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The Truth about Ikea: The Secret Behind the World's Fifth Richest Man and the Success of the Flatpack Giant
How did IKEA become the world’s largest design brand, as popular as Lego, CocaCola and Nike? Privately held by one of the world’s richest men, the company is renowned for its secrecy. How did the company transform itself from one rural Swedish store to a global behemoth with a turnover of $30 billion and 700 million visitors a year? In this candid analysis, former IKEA top director Johan Stenebo writes for the first time about the corporation’s ruthless rise to the top. Revealing IKEA’s daring and unique business model, he covers the leadership of IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad, with whom he worked closely, and IKEA’s resourceful ways of brand management using companies like Greenpeace and WWF to cover environmental issues, as well as its challenging future without Kamprad.‘Merciless.’ Independent
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2009
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260 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 11, 2022
A Mr IKEA a kedvenc svéd bútoráruházunk titkait és szennyesét teregeti ki, kezdve rögtön a vállalat alapítójával, Ingvar Kampraddal. Johan Stenebo kettős képet fest Kampradról, egyrészt egy zseni üzletember, akinek tökéletes meglátásai vitték sikerre az IKEA-t. Másrészt pedig egy végletekig hangulatember, aki ha bal lábbal kel fel, akkor az állásod is elvesztheted. A rengeteg negatívum okát is leírja, ez pedig nem más, mint az IKEA felsővezetésében ülő smålandi férfiak gyanakvása, bizalmatlansága minden külföldi és idegen iránt.
A kötet sokkal inkább a cégstruktúrára koncentrál, mintsem a kis színes érdekességekre. Utóbbiból a termékek elnevezései szerepelnek a szövegben. A másik fókusz pedig maga Ingvar Kamprad személyén van az elbeszélőnél.
Érdekes olvasmány volt, helyenként megdöbbentett, helyenként kissé untatott a szakzsargon, és sokszor elszomorított. Mert nagyon szeretem az IKEA-t, és tisztában vagyok vele, hogy nincs tökéletes cég, de a Mr IKEA egy olyan képet fest a vállalatról, ahol pusztán etikai okok miatt nem szívesen vásárolnék a jövőben. És csak remélem, hogy a könyv írása óta jobb a helyzet, mert szeretnék még az IKEA-ban vásárolni. Vagy hogy azért a könyv picit ferdít is, és sötétebben mutatja be a helyzetet, mint amilyen. Még tagadásban vagyok, nem tudom elhinni, hogy ennyire rossz lenne a helyzet.
Bővebben: https://www.gyorgytekla.hu/2022/07/jo...
A kötet sokkal inkább a cégstruktúrára koncentrál, mintsem a kis színes érdekességekre. Utóbbiból a termékek elnevezései szerepelnek a szövegben. A másik fókusz pedig maga Ingvar Kamprad személyén van az elbeszélőnél.
Érdekes olvasmány volt, helyenként megdöbbentett, helyenként kissé untatott a szakzsargon, és sokszor elszomorított. Mert nagyon szeretem az IKEA-t, és tisztában vagyok vele, hogy nincs tökéletes cég, de a Mr IKEA egy olyan képet fest a vállalatról, ahol pusztán etikai okok miatt nem szívesen vásárolnék a jövőben. És csak remélem, hogy a könyv írása óta jobb a helyzet, mert szeretnék még az IKEA-ban vásárolni. Vagy hogy azért a könyv picit ferdít is, és sötétebben mutatja be a helyzetet, mint amilyen. Még tagadásban vagyok, nem tudom elhinni, hogy ennyire rossz lenne a helyzet.
Bővebben: https://www.gyorgytekla.hu/2022/07/jo...
July 8, 2021
The Truth about IKEA is Johan Stenebo’s inside view of the secret inner workings of the furniture titan, IKEA. In his account, he describes the informal hierarchies that dictate policy and action, the processes and stories behind the design of ubiquitous and iconic product lines, while breaking down some myths propagated by IKEA’s savvy founder, Ingvar Kamprad.
I particularly enjoyed Stenebo’s deep insight into IKEA’s culture and values and their origins: from the seventies Kamprad dumped his Porsche and fancy suits, and decided to play the part of a “nice old man” from the Swedish countryside. These stories and the values they hold are now taken for granted and permeate the IKEA world.
Stenebo provides a large number of personal anecdotes about the organic and informal hierarchies at IKEA as well as Kamprad’s complex and sometimes manipulative personality, shedding some light on the power games and struggles at the company’s HQ in Almhult.
Finally, you will find in this book an accurate portrayal of how important logistics are to IKEA, from the movements of products in-store to the rest of the supply chain – all with the constant risk of a “logistical heart attack” if all the arteries get clogged up.
