Ikea: 10 surprising facts about the Swedish furniture giant that you didn't know

1. First it was just a catalog

IKEA the beginnings date back to 1943, when its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, opened a company for the catalog sale of furniture.

2. Ikea will eventually take over the world

There seems to be no end to Ikea's expansion. Nowadays 351 Ikea stores can be found in as many as 43 countries.

3. Exceptional earnings

Ikea "earns" dizzying amounts per year 28 billion euros.

4. A thrifty founder

Ingvar Kamprad is considered an extremely frugal person. The 88-year-old, who is worth an extraordinary 3.5 billion euros, lives in a modest home and never travels in first class.

5. There is no boredom in Ikea beds

At least one in ten Europeans was conceived in a bed with an Ikea signature.

6. Interesting (logical) names

Ikea products have interesting names. "Malm", "Expedite" and so on. What sounds a bit funny to us is completely clear to the founder, as he is diagnosed as dyslexic. As he initially had trouble memorizing long-winded product codes, he devised a naming system in which he named the garden house after Swedish islands, gave the chairs and tables male names, and the large pieces the names of major Swedish places.

7. Billy goes for honey

The "Billy" shelf is a hot item. At least one is sold somewhere in the world every ten seconds.

8. Europe is to Ikea what China is to the world

60 percent of Ikea's production takes place in Europe.

9. Ikea is not a name

Ikea is not a name, but an abbreviation of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), names of the farm where he lived as a child (Elmtaryd) and the Swedish city where he grew up (Agunnaryd).

10. An extremely varied offer

It is currently available 9,500 different Ikea products.