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The IKEA vision and values

Inspired by our vision and driven by our values, we’re passionate about life at home.

Three young children in bare feet, jumping on a dark blue sofa.

We bring the IKEA brand to millions of homes, offering well-designed, functional, durable, affordable and sustainable home furnishing solutions to people with big dreams and thin wallets. We’re curious about the world around us, and want to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

The IKEA vision

“To create a better everyday life for the many people.” This vision goes beyond home furnishing. We want to have a positive impact on the world – from the communities where we source our raw materials to the way our products help our customers live a more sustainable life at home.

By sharing what we do, and speaking up for what we believe in, we can be part of positive change in society.

The IKEA business idea

While our vision tells us why we exist, our business idea tells us what we want to achieve. And if you’ve ever visited IKEA, you’ll have probably worked out what our business idea is – “to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”

Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA Founder

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad smoking a pipe in the carpark of the first IKEA store in Älmhult.
IKEA is not the work of one person alone. It is the result of many minds and many souls working together through many years of joy and hard work.

Ingvar KampradIKEA Founder


The IKEA values

Our values reflect what we consider to be important. So important in fact that we refer to them as one of our “forever parts”. They guide us in our everyday lives at work in everything from how we treat people and the planet to how we make decisions – large or small.

  • Togetherness or “Tillsammans” as we say in Swedish, is a big deal for us. In fact, it’s at the very heart of the IKEA culture. We know we’re at our best when we trust each other, pull in the same direction and, not least, have fun together.

  • We want to be a force for positive change. Our reach gives us the possibility to make a significant and lasting impact – today and for the generations to come. We will continue to offer more sustainably sourced and manufactured products and help people live a more sustainable life at home.

  • We’re constantly challenging ourselves and others to make more from less without compromising on quality. Every day, everywhere, we do our best to discover and eliminate unnecessary costs, because low prices are impossible without low costs.

  • A simple, straightforward and down-to-earth approach is part of our heritage. In our world, simplicity means efficiency and doing what comes naturally. We say “no” to complicated solutions and see bureaucracy as our greatest enemy.

  • We believe that whatever we are doing today, we can do a bit better tomorrow. To us there is no such thing as impossible. In fact, finding solutions to “impossible” challenges is what made us successful.

  • We are not like other businesses, and we don’t want to be. We want to challenge conventions and drive positive changes in our industry and sometimes even in the world. We are restless doers, driven by curiosity, enthusiasm and a desire to create a better world.

  • We make a point of giving people a lot of responsibility early on in their IKEA journey. We believe in empowering people and in the power of the individual who wants to grow. And each one of us grows with bigger and more challenging tasks.

  • To us, leadership is an action, not a position. We give people’s values as much weight as their competence and experience. People who “walk the talk” and lead by example.