13 facts things you didn't know about Ikea

With Sheffield's long-awaited Ikea store scheduled to open in July 2017, we thought we'd look at some interesting facts about the Swedish furniture giant.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Mar 2016, 12:36 BST
IkeaIkea
Ikea

1. Ikea's name comes from the initials of founder Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, the farm where he grew up and Agunnaryd, his hometown in Smaland, south Sweden.

2. It's first shop was set up in Almhult, southern Sweden.

3. The average Ikea store is about 34,000 sq ft. Sheffield's will be 37,000 sq ft.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

4. The world's largest Ikea is in Stockholm and covers 594,000 sq ft.

5. More copies of the Ikea catalogue are printed each year than the Bible.

6. Billy bookcases is the company's most popular product. 503,441 were sold between September 1 2012, and October 25 2012.

7. The LOVET, a leaf-shaped side table, was Ikea's first item of flatpack furniture.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

8. Between 800 to 1,000 different types of screw are used on Ikea furniture and products.

9. Ikea's bizarre product names are part of a system created by founder Ingvar Kamprad who is dyslexic and he wanted to avoid relying on numbers.

10. Approximately 1% of the world’s entire commercial supply of wood is used by Ikea.

11. Ikea delivers enough products every year to fill more than 9,000 Olympic-size pools.

12. It's estimated 1 in 5 people sleep on an Ikea mattress.

13. Ikea has sold more than 11.6 billion Swedish meatballs in the UK alone.