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Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#131

Post by GlennS »

sitkack wrote: post #16
jacquesm wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll bet that was the highest quality stuff Ikea ever produced. I was in a store for recycled stuff a week ago or so looking for a typewriter and some old comic books for my kids and it struck me that none of the furniture they was made by Ikea. That translates into there being a direct path to the landfill from Ikea.

Ikea has optimized the price and durability of an item to maximize utility for both the end user and the corp. People like getting new stuff for cheap and dont value resale or reuse. Ikea is an excellent machine for turning Borneo rain forest into landfill at the lowest price.

A counterpoint: Ikea is effectively performing carbon sequestration.

They plan fast-growing pine trees. Those trees remove carbon dioxide from the air. They chop down the trees and make furniture. The carbon is now locked up in that furniture. If they furniture goes into a landfill, that carbon could stay there for decades (or more?). Then, they plant some more trees.

I don't actually know whether building lots of cheap furniture is actually better for climate change compared to building small quantities of durable furniture.

But it's an interesting thought experiment and a reminder to check your facts and do your sums before spouting off.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#132

Post by slac »

Mixed feelings here. Incredible entrepreneur that built an empire on solid product values. Masterfully executed through laser focus on logistics. Brought design and furniture to the masses.

Shadowed by his Nazi roots which I never felt he apologized forcefully enough...

And the fact the incredibly shadowy ikea tax structure makes it hard for anyone to compete against. Profiles itself as a Swedish company and uses the country for marketing purposes but has done everything it could to avoid taxes here.

Also, the mountain of cash hidden in all the Dutch and Luxembourg trust funds coming from this tax structure is not being used to contribute back to society in a meaningful way like Gates and Buffett.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#134

Post by expertentipp »

reimertz wrote: post #32

I worked at Ikea for some time and it's quite amazing the possibilities you had as an employee pursuing a career within the company. Rather than them basing your performance on past studies and grades, you definitely had the possibility to pursue any role within the company as long as you had the "right" mentality and really wanted it. Just like any early-stage startup I've work with. I was a lazy university student…

I wonder whether the people exploited by IKEA east from the Iron Curtain during the Communism had similar professional growth opportunities.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#135

Post by ptaipale »

GlennS wrote: post #131
sitkack wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ikea has optimized the price and durability of an item to maximize utility for both the end user and the corp. People like getting new stuff for cheap and dont value resale or reuse. Ikea is an excellent machine for turning Borneo rain forest into landfill at the lowest price.

A counterpoint: Ikea is effectively performing carbon sequestration. They plan fast-growing pine trees. Those trees remove carbon dioxide from the air. They chop down the trees and make furniture. The carbon is now locked up in that furniture. If they furniture goes into a landfill, that carbon could stay there for decades (or more?). Then, they plant some more trees. I don't actually know whether building lots of ch…

I'd say that the emissions from logistics (transport) may be quite significant compared to the CO2 stored into the materials, at least post-sales.

Take a desk that contains 30 kg of wood material. 50 % of that is carbon, so there is 15 kg of carbon in it, corresponding to 60 kg of CO2, which is emitted by driving 400 km with a medium-sized car (150 g/km). That much is first contained by the material (even in landfill), and eventually released back to atmosphere.

At least you shouldn't do a lot of transporting this desk back and forth. IKEAs logistics from manufacture to store is remarkably efficient.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#136

Post by Ma8ee »

methodin wrote: post #115
toomanybeersies wrote: post #31

Moving 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…

On another take, the amount of IKEA furniture I've assembled over the years has instilled some basic sense of design and structure which has aided my in building my own outdoor furniture. IKEA is, effectively, a DIY store and you aren't limited to the pieces they package together. You can really be creative with it.

I think you’d like Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione. He designed some furniture with the intention that they should be easy for people to build themselves from simple material and with a few simple tools. And by building their own furniture, people would get a better understanding and appreciation of good design.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#137

Post by mseebach »

erikrothoff wrote: post #4

I read the news in an IKEA sofa wrapped in an IKEA blanket resting my head on an IKEA cushion watching TV on an IKEA bench. He truly built a startup that changed the world.

Even the purported difficulty of assembling the furniture: When we moved last time, we decided that it was time to invest in some “proper” furniture (at, uhm, decidedly non-Ikea prices) and all of it needed to be assembled in some manner or other (one shelf-system rather extensively so) and the instructions were singularly opaque and the steps required convoluted and difficult. You can get into some interesting gymnastics with Ikea stuff, especially when you try to skimp on the “two person” recommendation, but nothing like this. I love our new furniture, but I’m never laughing at an Ikea-assembly-joke again.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#138

Post by imhoguy »

expertentipp wrote: post #134
reimertz wrote: post #32

I worked at Ikea for some time and it's quite amazing the possibilities you had as an employee pursuing a career within the company. Rather than them basing your performance on past studies and grades, you definitely had the possibility to pursue any role within the company as long as you had the "right" mentality and really wanted it. Just like any early-stage startup I've work with. I was a lazy university student…

I wonder whether the people exploited by IKEA east from the Iron Curtain during the Communism had similar professional growth opportunities.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/nov/16/ikea-regret...

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#139

Post by sigstoat »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #60
coldtea wrote: post #53

Earlier 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.

> 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.

the stuff you would've bought at near-Ikea prices won't be trashed, rather it will likely have to sell for slightly less. and the stuff that would've been that price will sell for slightly less, all the way down to some stuff that might've gone for a few dollars on craigslist will be given away for free. and the stuff that was only worth $0 will instead be trashed.

along the way, some folks of more limited means will be able to purchase slightly nicer furniture than if you'd gone and bought the nicest thing they could afford.

Re: Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad has died

#140

Post by zkomp »

slac wrote: post #132

Mixed feelings here. Incredible entrepreneur that built an empire on solid product values. Masterfully executed through laser focus on logistics. Brought design and furniture to the masses. Shadowed by his Nazi roots which I never felt he apologized forcefully enough... And the fact the incredibly shadowy ikea tax structure makes it hard for anyone to compete against. Profiles itself as a Swedish company and uses the…

Tax evasion... did that not happen only after the swedish arrogant Socialists wanted to impose one extra tax that would only hit IKEA?

I really think my country has been crazy a long time with the highest taxation in the world... Honestly, we need more companies leaving...

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