Unfortunately, The Truth about IKEA is plagued by odd sentences and typos, feeling like a rushed and unproofread job. Many anecdotes are little more than pointless and nonsensical rambling, and the author frequently comes off as rather bitter about having been let go.
The book also shows its age in some parts: some of the names of the top brass have changed, and plenty of women have finally been accepted in management roles at the company, from the store level to top execs.
So, is this a book for you? There is certainly a dearth of books for the general public about IKEA: the only other that springs to mind is Bertil Torekull’s Leading by Design, which was something of a vanity project as it was commissioned by Ingvar Kamprad himself! I would say that if you’re deeply interested in IKEA and have plenty of time and patience to spare, then knock yourself out. Otherwise, you’ll be better off just reading a few articles online and calling it a day.
I particularly enjoyed Stenebo’s deep insight into IKEA’s culture and values and their origins: from the seventies Kamprad dumped his Porsche and fancy suits, and decided to play the part of a “nice old man” from the Swedish countryside. These stories and the values they hold are now taken for granted and permeate the IKEA world.
Stenebo provides a large number of personal anecdotes about the organic and informal hierarchies at IKEA as well as Kamprad’s complex and sometimes manipulative personality, shedding some light on the power games and struggles at the company’s HQ in Almhult.
Finally, you will find in this book an accurate portrayal of how important logistics are to IKEA, from the movements of products in-store to the rest of the supply chain – all with the constant risk of a “logistical heart attack” if all the arteries get clogged up.
Unfortunately, The Truth about IKEA is plagued by odd sentences and typos, feeling like a rushed and unproofread job. Many anecdotes are little more than pointless and nonsensical rambling, and the author frequently comes off as rather bitter about having been let go.
The book also shows its age in some parts: some of the names of the top brass have changed, and plenty of women have finally been accepted in management roles at the company, from the store level to top execs.
So, is this a book for you? There is certainly a dearth of books for the general public about IKEA: the only other that springs to mind is Bertil Torekull’s Leading by Design, which was something of a vanity project as it was commissioned by Ingvar Kamprad himself! I would say that if you’re deeply interested in IKEA and have plenty of time and patience to spare, then knock yourself out. Otherwise, you’ll be better off just reading a few articles online and calling it a day.
April 26, 2025
This book has been on my bookshelf for more than a decade.
I got the Chinese version probably from a book fair.
The first half provides a good understanding of the founder, his style, company culture, etc.
The second half seems quite overly critical and subjective for me - there's never a perfect solution for any business issues, and at the end of the day, this is a privately owned business and they can do whatever they want.
The book itself, the colors and the beautiful cover, have become my fond memories growing up as it really lightened up my bookshelf. Having read the content finally, it was indeed quite disappointing.
Perhaps this is also because I personally now have more experience in the corporate world, and hence become more censorious and evaluative on content about this type of books.
I got the Chinese version probably from a book fair.
The first half provides a good understanding of the founder, his style, company culture, etc.
The second half seems quite overly critical and subjective for me - there's never a perfect solution for any business issues, and at the end of the day, this is a privately owned business and they can do whatever they want.
The book itself, the colors and the beautiful cover, have become my fond memories growing up as it really lightened up my bookshelf. Having read the content finally, it was indeed quite disappointing.
Perhaps this is also because I personally now have more experience in the corporate world, and hence become more censorious and evaluative on content about this type of books.
October 7, 2017
Fascinating insights about IKEA
Despite several quality issues the book provides a fascinating insight into IKEA which seeks to explain the phenomenal successes of the company since its inception. Whilst there are numerous personalities involved in the decision-making processes, the results of which are seen by consumers and society in general. This book is a great read.
Despite several quality issues the book provides a fascinating insight into IKEA which seeks to explain the phenomenal successes of the company since its inception. Whilst there are numerous personalities involved in the decision-making processes, the results of which are seen by consumers and society in general. This book is a great read.
September 13, 2019
Reaaaaally inspiring behind-the-scene story! In this book, you can take a real peak into the seemingly perfect IKEA kingdom. IKEA is so good at self-branding and Kamprad is a true clever legend. It depicts both good and bad sides of IKEA, unlike the official version. You could learn some really good clever strategies here, and could also see the bloody true color of this company.
February 1, 2017
Мемуары бывшего сотрудника ИКЕА, прошедшего путь от ассистента до топ-а. На редкость качественный перевод!
Конечно достаточно субъективного, мифологизации, идеализации и воспевания вождя. Но и много полезного для желающих штурмовать карьерную лестницу в глобальной корпорации и для тех, кто работает в ритейле.
Конечно достаточно субъективного, мифологизации, идеализации и воспевания вождя. Но и много полезного для желающих штурмовать карьерную лестницу в глобальной корпорации и для тех, кто работает в ритейле.
