At its height, the Ikea catalog was said to be more widely distributed than the Bible. But while about 40m copies of the Bible are expected to be distributed worldwide next year, Sweden’s largest metal catalog, after 70 years, will no longer be published because the fall has dropped.
“It has been one of our most popular and popular products for 70 years, inspiring billions of people around the world,” Ikea CEO Konrad Grüss said in a statement. As more and more people read it, it led to the decision to “respectfully end the successful work of the Ikea catalog”.
Ikea’s 70 Years Catalogue Journey
The first catalog appeared in 1950 in Swedish only. It was 16 pages long and lined with all the company’s products, accompanied by simple black and white drawings.
A year later, it had expanded to 68 pages, co-authored by Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, with a sleek brown chair that moved the front cover. About 285,000 copies were distributed, but only in southern Sweden. It soon became an annual understanding of modern life and the bible in its independence for lovers of portable furniture. Some libraries even return copies of the catalog, which has become a collector’s item.
Shift To Digital Magazine
The magazine has been available online since 1998, but while the online version has gradually made the paper obsolete, it will also be banned, Grüss said.
The decision is part of the company’s long-term payoff as it seeks to cope with the growing competition it faces from the growing number of original furniture biting on its heels.
Its online trading increased by 45% last year, thanks in large part to its ability to provide customers with a wide range of digital options, especially using the taxpayers’ dislike we see making furniture on the walls of their homes.
2021 Final Edition
In the fall of 2021, Ikea plans to bow to its catalog in the form of a book with inspirational tips and ideas for DIY interior design.
While negotiations on the future of the catalog have been going on for four years, Grüss said the final decision was taken a few months ago as negotiations continued for the 2022 program.
Distribution reached its peak in 2016, when 200m copies in 32 different languages were distributed worldwide.
The catalog is often quoted alongside the Bible, the books of the Qur’an and Harry Potter in the total number of printed copies, but Grüss said he was not sure if he had ever been to a high place.
