1926 - The founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad, is born in Smaland, in the south of Sweden. He was raised on a farm called Elmtaryd, near the small village of Agunnaryd. Even as a young boy, Ingvar knew that he wanted to develop a business. He started by selling matches to neighbours from his bicycle. He found that he could buy matches in bulk very cheaply from Stockholm and sell them individually at a very low price but still make a good profit. From matches, he expanded to selling fish, Christmas tree decorations, seeds and later ball-point pens and pencils. 1945 - The first IKEA advertisements appear in local newspapers. When Ingvar Kamprad outgrew his ability to make individual sales calls, he began advertising in local newspapers and operating a makeshift mail order catalogue. He distributed his products via the county milk van, which delivered them to the nearby train station. 1959 - Gillis Lundgren-the fourth employee at IKEA-designs STORE, possibly our biggest sales success ever. While visiting a kitchen manufacturer, he noticed the simple, practical storage ideas we use in our kitchens and had the inspiration to apply that same thinking throughout the home. As soon as he got back to Almhult, he sat down and designed STORE. The hundredth employee joins IKEA. 1975 - The first IKEA store in Australia opens. 1976 - The first IKEA store opens in Canada. 1977 - The first IKEA store in Austria opens. 1979 - The first IKEA store opens in the Netherlands 1981 - The first IKEA store opens in France. 1982 - LACK shelves are born. 1983 - The six-thousandth employee joins IKEA. 1987 - The first IKEA store in the UK opens. 1989 - The first IKEA store opens in Italy. 1990 - The first IKEA stores in Hungary and Poland opens. 1991 - The first IKEA stores opens in Czech Republic and United Arab Emirates. 1993 - IKEA reaches 114 stores in 25 countries 1996 - The first IKEA store opens in Spain. 1997 - IKEA introduces Children's IKEA. IKEA has always provided furnishings for the entire family. But since kids are the most important people in the world, IKEA decided to put them in the spotlight. We worked with two groups of experts to develop products. Child psychologists and professors in playing helped us develop things that are good for kid's motor skills, social development and creativity. Then the other experts, kids, helped us choose the winners. Play areas, children’s room settings, baby areas, special meals in the restaurant and still more play areas make IKEA a place kids love to visit. The first version of www.IKEA.com launches. 1998 - IKEA opens its first store in China. 2000 - The first IKEA store opens in Russia

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