEA store on 6700 square meters was opened in Älmhult, Sweden. In 1963 IKEA’s first store outside Sweden opened in Oslo, Norway. 325 IKEA stores are located in more than 38 countries all over the world. IKEA supplies a broad range of home furnishing products in a great variety of styles. IKEA products are identified by single word names referring to places, rivers, and lakes in Scandinavia or common things in everyday life. Most of the names are of Swedish origin. IKEA stores are built usually very large with many displays inspired by realistic room settings or real-life homes. IKEA stores include also restaurants serving traditional Swedish food, grocery stores selling Swedish-made items and usually there is a play area named Småland for children from the age of 3 to 10. Low prices are the “cornerstone of the IKEA vision” and the most important thing for their business idea. The “flat-packs” are really useful to reduce labor-, shipping-, and storage costs. IKEA publishes an annual catalogue in 38 different...
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...itself towards creating a better future for the people by producing reliable furniture at a low cost. The basic concept of the company is based on southern Sweden which has thin soil and poor people and they use their hard work to survive. The genius behind the company made sure that all these values were transferred to the company and its core values were designed around the basic inherited values. IKEA is a privately-held, international home products retailer that sells flat pack furniture, accessories, and bathroom and kitchen items in their retail stores around the world. The company, which pioneered flat-pack design furniture at affordable prices, is now the world's largest furniture retailer. IKEA was founded in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar...
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...same thing and enrolled Martha Stewart to help with the design of its home furnishings. IKEA’s main internal challenge is since the company’s inception (1943) no strategic decisions have been made without Mr. Ingvar Kamprad, the founder. Since he has stepped down in 2013, his three sons have taken over leadership of IKEA. Another internal challenge has been that IKEA is privately held through a complicated network of foundations which creates constraints in accessing large sums of capital that is needed for rapid global expansion. Walmart entered a period of difficulties after Sam Walton stepped down. Do you anticipate IKEA having the same leadership transition challenges? Why or why not? In my opinion, any company that’s founder is involved from inception until he/she is not physically/mentally capable any longer and then transitions to different leadership will be problematic. When Mr. Kamprad stepped down from IKEA in 2013, his three sons took over leadership. More than likely, they will never value and commit to the company like their father did. Hopefully Mr. Kamprad worked with his sons for years on the processes of the company and instilled the company’s mission and vision statement so they will continue to expand the organization and follow in Mr. Kamprads footsteps. Did it surprise you to learn that both a developed country (the United States) and also emerging economies (i.e., China and Russia) are the fastest-growing international markets for...
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...1. previousnext 2. previousnext 3. previousnext 4. previousnext 5. previousnext 6. previousnext 7. previousnext 8. previousnext 9. previousnext 10. previousnext 11. previousnext 12. previousnext 13. previousnext 14. previousnext 15. previousnext 16. previousnext 17. previousnext 18. previousnext 19. previousnext 20. previousnext 21. previousnext 22. previousnext 23. previousnext 24. previousnext 25. previousnext 26. previousnext 27. previousnext 28. previousnext 29. previousnext 30. previousnext 31. previousnext 32. previousnext 33. previousnext 34. previousnext 35. previousnext 36. previousnext 37. previousnext 38. previousnext 39. previousnext 40. previous Post a comment 1. DHL DHL provides international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. The company’s name DHL is derived from the last names of the then three budding entrepreneurs, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn who founded the company. (Photo: Getty Images) 2. IBM IBM’s full company name is International Business Machines Corporation. It is a multinational technology and consulting corporation. The company was founded in 1911 and headquartered in the United States. (Photo: Reuters Pictures) 3. TLC The specialty cable channel TLC is the initials...
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...I. View Point II. Time Context In 1943, IKEA was established by Ingvar Kamprad. The company sold fish, Christmas magazines, and seeds from his family farm. In 1948, Kamprad added furniture to his product line. In 1949, IKEA published his first catalog distributed for free. In 1953, Kamprad could no longer use the milk truck to take goods to the train. As a solution in this problem, in the same year he bought an idle factory nearby Almhut and converted it into a warehouse. In 1956, IKEA developed a concept which is self-assembly furniture which later became an integral concept of IKEA. In 1957, IKEA started to exhibit and sell its products at home furnishing fairs in Sweden. In 1958, an expanded facility at the Almhut location became the first IKEA store. In early 1960, Polish-made goods were to be found on more than half of the IKEA catalog. In 1965, IKEA opened its first store in Stockholm, Sweden‘s capital. By 1973, IKEA became the largest furniture retailer in Scandinavia with nine stores. By the late 1980’s, IKEA met with considerable success, particularly in West Germany, where it had 15 stores. In 1985, IKEA opened its first United States store in Philadelphia. By the early 1990’s, the company found that things are not going well in America. Its European-style offerings did not always resonate with American consumers. To handle this situation, IKEA reemphasized design and started promoting the brand with a series of quirky hip advertisement aimed at younger...
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...its marketing, range, logistics and store operations” (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2005, p.249). Power structures The leadership beliefs in an inverted organisational pyramid, where the customer is at the top followed by staff, with top management at the bottom (Sancovich, 2002). The customer is put on top as they have the real power of what Ikea can and should sell. No one in Ikea flies first class is another aspect of the power culture within Ikea (Sancovich, 2002). This is part of the core beliefs of the leadership, as everyone in the organisation should be treated the same regarding of position. In general, Ikea uses an egalitarian leadership style, hence emphasise of getting rid of status and conventions. Even though Ingvar Kamprad is retired, he is still involved in the organisation he founded in 1943 (Allen, 2005). Hence, it is difficult to change the culture in the organisation as he is still pulling the strings. As all the employees is taught and trained the IKEA way, the desire and need for a cultural change is another unanswered question. How is power distributed in the organisation? What are the core beliefs of the leadership? How strongly held are these beliefs (idealists or pragmatists)? What are the main blockages to change? Organisational structures Even though Ikea is a large company with multiple divisions spread around the world, the organisation has a strong emphasis of having no hierarchy. Hence, informality and open communication...
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...IKEA Executive Summary Founded in 1943 by entrepreneur Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA first began with sales of inexpensive products such as pens, watches, and jewelry. Soon after, IKEA started selling furniture and published a catalog in 1951. With its Scandinavian and contemporary style, IKEA's business model of furnishing simplicity and do it yourself furniture has taken the company from a catalog based company to a multimillion dollar company. The company has grown to over 253 outlet stores in 37 countries and making itself known as a global brand of do it yourself furnishings at a lower cost than most furniture retailers Marketing strategies IKEA’s success is based on principal marketing strategies that remain the same throughout the world, which include a catalogue that is printed in 52 editions in 27 languages and has a worldwide circulation of 200 million copies, and the use of the colors of the Swedish flag blue and yellow in the IKEA logo. This is combined with an emphasis on customer freedom and choice with regard to buying and taking home products, and low prices intended to create a “sale” mentality amongst customers. This aggressive price strategy coupled, with a wide product range catering for every potential lifestyle and life stage of a consumer, can best summarize the company’s recipe for success. The fact that IKEA targets all age groups and households makes it an attractive proposition to a wide spectrum of most countries’ consumers, especially amongst depressed...
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