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IKEA

Ikea founder gives giant donation to hometown

Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad donated a gift to his hometown on Wednesday to the tune of 53 million kronor ($7.7 million). The cash is to be used for developing the area.

Published: 20 August 2014 12:54 CEST
Ikea founder gives giant donation to hometown
Kamprad made the donation on Wednesday to a foundation in Agunnaryd, his hometown in southern Sweden. 
 
The money is planned to be used for rural development, and to encourage long-term living and working arrangements in the area.
 
Bengt Nilsson, chairman of the local board, was ecstatic with the news.
 
"This gives us a whole new range of possibilities to develop Agunnaryd," he told the Smålandsposten newspaper, adding that the sum was a huge amount for such a small town.
 
Indeed, the town only boasts a population of several hundred. 
 
"We're very proud of Ingvar Kamprad around here and we're of course very thankful that he thinks of his hometown like this," he continued.
The 87-year-old Swede hasn't lived in the area for decades, and only moved back to Sweden this year after spending forty years abroad. 
 
Kamprad was long ranked among the richest people in the world, with Forbes reporting that he was the 11th richest in 2010. This year, he ranked 367th with an estimated fortune of $4.1 billion. Kamprad announced in June last year that he was stepping down as chairman and handing over the reins to his son Matthias.
 
A little known fact about Ikea and Kamprad's hometown is that the word Ikea is an acronym for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, the latter two words referring to the farm on which Kamprad was raised and the name of his hometown in southern Sweden. 

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WEATHER

Danish Ikea store shelters staff and customers overnight during snowstorm

Heavy snowfall left 31 people looking for a spare cushion at the Aalborg branch of Ikea on Wednesday as they were forced to spend the night at the store.

Published: 2 December 2021 09:11 CET
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021.
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Anyone who has found themselves wandering the mazy aisles of an Ikea might be able to empathise with the sense of being lost in the furniture store for a seemingly indefinite time.

Such a feeling was probably more real than usual for six customers and 25 staff members who were forced to spend the night at the furniture giant’s Aalborg branch after being snowed in.

Heavy snow in North Jutland brought traffic to a standstill and halted public transport in parts of the region on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a snow-in at Ikea.

“This is certainly a new situation for us,” Ikea Aalborg store manager Peter Elmose told local media Nordjyske, which first reported the story.

“It’s certainly not how I thought my day would end when I drove to work this morning,” Elmose added.

The 31 people gathered in the store’s restaurant area and planned to see Christmas television and football to pass the evening, the store’s manager reported to Nordjyske.

“Our kitchen staff have made sure there is hot chocolate, risalamande, pastries, soft drinks, coffee and the odd beer for us in light of the occasion. So we’ll be able to keep warm,” he said.

“We couldn’t just send them outside and lock the door behind them at our 8pm closing time. Absolutely not. So of course they’ll be staying here,” he added.

The temporary guests were given lodging in different departments of the store in view of the Covid-19 situation, Nordjyske writes.

“For us , the most important thing was to take care of each other and that everyone feels safe,” Elmose said.

At least Ikea’s stranded customers and staff had somewhere comfortable to lay their heads.

The same can unlikely be said for around 300 passengers at the city’s airport who had to stay overnight at the terminal.

The airport was forced to stop flights from 2:30pm yesterday amid worsening weather, which also prevented buses from transferring passengers to hotels.

“We have around 300 people in the terminal right now and have been giving out blankets on the assumption they will be staying here tonight,” Aalborg Airport operations manager Kim Bermann told Nordjyske.

READ ALSO: Ikea reopens in Denmark after country’s worst retail month this century

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