Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another "mistake" was outsourcing production to East German prisoners during the 1970 and 80s.
So he was both a Nazi and a Communist.
If he rises from the dead as a zombie, he'll get the trifecta.
Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
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Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#62And thanks for the Köttbullar. "It's difficult to do business with someone on an empty stomach."
IKEA is actually a köttbullar and lingonsylts (lingonberry jam) distribution system so that us Smålänningar can get our fix almost anywhere in the world.
Glad you didn't call Ikea a platform ;)
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#63Europe has less of a philanthropic tradition than the United States. For example, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have both pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortunes. Jeff Bezos is now making plans for his philanthropy. This happens in Europe too, but is less common. I was looking to see if there were any specific plans for Mr. Kamprad’s wealth, but unfortunately did not see anything.
Europe doesn't believe as much in handouts from the rich, or in depending on arbitrary goodwill. We believe more in structuring society, government, welfare, healthcare, funding, etc, such that they're not needed.
The sprit of the time in the US seems to be poisoned by the fantasies of get rich schemes still (including founder dreams of making a company to "get rich" instead of making a company to make a living).
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#64Did he leave instructions on assembling his funeral? <3 <3 Ikea is life
> Fortunately it really isn't. It is ok, mostly single use stuff that seems to be cheap but that is actually quite expensive if you take into account the material costs and the production quality. Even so, their sticker price and economies of scale put almost everybody competing with them out of business.
I really don't know what kind of IKEA stuff people buy that breaks all the time ?
Living in Sweden I've bought quite the number of IKEA furniture, and to this day none has failed. What has been thrown out ( or sold ) has been stuff I got bored with, didn't fit a new apartment, or similar.
There has been missing bolts, goods damaged during transportation etc, some of them really annoying, but all furniture has held together longer than I wanted to keep them.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#65Did he leave instructions on assembling his funeral? <3 <3 Ikea is life
> Fortunately it really isn't. It is ok, mostly single use stuff that seems to be cheap but that is actually quite expensive if you take into account the material costs and the production quality. Even so, their sticker price and economies of scale put almost everybody competing with them out of business.
What is this mythical furniture source that’s better quality than ikea but affordable? A couple of years ago I bought a house after living in furnished rentals for about 10 years, so had to buy furniture. The options seemed to be:
(a) ikea
(b) stuff generally of lower quality than ikea and in my subjective opinion far worse design, for somewhat more money.
(c) very good quality and design, but extremely expensive; 2000 euro and up for a sofa.
Literally all the furniture in my house is ikea, as a result.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#66Europe has less of a philanthropic tradition than the United States. For example, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have both pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortunes. Jeff Bezos is now making plans for his philanthropy. This happens in Europe too, but is less common. I was looking to see if there were any specific plans for Mr. Kamprad’s wealth, but unfortunately did not see anything.
The Economist wrote about Kamprad's foundation and IKEA's structure a decade ago: http://www.economist.com/node/6919139
>Much has been written about IKEA's remarkably effective retail formula. The Economist has investigated the group's no less astonishing finances.
>What emerges is an outfit that ingeniously exploits the quirks of different jurisdictions to create a charity, dedicated to a somewhat banal cause, that is not only the world's richest foundation, but is at the moment also one of its least generous. The overall set-up of IKEA minimises tax and disclosure, handsomely rewards the founding Kamprad family and makes IKEA immune to a takeover. And if that seems too good to be true, it is: these arrangements are extremely hard to undo. The benefits from all this ingenuity come at the price of a huge constraint on the successors to Ingvar Kamprad, the store's founder (pictured above), to do with IKEA as they see fit.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
> A desk I bought is going strong 5 years later So? Furniture of any quality can be found at second hand stores. From one of a kind expensive pieces to el cheapo ready to break stuff and everything in between. That said, there's nothing much that can hurt a properly done desk. I have IKEA desks I use for 10 and 15 years now, and other than a few dents I've caused them, are perfectly fine.
I don't mean to insinuate that Ikea has bad quality stuff, quite the opposite. Instead of getting second hand stuff, it's easier for me to just get new stuff from Ikea. But what's happening to all the second hand stuff that I would've bought? Does it all just go into the landfill? Because that's a waste.
But wouldn't this cheaper Ikea furniture just translate to even cheaper second hand Ikea furniture? I can't imagine a way to keep furniture prices high enough to pressure people into engaging in the second hand market.
The last time I wanted to get rid of something very cheap I posted it online for people to pick it up for free. A few days later it was gone.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#68Europe has less of a philanthropic tradition than the United States. For example, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have both pledged to give away the vast majority of their fortunes. Jeff Bezos is now making plans for his philanthropy. This happens in Europe too, but is less common. I was looking to see if there were any specific plans for Mr. Kamprad’s wealth, but unfortunately did not see anything.
It's less common to accumulate very big fortunes because in general there is much more redistribution of wealth and much higher taxes (so also as you accumulate you share a big amount with society). See for instance tipping in the US vs no tips but places paying a more fair amount of money to waiters in Europe. A different model.
The third richest man in the world, Armancio Ortega, is from Spain. The tenth richest man in the world, Bernard Arnault, is from France. Ingvar Kamprad was at one point the eighth. And there are many others.
Lack of philanthropic giving in Europe is not due to a lack of wealth, but due to a desire for dynasty.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#69Moving from a country with no Ikea to a country with Ikea has been a paradigm shift for me, and I'm not sure it's entirely a good one. It used to be that if I wanted furniture, I'd go to the second hand store, and look for some used furniture that fitted my purpose. If I couldn't find something that worked, then I'd look online, and then failing that, I'd buy it new. I found some real gems at the second hand store. A…
Sure there is a point in getting second-hand furniture/clothing/electronics/whatever, even though these things can be had new from IKEA/department stores/China/anywhere for a pittance. The reasons are multifold, actually. You can find things second-hand which are hard or impossible to find new. You can often get higher-quality material second-hand - after all it has already spent a lifetime in someone elses care and still survives to be resold. Second-hand is often still cheaper and the proceeds generally go to some 'good cause' (which you might, or might not agree with so it makes sense to investigate this before giving a charity your business just like it makes sense to do the same before giving any business your money). Reuse is better than recycle is better than landfill. The second-hand store is probably closer to your home than the IKEA, certainly closer than China. When it comes to electronics you can generally get 'professional' grade material for 'consumer' prices.
In other words it is your own actions which will decide whether the presence of IKEA (et al) is detrimental, neutral or beneficial. It can be beneficial due to the economy of scale made possible by their concept but they do have a number of 'throwaway' products which can be seen as wasteful, although many of those products are made of recycled (fibreboard) or rest materials (hardboard) so the waste is more related to manufacturing, transport and disposal. The solution is just not to buy those products - or repair/reinforce them when they get damaged.
Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
I visit the local garbage drop off a couple of times per year and the amount of Ikea stuff that gets dumped there is depressing. If you actually read the comment above you'd see that I do buy stuff second hand.
Maybe that speaks more about the culture where you live rather than ikea? Your comment reads as if it was a new experience and that you've never tried ikea yourself.
No. Is it hard to see that IKEA furniture is not made to last? Doesn’t matter how many hands it changes - overall longevity is what determines its life.