IKEA (Audio)

IKEA may be the most singular company we’ve ever studied on Acquired. They’re a globally scaled, $50B annual revenue company with no direct competitors — yet have only ~5% market share. They’re one of the largest retailers in the world — yet sell only their own products. They generate a few billion in free cash flow every year — yet have no shareholders. And oh yeah, they also sell hot dogs cheaper than Costco! (Sort of.) Tune in for an episode flat-packed with counterintuitive lessons about how this folksy mail order business from the Swedish countryside came into your living rooms (and bedrooms and dining rooms and kitchens and bathrooms and patios and garages and backyards) all over the globe! Sponsors: Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘24 Season partners: J.P. Morgan Payments https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMPF244yt Statsig https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24 Crusoe https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoefall24 Links: Please take our 2024 Acquired Survey if you have a minute. It'd mean the world to us! http://acquired.fm/survey The Testament of a Furniture Dealer https://www.inter.ikea.com/en/-/media/InterIKEA/IGI/Financial%20Reports/English_The_testament_of_a_dealer_2018.pdf Our past episodes on: Costco https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/costco Walmart https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/walmart Amazon https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/amazon-com LVMH https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/lvmh Hermès https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/hermes Worldly Partners Multi-Decade IKEA Study https://worldlypartners.com/businesshistory Episode sources https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K_E4J8aDElUg49R4lwytlI5qjalami5rVieJuVktVtY/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: Detroiters https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4779762/ The 11-inch iPad Pro https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/ The QB School https://www.youtube.com/c/theqbschool Ice Cube at the World Series https://youtu.be/C-Cv9z86cOE?si=lknKUOgzst4HTW2X More Acquired: Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes https://www.acquired.fm/email Join the Slack http://acquired.fm/slack Subscribe to ACQ2 https://pod.link/acquiredlp Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store! https://www.acquired.fm/store Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions. © Copyright ACQ, LLC