IKEA is arguably the most popular furniture retailer in the world.

But here’s the thing… there are a lot of facts about the company people just don’t know.

For instance…

7) The Founder Was A Nazi Sympathizer

The company was founded in 1943 by 17-year old Ingvar Kamprad, who also happened to be recruiting for the New Swedish Movement, an anti-Semitist group that supported Nazi Germany during World War II.

When his secret, pro-fascist past was discovered, Kamprad said his involvement was, “a part of my life which I bitterly regret.”

He eventually stepped down as CEO in 2013.

6) You Can Sleep On The Furniture (Except In One Country)

Yes, it sounds crazy that people would actually want to catch a cat nap in the gigantic store, but you can do it if you want.

The only exception? China.

People were sleeping everywhere in IKEA’s Beijing store and the company initially said they were happy people felt at home in their stores.

They even thought it might help them sell an extra mattress or two.

But things quickly got out of hand so no more ZZZs for the Chinese. 

5) The Employees Have Secret Codes

Sometimes you’ll hear employees speak in code over the intercoms. If you ever hear “Code 22,” steer clear of the cash lanes. That means they’re backed up into the warehouse, and all available register-trained employees have to go up front to help.

“Code 99” means an unaccompanied minor is wandering the store alone, so all employees are on alert. As one former employee put it, “There are so many wardrobes to hide in or bed skirts to hide under. If a kid really wanted to be hidden it would not be too hard.”

I wonder what code they used when that monkey wearing a jacket wandered into the store?

4) The Name Is An Acronym

You thought it was just a Swedish word, right?

It actually stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd.

The first two are obviously the founder’s first and last name. Elmtaryd is the farm where Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd is the town where it was built.

So, now you know!

3) Employees Are Trained To Wait For You To Come To Them

Have you ever been in IKEA and thought, “Where are the employees?” Well, that’s by design. As counterintuitive as this may seem, IKEA employees are instructed to wait until the customers come to them.

A former employee named Rob explains why, “We were told that’s a very Scandinavian way of how stores work.”

Same goes for those cold, massive warehouses. Customers aren’t to be helped unless they obviously need it.

2) They Sell Complete Homes

In 1996, the company partnered with the Swedish construction firm Skanska to develop affordable modular housing that could be pre-built and then stacked to form housing units.

When they’re finished, they’re actually pretty stylish.

This is the basic floor plan…

…and what it can look like inside.

In addition to oak flooring, appliances, central heating and a choice of six wallpapers, these apartments also come with a $500 IKEA gift card and a free 2 hour visit by an interior decorator.

Here’s the catch: they’re currently available right now in Europe and the UK. 

Maybe some day…

1) It’s A Charity

Yeah, it sounds strange. Because it is.

Many of IKEA’s locations are owned by INGKA Holding, a Dutch company. That company is owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation, a charitable organization.

However, the Stichting Ingka Foundation doesn’t own the brand and trademark. That’s owned by another Dutch company, Inter IKEA Systems B.V., which is owned by Inter IKEA Holding, which is a Luxembourg company - andthat company is owned by Interogo Foundation, a Liechtenstein foundation.

The structure of it looks like this.

So why would a corporation do this?

If you guessed money, bingo! They pay far fewer taxes because of this highly creative corporate structure. 

At the time all this was discovered, the foundation had a stated goal “to promote and support innovation in the field of architectural and interior design,” but with tens of billions in holdings, they were widely criticized for what appeared to be using a charitable organization to dodge taxes.

zSince then the mission has expanded to help children and families in developing worlds, and in 2014 the foundation reported that €104 million was given to charities like Water.org, Unicef, Save The Children and many more.

Do you have IKEA facts you want to share? Drop them in the comments below!