Sweden-based retailer IKEA, founded in 1943, specializes in ready-to-assemble furniture; however, approximately 5% of IKEA’s revenue actually comes from food sales. The company reported earnings of $26.5 billion US Dollars (USD) in 2012, with $1.3 billion USD being attributed to food sales. The furniture retailer sells prepared Swedish-inspired dishes as well as local specialties varying by specific locations at the cafeterias and bistros located within the stores. Its most popular item tends to be a Swedish meatball platter with traditional Swedish accompaniments of ligonberry sauce, cream sauce, and mashed potatoes. The company is estimated to sell over 150 million of the Swedish meatball platters each year.
More about IKEA:
- The name IKEA is made up of the initials of the company’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, along with the southern Swedish farm, Elmtaryd, and village Agunnaryd, where he lived as a child.
- Europe has the highest number of IKEA employees in the world, at around 99,000, followed by North America with approximately 18,000, according to 2012 company statistics.
- The IKEA catalog is one of the most printed and distributed items in the world. In 2012, over 198 million were printed in 27 languages.