August 20, 2019
IKEA ALEXANDRA featured on the cover !
March 20, 2023
Interesting read about Kamprads, the book is dated in some segments and too bad the editor took a break.
November 23, 2023
It was really boring and too dry for me.
January 7, 2024
Super interesting to learn about how IKEA operates and the man behind the operation, as well as all the procedures/tactics and advertisements that make it so successful
August 17, 2025
没什么信息量，整本书像是个Ingvar狂热粉丝的洋溢之辞，个人崇拜溢出屏幕了
July 24, 2017
Listen to this book as audio book. Liked the reader Reine Brynolfsson who is a Seedish actor. The story gives context to IKEA, the some what mysterious company...
November 27, 2010
L'autore è stato a lungo dirigente della celebre multinazionale Ikea, e dopo esserne uscito ripercorre gli anni da lui trascorsi e la crescita tumultuosa che ha sperimentato come protagonista.
Purtroppo chi si aspettasse un'analisi dei molti punti controversi di questa azienda non troverà molto. Anche perché paradossalmente l'autore non era nella posizione più favorevole per discuterne: non solo perché condivide le responsabilità di certe scelte e sarebbe sciocco pretendere che critichi se stesso, ma anche perché i punti più delicati sono coperti dal segreto industriale, o parlarne lo esporrebbe alla minaccia di una querela per diffamazione.
Quel che rimane in quest'analisi (che oltre tutto dà per nota al lettore la conoscenza della storia della multinazionale, e quindi trascura di parlarne), sono dettagliate descrizioni delle dinamiche di lotta interna fra i dirigenti, e dello stile manageriale dell'azienda, analizzato però più sotto il profilo delle persone che da quello di gestione aziendale. Il che interesserà più a un esperto di relazioni umane che a un lettore del grande pubblico come sono io.
L'autore dedica spazio anche a spiegare la filosofia di vendita Ikea, e questa parte è a tratti francamente divertente per chi abbia vissuto - dall'altro lato della barricata - l'esperienza di "mucca" che Ikea cerca di "mungere" in tutti i modi. Ma al di là del divertimento, anche qui non viene rivelato nulla che dopo tre visite a questo centro commerciale non si fosse già capito da sé. Né le strategie commerciali qui analizzate si discostano da quelle, analoghe, delle aziende concorrenti.
Non mancano i momenti comici, come quelli in cui viene descritta sarcasticamente la "vecchia guardia" dei dirigenti Ikea, tutti provenienti da un paesotto svedese (e secondo l'autore, si vede), o le staffilate sferzanti contro i figli del fondatore, descritti come poveri succubi di un padre tirannico con un ego smisurato.
Ma tutto sommato, comprando questo libro m'ero aspettato un'analisi bilanciata fra le ragioni del successo e l'analisi delle critiche mosse al business model Ikea. Che non ho trovato. E sapere che i suoi manager sono una banda di rampantini stressati, tiranneggiati da un autocrate senescente ed evasore fiscale, non ha aggiunto poi molto alla mia vita.
Salvo per la conferma del fatto che avere un padrone con un passato nel partito neonazista svedese non aiuta nessuno a vivere felicemente e senza stress.
Ma questo lo si capiva da soli osservando le facce dei commessi di qualsiasi punto vendita Ikea...
Purtroppo chi si aspettasse un'analisi dei molti punti controversi di questa azienda non troverà molto. Anche perché paradossalmente l'autore non era nella posizione più favorevole per discuterne: non solo perché condivide le responsabilità di certe scelte e sarebbe sciocco pretendere che critichi se stesso, ma anche perché i punti più delicati sono coperti dal segreto industriale, o parlarne lo esporrebbe alla minaccia di una querela per diffamazione.
Quel che rimane in quest'analisi (che oltre tutto dà per nota al lettore la conoscenza della storia della multinazionale, e quindi trascura di parlarne), sono dettagliate descrizioni delle dinamiche di lotta interna fra i dirigenti, e dello stile manageriale dell'azienda, analizzato però più sotto il profilo delle persone che da quello di gestione aziendale. Il che interesserà più a un esperto di relazioni umane che a un lettore del grande pubblico come sono io.
L'autore dedica spazio anche a spiegare la filosofia di vendita Ikea, e questa parte è a tratti francamente divertente per chi abbia vissuto - dall'altro lato della barricata - l'esperienza di "mucca" che Ikea cerca di "mungere" in tutti i modi. Ma al di là del divertimento, anche qui non viene rivelato nulla che dopo tre visite a questo centro commerciale non si fosse già capito da sé. Né le strategie commerciali qui analizzate si discostano da quelle, analoghe, delle aziende concorrenti.
