KEA (/aɪkiːə/, Swedish: [ɪ²keːa]) is a Swedish-founded multinational group that designs and

sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other useful
goods and occasionally home services. It has been the world's largest furnitureretailer since at
least 2008.[6][7][8][9][10] It was founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old carpenter Ingvar Kamprad,
who was listed by Forbes in 2015 as one of the ten richest people in the world, worth more than
$40 billion.[11][12][13] The company's name is an acronymthat consists of Kamprad's initials with
those of Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland,
southern Sweden).[14][15]
The business a private company owned by Inter IKEA Systems B.V.[16] registered in the
Netherlands and controlled by its founder Ingvar Kamprad. The company is known for
its modernist designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior designwork is
often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity.[17] In addition, the firm is known for its attention to
cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes that
allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010
during a period of global expansion. The IKEA group has a complex corporate structure, which
members of the European Parliament have alleged was designed to avoid over €1 billion in tax
payments over the 2009–2014 period.[18][19] It is controlled by several foundations based in
the Netherlands and Liechtenstein.[20][21]
As of June 2019, there are 423 IKEA stores operating in 52 countries.[22] In fiscal year
2018, €38.8 billion (US$44.6 billion) worth of IKEA goods were sold.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]
Most of IKEA's stores and factories were previously owned by INGKA, a holding company
controlled by the Stichting INGKA Foundation, one of the 40 wealthiest foundations in the
world.[26]