Non mancano i momenti comici, come quelli in cui viene descritta sarcasticamente la "vecchia guardia" dei dirigenti Ikea, tutti provenienti da un paesotto svedese (e secondo l'autore, si vede), o le staffilate sferzanti contro i figli del fondatore, descritti come poveri succubi di un padre tirannico con un ego smisurato.
Ma tutto sommato, comprando questo libro m'ero aspettato un'analisi bilanciata fra le ragioni del successo e l'analisi delle critiche mosse al business model Ikea. Che non ho trovato. E sapere che i suoi manager sono una banda di rampantini stressati, tiranneggiati da un autocrate senescente ed evasore fiscale, non ha aggiunto poi molto alla mia vita.
Salvo per la conferma del fatto che avere un padrone con un passato nel partito neonazista svedese non aiuta nessuno a vivere felicemente e senza stress.
Ma questo lo si capiva da soli osservando le facce dei commessi di qualsiasi punto vendita Ikea...
May 18, 2015
Stenebo worked for the home furnishings giant for 20 years and certainly had a lot of interesting stories to tell. A particularly interesting chapter covered Ikea's history in the UK. Although company policy was generally to undercut competitors and maintain their reputation as the cheapest retailer in their field, it was thought that as there were no significant competitors in that market so prices could be kept higher. The result was that British customers paid more for their goods than any other country where Ikea was doing business. Also intriguing was that for such a successful company Ikea has lagged behind in terms of technical innovations; they were still using an email system from the 1980s a couple of decades later and were very slow to introduce online trading.
According to the author the corporate culture of Ikea comes directly from the founder, the aging Ingvar Kamprad. By this account Kamprad was inspiring and highly intelligent despite downplaying his intellect in the presence of journalists, apparently a cunning approach to get an easy ride from the press. The downside of Kamprad's management style was an increasing reluctance to take risks as he got older and a parochial mindset which meant that women were fairly unrepesented in the company and Swedes were consistently employed abroad rather than taking advantage of local skills and talent. The centre of the Ikea universe is the obscure settlement of Älmhult; of its 8500 inhabitants 2500 of them work for the company.
The downside of this book was that it was poorly edited and/or translated. A translator isn't credited but I suspect the book was originally in Swedish. Either way the material isn't particularly well organised and is at times clumsily expressed. These deficiencies resulted in a book which wasn't quite as good as it could have been. If you can bear with it despite these flaws then it is quite rewarding in terms of presenting an in-depth portrait of a modern corporation.
According to the author the corporate culture of Ikea comes directly from the founder, the aging Ingvar Kamprad. By this account Kamprad was inspiring and highly intelligent despite downplaying his intellect in the presence of journalists, apparently a cunning approach to get an easy ride from the press. The downside of Kamprad's management style was an increasing reluctance to take risks as he got older and a parochial mindset which meant that women were fairly unrepesented in the company and Swedes were consistently employed abroad rather than taking advantage of local skills and talent. The centre of the Ikea universe is the obscure settlement of Älmhult; of its 8500 inhabitants 2500 of them work for the company.
The downside of this book was that it was poorly edited and/or translated. A translator isn't credited but I suspect the book was originally in Swedish. Either way the material isn't particularly well organised and is at times clumsily expressed. These deficiencies resulted in a book which wasn't quite as good as it could have been. If you can bear with it despite these flaws then it is quite rewarding in terms of presenting an in-depth portrait of a modern corporation.
November 13, 2019
poorly translated. maybe it's a loss in translation, multiple paragraphs contradict with each other. Very confusing.
Read
April 11, 2016Book gives some insights on IKEA. Didn't find it as 'merciless' as some reviews described the book. Nevertheless I enjoy reading books about enterprises. As IKEA is (one of) the biggest non-public company (family business even), there isn't too much information pubicly available, that's what makes the book more exciting than most enterprise books. It's going to be interesting how the company will be run in the future, as Ingvar's dictatorship of the family business is coming to an end and sons don't really seem to live up to expectations.
November 24, 2018
Fleshing out flat.
June 27, 2019
An interesting book with a lot of insider stories about IKEA's development, particular those stories of how some bad decisions made by key stakeholders could lead to huge loss for the companies and how burecacy became a phenomenon in the company.
December 26, 2015
Un libro di pettegolezzo prospettico, senza alcun contraddittorio. Parla del fondatore e non di IKEA. Si concentra su aneddoti cercando di trarre delle conclusioni generali da storielle e leggende.
October 3, 2016
Interessante analisi dell'azienda e del suo fondatore da parte di un importante insider. Le accuse e la presunta "verità" su ikea scandalizzano soltanto uno svedese forse.
September 13, 2011
v interesting inside track on the big store home giant
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews