0:00:02 > 0:00:04Where are you going?
0:00:04 > 0:00:06It's not there. There's the beginning of the shop.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08I'm completely lost.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Love it or loathe it...
0:00:10 > 0:00:14..the world's largest furniture shop has shaped the way we live.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17As soon as you're in you can't get out, can you?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Spend and spend and spend, really.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Founded in 1943,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA as a global brand
0:00:24 > 0:00:28before his recent death at the age of 91.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33His unique approach to business still guides staff today.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36I've always seen IKEA as more than a movement than a company.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41For the first time in its 75-year history,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Sweden's most famous export
0:00:43 > 0:00:45has granted our cameras worldwide access.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Namaste.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51We filmed the £34 billion operation over the course of a year...
0:00:51 > 0:00:54It's a big machine. It needs to be fed, yeah?
0:00:54 > 0:00:56..following their rapid, global expansion...
0:00:58 > 0:01:02We're just entering one of the biggest markets in the world.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I think that we're writing some history, actually.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..discovering what it takes
0:01:06 > 0:01:08for a new product to make it to the shelves...
0:01:08 > 0:01:10So, I wanted to do a cot and a coffin,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12so I approached IKEA with that idea
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and they just said, "No, you're joking."
0:01:14 > 0:01:16..and learning the secrets of how it became one of
0:01:16 > 0:01:21the largest and most influential companies in the world.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23It is creativity versus commercialism
0:01:23 > 0:01:25and finding that beautiful balance.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49You can look upon it from the outside.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It looks like an ordinary office space,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54but it's actually anything else than an office space.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58It's the very heart of our product development and design facilities
0:01:58 > 0:02:00within IKEA.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Marcus Engman is IKEA's head of design.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06He's in charge of a team
0:02:06 > 0:02:09that produces thousands of prototypes each year.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10Good morning.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13Here is the prototypes that you work with right now,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16each and every designer, by their desks.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18And it's also things that they think is inspiring for them
0:02:18 > 0:02:21when they sit down at the office space.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26We have this gigantic studio.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30We have like 4,500 square metres of just prototypes.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34We also have our own factory...
0:02:35 > 0:02:37..on site, inside of the office,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41with skilled craftsmen and skilled machinery.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47All of the stuff we can produce within IKEA
0:02:47 > 0:02:50in different parts of the world we could produce here in our office.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Just another ordinary morning.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory
0:02:56 > 0:02:58but what comes out of this is not chocolate,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00it's actually great home furnishing.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Marcus works with an in-house team of just 12 designers,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11who are under constant pressure to come up with new ideas
0:03:11 > 0:03:13to keep IKEA's offering fresh.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18I make dinosaurs with eyes and they look in funny ways, you know.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21So, really angry, happy, bit worried.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Up, down. It also rotates.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29And the tilting. Just like that.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32I think this could be a carpet.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35I wonder if this is some kind of side table also.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40More like a pillow. I think it's quite an interesting piece.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Each week, Marcus is pitched new ideas by his team...
0:03:53 > 0:03:55These are sort of in between a carpet and a...
0:03:57 > 0:03:58..a sofa.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02..and he decides which go on to be developed.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06The shapes of them are not that interesting.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08They are a bit too...
0:04:10 > 0:04:12..ordinary, to be honest.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17In an attempt to bring in new customers,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Marcus has started collaborating
0:04:19 > 0:04:22with a number of big names from outside the company.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27They're working with audio giant Sonos to target tech enthusiasts...
0:04:28 > 0:04:30..and with Virgil Abloh,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33who designed Nike's highest profile trainer of 2017,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35to bring in the millennials.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And this year, they're working with the enfant terrible
0:04:40 > 0:04:44of British design, Tom Dixon, to target the high-end market.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Do you think if you don't collaborate or look to the outside,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- you'll get left behind?- No.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Of course, that could always happen
0:04:51 > 0:04:52with someone who's really big like us.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54You know, you...
0:04:54 > 0:04:56That you become kind of slow
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and you think that what you do is truly great
0:04:59 > 0:05:01because you're the biggest
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and I think that's the scary thing, actually,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05to be in that position.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Working with Tom means IKEA
0:05:08 > 0:05:11won't be in full control of the design process.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Two strong personalities are meeting in this project.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18What's he like?
0:05:18 > 0:05:20He's a fun guy.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Could be kind of grumpy from time to time, too.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Here we are in our epicentre.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37This is the basement workshop. Not quite as good as IKEA's.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Tom Dixon runs his own furniture business.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44He produces low volume and sells at high prices.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46IKEA hope the collaboration
0:05:46 > 0:05:49will attract customers who would like to own one of his products
0:05:49 > 0:05:51but can't afford one.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It's a bit more David and Goliath in my mind.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57I always like the ideas of benign parasites, where, you know,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I can make a living out of this huge beast.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06So, you know, tap into superior engineering,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09extraordinary global sourcing, and it's just actually the beginning.
0:06:11 > 0:06:17My first idea was, I wanted to do from the cradle to the grave.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20So, I wanted to do a cot, and a coffin.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23So, I approached IKEA with that idea and they just said,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27"No, you're joking." But, in the conversation that followed,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30we struck on this idea of working on a bed, because bed, for me,
0:06:30 > 0:06:35is like the primary unit of life, or living, or furnishing.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Since the original conversation, Tom's idea has evolved.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45- So, what is it?- It's not a sofa bed, it's a bed sofa.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49But it's really a platform for living.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54For working, for sleeping, for...shagging.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56It's a new way of thinking about furniture.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58It's more permanent and more adaptable.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02From this platform, I can then create a sofa by adding on
0:07:02 > 0:07:07backrests and adding on cushions, an intrinsic coffee table.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Let's say a reading lamp like this.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11All kinds of different things.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13And then I can evolve the object
0:07:13 > 0:07:17during my life to go back to being a bed if I have kids, for instance,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21or I split up from my wife and I go back to single living.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24It can be re-become what it was at the beginning.
0:07:24 > 0:07:25Very much like a telephone.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28These things are not static. You keep on buying apps for them.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32In fact, you can see the kind of closeness between
0:07:32 > 0:07:34this design and that design.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Encouraging people to customise one of their sofas
0:07:37 > 0:07:40is a totally new concept for IKEA.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41So, let's say we've got the frame.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45I'm going to slide my 10mm bolt head down a groove
0:07:45 > 0:07:49and that means I can just bolt on any component I like.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52If I want to stick a side table, if I want to stick a lamp,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55if I want to make the legs longer and all the rest of it,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57all I need is a conventional bolt
0:07:57 > 0:07:59that I can buy in any hardware store.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Tom plans to use IKEA's global manufacturing muscle
0:08:04 > 0:08:06to make the bed as competitively priced as possible.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10The frame will be made out of recycled aluminium,
0:08:10 > 0:08:12which is more expensive than wood,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15but is long-lasting and sustainable.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19There is an association of disposability with IKEA
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and it's certainly something I think about a lot, which is, well,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26can I make something which can last a lifetime or several?
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Marcus has given the challenge of managing the Tom Dixon project
0:08:34 > 0:08:38to one of his team, James Futcher.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Just going through these detailed concepts from Tom.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42We need to make some decisions on
0:08:42 > 0:08:44how we're going to actually produce it,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and which one is the right one.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49My role is kind of being diplomatic,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53listen to Tom's views and how he would like it to be,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57and then making it work with how we work at IKEA.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01But working with a maverick designer like Tom is a leap into the unknown.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05It is a fairly complicated project.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07It's a way of constructing upholstery
0:09:07 > 0:09:09that we have never done before.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Could we really change the way that sofas are made,
0:09:12 > 0:09:13using aluminium as a base
0:09:13 > 0:09:16and not having the typical wood structures with
0:09:16 > 0:09:18nailing and the stapling?
0:09:18 > 0:09:20How could we really industrialise
0:09:20 > 0:09:22making sofas in a different way?
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Because it's important to the world.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25And, you know, we want to
0:09:25 > 0:09:27make the world a little bit of a better place.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29That's part of our ambition within IKEA.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32I think it's about daring to try something different.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Let's see. It could be one of our greatest mistakes,
0:09:35 > 0:09:36or it could be a really good thing.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Who to blame?
0:09:41 > 0:09:45If it doesn't work, I would say it's James...
0:09:45 > 0:09:46A lot of my responsibility.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- To make it work.- Yeah.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51I do the fun, he has the hard job.
0:09:51 > 0:09:52Yes.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Of the many prototypes made in Almhult every year,
0:10:00 > 0:10:042,000 go on to be manufactured and distributed around the world...
0:10:07 > 0:10:09..including Britain,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14where 19 stores contributed £1.8 billion to the company's
0:10:14 > 0:10:16global profits last year.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20Good morning, mate.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Despite such big numbers, UK sales actually slowed...
0:10:26 > 0:10:30- Morning, Tony.- ..putting every store under pressure.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31Morning, Lucy. All right?
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- TANNOY:- Co-worker announcement.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Please attend he five past nine meeting at the checkouts.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Morning, everyone.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Good morning.
0:10:42 > 0:10:43How are you doing?
0:10:44 > 0:10:48Water. I've cycled in and it's got past the zip.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49It's a clean top.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51No, it's a clean top.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52It's not drool.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57We've got amazing new products in store.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00We've got some brand-new news that's just come in.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- Have a guess what they are? - Chairs?
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Chairs, yeah. Function?
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Little hooks. There are a pack of three and they're for £3.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Wow! How good are they?
0:11:13 > 0:11:16With last year's figures not so strong,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18the morning meetings are a chance to find out
0:11:18 > 0:11:21how the year-on-year sales are looking.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Floor sales for yesterday, plus 23% on last year.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26APPLAUSE
0:11:26 > 0:11:29We are a little cog in a big IKEA machine
0:11:29 > 0:11:33but, to the people who work in Warrington, we are IKEA Warrington.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36- We're the number one. - Have a fabulous day.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Today is extra special for Warrington.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44It's 30 years since it became the first store in the UK.
0:11:44 > 0:11:45We've got party poppers.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50We've got, oh, air guitars.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52I don't know how much he paid for those
0:11:52 > 0:11:54but I suppose they've gone up with inflation.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Paul Fishwick is one of the UK's longest serving members of staff.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02# I'm leaning on a lamppost at he corner of the street
0:12:02 > 0:12:05# To watch a certain little lady go by. #
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I started in May 1987...
0:12:08 > 0:12:11..26 years of age,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13and now I'm just an old man.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17I actually had dark hair then, and a little porno 'tache,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19which was the rage in the '80s.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33A lot has changed in the last three decades, including music...
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Bit of Billy.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36..and fashion.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Morning, Michael. Oh, love the shell suit!
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- Come back round again. - Where's the trousers?
0:12:44 > 0:12:49But the IKEA concept remains largely the same as when it came to the UK.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51They queued from the early hours
0:12:51 > 0:12:55for a first glimpse into the Aladdin's cave alongside the M62.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Opening day started about seven in the morning.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00We had the Swedish ambassador here and he cut the log
0:13:00 > 0:13:02and the store was open. People came in.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04People didn't understand the concept.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06We are a little bit different
0:13:06 > 0:13:09in that we set out to allow the customer to
0:13:09 > 0:13:12serve themselves as much as possible.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14People were asking us straight questions.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16"Excuse me, where's the televisions?"
0:13:16 > 0:13:20"Do you do a bumper for a 1981 Vauxhall Cavalier?"
0:13:20 > 0:13:21And "Could you come with me,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24"cos I need to for an hour while I pick my furniture?"
0:13:24 > 0:13:27We said, "No, there's five of us. We can't come out."
0:13:28 > 0:13:29Makes you very reflective.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Hooray!
0:13:32 > 0:13:34What we do today, what we did in the past,
0:13:34 > 0:13:39and how the customers understand IKEA more and how the concept...
0:13:40 > 0:13:41..is accepted now.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Beautiful stroll on a wet afternoon in a dry building.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55How can this be deemed unpleasant?
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Daddy... Daddy.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00You're driving me mad.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03And you're going to go and part with some hard cash.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04Can I just get through there, please?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07So, you're getting that thrill of purchasing.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09If anyone's paying by card...
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Retro retail, that's what we call it.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13Nightmare.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Having worked for the company for 30 years...
0:14:17 > 0:14:18Are you looking for something?
0:14:18 > 0:14:22..Paul has seen how IKEA's "pick, pay, and take it away" formula
0:14:22 > 0:14:25can be frustrating for customers.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28A2 is this area here. Yeah.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32This is actual sort of instant gratification shopping.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Quite old-fashioned, isn't it?
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Very old-fashioned but old-fashioned is good.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41I'm going to have to get a man.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46In the '80s, IKEA had a little bit of an arrogance about it.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50We're making a lot of money, we're always busy,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52we'll do the basic to sell as much as we can,
0:14:52 > 0:14:54bulla bulla, stack it high,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and the result was we had 10% growth a year.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59What's changed in IKEA in the past 30 years for you?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I think, for me, it's got that
0:15:01 > 0:15:04we have to fight for the money a little bit more,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07insomuch as we were always guaranteed, in the early days,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10massive growth. Now we fight for growth.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13What's going to happen in another 30 years?
0:15:13 > 0:15:14And you see it already.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Online shopping's going through the roof.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18I mean, look at Amazon -
0:15:18 > 0:15:21they've got a big place down the road, twice the size of this.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22No customer ever goes in there.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26And all you do is pick your smartphone up,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29go boop, boop, boop, pay with whatever method you're paying,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32and within an hour or so it's outside, by a drone,
0:15:32 > 0:15:33outside your back door.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Are you sure you're not being a miserable old man?
0:15:36 > 0:15:38I'm a miserable old man, yes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42But am I a realist or am I being delusional?
0:15:48 > 0:15:50The internet may have changed the way we shop...
0:15:51 > 0:15:55..but IKEA's biggest marketing tool is still their catalogue.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02Last year, 203 million copies were produced in 35 languages,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05making it the largest publication in the world,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08with more copies printed than either the Bible or the Koran.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Better to move this one up here and have this here...
0:16:13 > 0:16:15- Standing out there.- I don't know.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- Yes, I think so.- Maybe resize this one a little bit.- Yep.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Sara Blomquist is the creative leader on the catalogue,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25responsible for producing one vision,
0:16:25 > 0:16:27seen by millions around the world.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29Let's try that.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Yeah. Good. Now we have one more spread to go.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35It's such a massive production.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37This is the IKEA catalogue.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39It's so big.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42It reaches so many people, and that's amazing,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44because you affect so many people.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47If that is not addictive, I don't know what is.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54On the outskirts of Almhult,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56in the largest photographic studio in northern Europe...
0:16:58 > 0:17:01..an army of workers build hundreds of realistic rooms.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07No, I haven't, actually.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09There hasn't been any time today.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12So I have no idea actually what's been happening.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16It takes nine months and hundreds of millions of pounds
0:17:16 > 0:17:18to complete the catalogue...
0:17:18 > 0:17:20- Hi, guys...- ..and it works.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24In the month it's released, there's a significant bump in profits.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26We're working over lunch.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31Today, Sara's preparing for the most important photo of all -
0:17:31 > 0:17:32the front cover.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37The first thing that people see is the front cover.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41So it's going to make a huge impact when it lands in people's mailboxes.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44The front cover is the signal to everyone - the idea and the message
0:17:44 > 0:17:48of what we want them to feel when it comes to IKEA.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Over the years, front covers have tended to be commercially driven
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and focused on furniture.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Sara has a strong creative vision of what this year's image should be.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10The idea with this year's catalogue cover is to show life, with people,
0:18:10 > 0:18:15different ages, different origins, diversity...
0:18:15 > 0:18:17So, how any people have you got?
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Around 12.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23We're not even sure how many people we'll show on the actual cover.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25The cast are nothing without a set
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and Sara's got just two days to get it ready.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33Have we thought about a bit rugging up the texture a little bit?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Lived in. Yeah, that's a really good point.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40We are just thinking about how we can make the room look
0:18:40 > 0:18:42a little bit more lived in.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Instead of having new, fresh flowers from the shop,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50they are on the way to get old but...it's nice things.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56Once the shoot is over, Sara will travel to Malmo
0:18:56 > 0:19:00to present a selection of the photos to a powerful group
0:19:00 > 0:19:01known as the Catalogue Council.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07The council are senior members of different branches from IKEA.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10They have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Last year, the council rejected the front cover
0:19:13 > 0:19:15and made Sara start again.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Sometimes it's a challenge, obviously,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21that we might have a little bit different opinions
0:19:21 > 0:19:25about what is the best way of showing the IKEA catalogue.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29This year, Sara's idea of focusing on people and not furniture
0:19:29 > 0:19:32might not be an easy sell.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34It might be almost impossible sometimes
0:19:34 > 0:19:38to meet with the council when they want to be more commercial
0:19:38 > 0:19:40and focused on sales figures and so on.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44That's the reality we live in.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54IKEA are one of the world's biggest consumers of wood...
0:19:57 > 0:20:01..using 1% of the world's commercial wood supply each year.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Estimates suggest this is equivalent to 70 million trees.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12With such an impact on the environment,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16they are rethinking how to make their products more sustainable.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Aluminium is 100% recyclable.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21So all of this is going in for re-melting.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24- Beautiful material.- Yes.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29James has come to a recycled aluminium factory in southern Sweden
0:20:29 > 0:20:31to check on the progress of the Tom Dixon project.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35You can see why we've decided to use aluminium.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39I mean, it's super strong, it's lightweight, durable,
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and it's really kind of making something different
0:20:41 > 0:20:44with aluminium that hasn't been done before.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47So, it's super exciting to see the starting point.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51So, all of that aluminium's going to be melted down.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Once melted, the aluminium will be used to make a small number
0:20:59 > 0:21:01of prototype frames.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04It's so important that we get this part right.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06If we don't get it right now,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09we'll have made thousands and thousands of pieces
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and it will be so hard to change.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Why is it bent at the end?
0:21:14 > 0:21:18In the first place, you don't have the correct temperature.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20When we start up the production,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22you test to see that all dimensions are OK.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26Here you can really see
0:21:26 > 0:21:29all the things that we've spent time on designing.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33You can see he channel where the upholstery parts will clip in,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- the two channels.- Yep.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Screw slots. Here you will put a corner piece going here.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43It's amazing now to see it come to life.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Very soon we'll be able to cut the panels
0:21:45 > 0:21:49and actually put them together into a sofa to see how it works.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55The prototypes will be shown
0:21:55 > 0:21:58at a prestigious furniture festival in Milan,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01where the design will be revealed to the world's press.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05When you work with any designer, but especially Tom,
0:22:05 > 0:22:07you want to do your best job.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10And it is about making sure that you get everything right.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20More than 1,000 miles away,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23fabrics and cushions are prepared for the prototype.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Tom's design uses a sprung mattress,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31similar to what's found in a standard bed.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49I've just got something jammed.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54At product development HQ, the Tom Dixon prototypes have arrived.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57You need to actually get it into the groove,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59and that's what we've worked out with the aluminium.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06You can choose whether you sit on it, lay on it or sleep on it.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09You can bolt on pieces, strap things on.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10That's what's new for us.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13We're letting the customer choose how they put it together.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Whether it's a sofa or a bed, it's up to you.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Although it has many functions,
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Tom Dixon's clear which is the most important.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I want to make sure that it's a bed first,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and then you can make it into a sofa later.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Ultimately, lots of sofa beds are...
0:23:33 > 0:23:37..a reasonably uncomfortable sofa with an even more uncomfortable bed
0:23:37 > 0:23:42inside, whereas I wanted to make a great bed that would also make a...
0:23:42 > 0:23:44..an amazing sofa, yeah?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46You know, from a commercial perspective,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48they sell much more beds than sofas, right?
0:23:48 > 0:23:50So, it gives that base of...
0:23:51 > 0:23:54..a successful item from the beginning
0:23:54 > 0:23:58and then the sofa is almost like the cherry on top of the cake.
0:23:58 > 0:23:59So, you know,
0:23:59 > 0:24:04you've got to have the first things first and the first thing is the bed
0:24:04 > 0:24:06and second thing is the sofa.
0:24:06 > 0:24:07Bed sofa.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Back in Sweden, James is having a meeting with the business team
0:24:13 > 0:24:15to discuss marketing the product.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18It's really important that in the internal communications
0:24:18 > 0:24:22that we stick with sofa, not call it sofa bed nor bed.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25And I know that I just read a magazine from Tom,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28where he said it's primarily a bed.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30But it's been tested as a bed as well.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32The frame? Yes.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37But it's due to the mattress that we can't call it a bed sofa or a bed.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41To be marketed as a bed, Tom's design would need to pass
0:24:41 > 0:24:44stricter and more expensive safety tests.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Because it's due to there are different requirements
0:24:47 > 0:24:50if it's a sofa, if it's a sofa bed or if it's a bed.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53So, what we are fulfilling is the sofa requirements.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It's due to the mattress that we can't call it a bed sofa or a bed.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00I honestly thought that that's why we've attached it to the slats
0:25:00 > 0:25:03with the Velcro, that was to take that...
0:25:03 > 0:25:06- To be able to call it a bed? - Yes.- No.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10Not to call it a bed, no.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11No, it's not.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15With the Milan launch in just five weeks' time,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18James has suddenly got an extra headache.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21The only thing I'm a little bit nervous was about the bed thing.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23- I didn't know that. - We're not allowed to call it a bed.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26We cannot make it in a picture with bed linen on top of it.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28So, we have a challenge here.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31With this project, we are really kind of testing the boundaries,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34making a sofa that you can build up
0:25:34 > 0:25:38but, at points, the way you build it up,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41it does look like a bed and can be...
0:25:41 > 0:25:43..a bed platform.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46So, it's not a simple project.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50That's what keeps me up at night.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05The day of the front cover photo shoot has arrived.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Ah, babies!
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Sara has pushed forward with her plan
0:26:09 > 0:26:12to put a large, diverse group of people centre stage.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Maybe I'm so driven to work hard for this course,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19because it's a course in a way.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22It could be because of the background that I come from
0:26:22 > 0:26:25a very, very poor situation in South Korea
0:26:25 > 0:26:28and was adopted by a beautiful woman,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32who took me in and gave me a home and became my mother.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And I think it matters so much
0:26:35 > 0:26:40for me to bring out that feeling of belonging to people.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53We'll just see if we can get people out and get them to move and then
0:26:53 > 0:26:55do it a little bit more free-flowing, in a way.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Maria Berge used to do Sara's job
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and has come along to help manage the shoot.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04We had many sort of discussions about the world today and
0:27:04 > 0:27:08everything's maybe not going that well for the world as a whole and we
0:27:08 > 0:27:12can kind of be a little optimistic and happy about life at home.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Maria Berge and I are quite similar.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21We are both kind of these adrenaline junkies.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24We work 24/7.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Sometimes it's a little bit too much.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29You feel like you're not in control of everything that happens but then
0:27:29 > 0:27:32maybe you have to be a little bit, you know, out of control.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34There's loads going on, isn't there?
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Once you throw models in, it's going...
0:27:37 > 0:27:38It'll be a challenge.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43When all the models are coming in, it's going to be havoc, I would say.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45It's going to be people running round all over the place
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and then it's going to be the trick
0:27:47 > 0:27:49to actually make it look like it's something...
0:27:49 > 0:27:53..a place where you want to be and not feel like it's crowded and messy
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and also that the furnitures that we're showing are visible.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02The models are on set for hours and are encouraged to move around
0:28:02 > 0:28:03the space as the photos are taken.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17What the baby does, we can't really...
0:28:18 > 0:28:19..coordinate, to be honest.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22But we're happy. He's doing very well.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28Right now, we're up to 1,300 and something photographs, shots.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Until now. But we are not finished.
0:28:30 > 0:28:31So, it will be a lot.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36- How many do you think? - It could be 3,000 and something.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40THEY SPEAK SWEDISH
0:28:47 > 0:28:49The front cover is so important,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52one of IKEA's most senior managers, Jesper Brodin,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55has come to the set to see if Sara's idea is working.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Hi. there. Hi. How are you?
0:29:05 > 0:29:08- I'm good. - We're just enjoying it actually.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Wonderful! It's good to see it come alive, right?
0:29:11 > 0:29:13It's fantastic! This is like Christmas Eve in IKEA.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Yes, it's good to have you here.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21It's, er, very much imitating life in a way.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26It also reflects the values of diversity, of gender,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28people of different ethnicities.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30So, it actually has a political message as well.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32We try to have one message
0:29:32 > 0:29:35and make that attractive throughout the world.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Jesper may like the idea but, in IKEA,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41decisions are often made democratically
0:29:41 > 0:29:44and Sara still needs to convince the Catalogue Council
0:29:44 > 0:29:48that her vision is the best way to sell the company to the world.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52I would fight for anything that I think is important.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54This council meeting is like a hen house sometimes.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56It's a total chaos.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02To actually get to agree on things, you have to be very persuasive.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12IKEA's head of design, Marcus, has flown to Milan
0:30:12 > 0:30:15for the most important furniture festival in the world.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20We're going to Via Ventura now, which is in Lambrate,
0:30:20 > 0:30:23where we have the big IKEA exhibition.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- Do you normally travel in cabs? - No. A cab is not the IKEA way.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31There was no bus, so we had to take a cab.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33You know, everything you do that costs more money,
0:30:33 > 0:30:35at the end of the day, that's going to hit the customer.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37That's partly why I work here, actually.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41I've always seen IKEA as more of a movement than a company.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52The festival attracts thousands of designers, journalists
0:30:52 > 0:30:54and social influencers,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56and it's where Marcus and Tom Dixon
0:30:56 > 0:30:59are revealing their prototype to the world's press.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03I really love it. You know, I think it's so nice.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07It's quite impressive. The thing I like here is also that it's so many
0:31:07 > 0:31:09variations to this system.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Despite Tom insisting it's primarily a bed,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16IKEA are pushing ahead with their plan to market it as a sofa.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19It's come out good, really good.
0:31:19 > 0:31:25Excited. I love that you can really see all of the possibilities.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27It's a landscape of sofas.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Hopefully, Tom really likes it.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Hey, how are you?
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Really well. How are you?
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Tom has just flown in from London.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40He's not aware of how IKEA are displaying his design.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43I like to come when it's too late for me to affect anything because
0:31:43 > 0:31:45otherwise I just get in the way.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Hi, Johan, how are you?
0:31:52 > 0:31:55I think it's quite confusing, the way we're showing it.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57So, I hope people are able to decode it.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Um, there's so many sofas around in so many colours,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06it's a bit hard to know what you're looking at, really.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08There's no beds.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11They're pushing it into a non-bed feeling,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and the bed is the basic departure point.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17So, there's going to have to be a lot of explanation.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19The presentation of the design
0:32:19 > 0:32:21is not the only thing Tom has a problem with.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23I just think we should move this one forward.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27They can't decide which of the sofas, that isn't a bed, to sit on.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29We need to be in the middle.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31Wouldn't it be good to have two of those?
0:32:31 > 0:32:34One there and one here and then, you know?
0:32:34 > 0:32:37It is kind of each side challenging each other.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- I think we've got to be...- Or should we be a little bit like this?
0:32:40 > 0:32:43Tom wants some friction, maybe, tries to get some friction in there,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46but I think Marcus is quite good at giving it back,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48just as much as Tom will give it out.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52There's James Futcher. Oi! How is it?
0:32:52 > 0:32:53All green.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Tried to fit in with the sofas.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04The event is a sell-out,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08with more than 250 journalists keen to see the design.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10Will I ever be ready to go?
0:33:10 > 0:33:12What's happened to Marcus? Has he legged it?
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Yes. He's sitting there.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Despite IKEA displaying it as a sofa, once on stage,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Tom takes the chance to tell the world what the design really is.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31We wanted to make something which had a degree of permanence
0:33:31 > 0:33:34but adaptability. So that was the departure point.
0:33:34 > 0:33:35The platform is the bed,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38but the bed can equally be a sofa or something else.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43You know, maybe you've got a student bed that turns into a family sofa,
0:33:43 > 0:33:48that eventually turns into a child's bed again.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53Like, I kind of obsessed about beds because beds are such an important
0:33:53 > 0:33:55part of furnishing generally,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00and probably the only piece of furniture you'd really need.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Tom's continued insistence that it's a bed and not just a sofa
0:34:04 > 0:34:06means IKEA have to test it as a bed
0:34:06 > 0:34:09before it can go on sale around the world.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15We need to adapt our designs to the regulations all over the world
0:34:15 > 0:34:19for different species of furniture, and there is...
0:34:19 > 0:34:23The way we test sofas is different from how we test beds.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25So, we started off testing it as a sofa,
0:34:25 > 0:34:27we haven't tested it as a bed yet.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36After a successful photo shoot,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Sara is travelling to meet with the Catalogue Council.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46She'll need to persuade them to break with tradition
0:34:46 > 0:34:48and back her idea of having a front cover
0:34:48 > 0:34:50that is more about people than furniture.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Even if they are, you know,
0:34:53 > 0:34:57cluttering up the room and covering the furniture,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00it's something about being able to see, this is life,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02people are using our furnitures,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05and I hope we're not just going to end up
0:35:05 > 0:35:09with a cover showing a beautiful, empty room set,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11because that would be such a failure.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15The council will painstakingly deliberate
0:35:15 > 0:35:17over whether the front cover should be
0:35:17 > 0:35:20sending the world a message, or just selling furniture.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23I always go into these meetings
0:35:23 > 0:35:25and I kind of never know what to expect, in a way.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28They can be a tough crowd sometimes, but they do it with all...
0:35:28 > 0:35:30..you know, the best intentions in the world.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38OK. So, just let us jump straight into the biggest thing
0:35:38 > 0:35:42we have right now, then. The cover. I think, as I said,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45a room is not just any room without the people.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50It's personal, it's human, and it's also a moment of life.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54The way it's very lived-in actually reaches out and talks to you.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56This is the most people.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- This is the most people we have. - LAUGHTER
0:35:59 > 0:36:00MOCK GASP
0:36:01 > 0:36:05We would love to be able to have everyone in, actually, in the cover.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07When you see the people in the picture,
0:36:07 > 0:36:11then you turn to this one without, you suddenly feel how empty it is.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13- Or very beautiful.- Yes.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15LAUGHTER
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Empty beautiful!
0:36:17 > 0:36:20I believed beforehand that as many as possible,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22as big a party as possible, that would be fantastic.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25But when I saw this one, I got, "Hey, hang on..."
0:36:25 > 0:36:29We have made a room here where you can see yourself in it.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33Whenever it's not clear, whenever I have to look twice, yeah,
0:36:33 > 0:36:34then I'm getting disturbed.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36And it was two things.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37One, what is the baby doing?
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Do I see that on the first-hand or not?
0:36:39 > 0:36:43And if I have to look twice, it disturbs me, personally.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44The second one is this cushion.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47This cushion is very hard to understand what it is -
0:36:47 > 0:36:49this pencil cushion.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51- OK, yes.- What is...?
0:36:51 > 0:36:54You cannot even realise, what is that?
0:36:54 > 0:36:58And that, as an observer, that disturbs me a lot, yeah?
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Do we need to remove all this disturbances, that it's very clear?
0:37:02 > 0:37:06Sometimes, when something disturbs, it's not always bad.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09I would say that I strongly recommend us
0:37:09 > 0:37:12to go with life in this room,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15because this is also what makes IKEA stand out.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19You can't find any other cover actually working with rooms
0:37:19 > 0:37:21that does it the way we do.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Personally, I would go for the one without.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26I think this is the boldest, and thereby the strongest.
0:37:26 > 0:37:27And if I had to choose,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I would actually go for this one without people,
0:37:30 > 0:37:36because in some of the others, I get the feeling of the construction.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Don't feel real that this would actually happen in a home,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44as it's set up. The people disturbs me.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- I didn't find it so commercial.- Mm.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49But then, I'm from the old school.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Of course I'm a little bit disappointed now, if it's...
0:37:59 > 0:38:03It tended to sound like we are maybe moving towards
0:38:03 > 0:38:05an empty room set.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08And, for me, it's a little bit... a generic solution...
0:38:10 > 0:38:15..that's not as interesting as it could be.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19It is creativity versus commercialism, and finding that...
0:38:19 > 0:38:20..beautiful balance.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25A final decision will be made in two weeks' time.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35It's like reality, only virtual.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38To help the store celebrate turning 30,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Paul has had a delivery from IKEA headquarters.
0:38:44 > 0:38:49This is a VR experience and you can go back in time with IKEA,
0:38:49 > 0:38:51see the products, and it tells you about the products,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54and it's very, very good. It's the future, like garlic bread.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Oh, yeah. Brilliant.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01Ready to travel through time.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05I'm in a room that's 1980s.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06It's got pictures of, like, Yaz
0:39:06 > 0:39:10and women with lots of make up and high hair.
0:39:10 > 0:39:11There's a Billy bookcase.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14There's an old black-and-white portable TV.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Oh, and a wire chair here.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19I think I'm in the '90s.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Oh, a kitchen! It's misted up now, I can't see.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26It was great. It's made my eyes sweat.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30I think it's all that time travel that does it.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34But IKEA recognise they can't live in the past,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37and are embracing technologies of the future.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40I'm just adding sofas everywhere.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Look, you've got the new app, the IKEA app. What do you think?
0:39:43 > 0:39:45This app allows customers to place
0:39:45 > 0:39:483D images of furniture in their homes.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50You're going to be on this desk in the future?
0:39:50 > 0:39:52There's going to be so many questions about it.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54Old people like me are going to come in and say,
0:39:54 > 0:39:57"My augmented reality's playing up. Can you sort it out for me, please?"
0:39:57 > 0:40:01- Definitely not.- I've got 75 sofas in my living room!
0:40:01 > 0:40:05Hiya. Would you like to have a go on our augmented reality app?
0:40:05 > 0:40:07You press that plus button there, that adds furniture.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Great stuff. You're better at it than me.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13- That's pretty cool. - Oh, you're good at this.
0:40:15 > 0:40:1830 years' time, what do you think this store will look like then?
0:40:18 > 0:40:22I think everything will be virtual. You won't even need one of these.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25It could be the IKEA is just a meatball shop.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29You sit and eat your meatballs and chips, or your fish and chips,
0:40:29 > 0:40:30and that might be the IKEA store.
0:40:39 > 0:40:44Once the trolley is full with meatballs, then we will cover them.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Last year's meatball sales
0:40:46 > 0:40:50helped IKEA make £1.7 billion from catering,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53making them the tenth largest food retailer in the world.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57The things that customer come for is the meatballs.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Do you know how any meatballs we sell throughout the year, global?
0:41:00 > 0:41:03One billion meatballs.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05- So, that's quite big, hey?- Yeah.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07Originally from Poland,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Simon Rabinski has worked for IKEA for 11 years.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11So, you, as a chef,
0:41:11 > 0:41:15your two main dishes that you will cook throughout the day
0:41:15 > 0:41:17- will be meatballs and... - Meatballs and fish.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Very good. Very good. We're learning, we're learning.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25He's just landed a job as food manager at a new store
0:41:25 > 0:41:27that's due to be built in Sheffield.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33When I came to England, I didn't speak much English,
0:41:33 > 0:41:39and IKEA invest a lot of money in me, so they sent me to college,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41they sent me to university.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45And all they expected from me is the commitment and hard work.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47- Lovely. Enjoy.- Thank you very much.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49It's now 11 years and I'm still here,
0:41:49 > 0:41:53smiling, because I like what I'm doing. Definitely.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57- We need two, right? - They're here, chef.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00Simon's hoping his 11 years' hard work will be rewarded
0:42:00 > 0:42:02with a trip to Almhult,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07the small town where IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11OK. Happy to go?
0:42:11 > 0:42:14The company pay for staff from around the world
0:42:14 > 0:42:15to make the pilgrimage.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17I must go. Whatever happens, I must go.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Because I have to go.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Cos I heard so many stories, I just want to go and feel it.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Having missed out three times in the past,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Simon is having to battle it out with the other managers,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30who will work in the Sheffield store when it opens.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35And, for me, it will be kind of like another step that I made it.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37These managers are incredibly keen
0:42:37 > 0:42:40to go to see the house where Ingvar was born.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42They want to see the museum.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45They want to get excited, to say, "This is where it all began."
0:42:45 > 0:42:47I went and I was very proud, and I met him, as well.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Amazing guy. So, I can't share how that made me feel,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53but I've got that with me, inside me.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57Have we looked at people that maybe have been before and taken them off?
0:43:01 > 0:43:06- How long in your career did you go? - Er, after five years.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09Like I said in the beginning, this is, for me, a privilege to go.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Team, we have to break it. It's gone four o'clock.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15Thank you very much for what you've done so far.
0:43:15 > 0:43:16They just want to go.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19I understand why they want to go. I'd like them to go.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22But, in IKEA, everything has a cost, and we're cost conscious.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27With no immediate decision, Simon will have to wait to see
0:43:27 > 0:43:30if he's made a strong enough case to go to Almhult.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34I hope I will go, finally, after my third attempt.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36A very exciting time.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Almhult is very different because it's hard to make friends outside
0:43:48 > 0:43:55of IKEA, because, um, everybody you know works in IKEA.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59James Futcher has worked for IKEA all over the world,
0:43:59 > 0:44:02moving to Almhult 11 years ago.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06I've never been anywhere like it. It's kind of IKEA Town.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10IKEA... This is the IKEA catalogue.
0:44:10 > 0:44:11This is where the catalogue is produced
0:44:11 > 0:44:13for all the countries all over the world.
0:44:15 > 0:44:16Here we have the IKEA Hotel.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21Here's the museum, which is the old IKEA store,
0:44:21 > 0:44:22the first, original store.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26We go past the new IKEA.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31I think it takes some getting used to when you've moved
0:44:31 > 0:44:32from a different country.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36It's sometimes quite hard to get away from IKEA.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44With Tom Dixon continuing to call his design a bed,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47IKEA are having to carry out a new round of safety tests.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53We're hoping to make sure that the sofa will pass the tests
0:44:53 > 0:44:56and the requirements to fulfil it being a bed.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58So, it's a lot of kind of touch-and-go
0:44:58 > 0:45:00and making sure that we can pass
0:45:00 > 0:45:05those tests to make sure that it's safe if it's used as a bed.
0:45:05 > 0:45:06I have a gas flame.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Although they're sticking to their plans to only market it as a sofa,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14they're now carrying out flammability bed tests.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17And now we wait for two minutes.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18It must pass the safety test
0:45:18 > 0:45:21for each of the 49 countries it will be sold in.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29It should self-extinguish within two minutes,
0:45:29 > 0:45:32and it has been a minute and a half now.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34So, it's...
0:45:34 > 0:45:38I don't think it's going to extinguish.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Any failure is bad news for James.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45It means they have to change the materials before retesting,
0:45:45 > 0:45:47which may increase the cost
0:45:47 > 0:45:50and delay the product going on sale around the world.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01A decision's been made, and a group of managers from Sheffield
0:46:01 > 0:46:03are on a pilgrimage to Almhult.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Do whatever you want, so just chill out and then we'll see.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08- We have an hour.- Yep.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Food manager Simon is lucky enough
0:46:10 > 0:46:13to have made it on the trip to the company's spiritual home.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15I want to go and see it, you know?
0:46:15 > 0:46:17I think everyone was saying to me, "Go now internet,
0:46:17 > 0:46:19"there's so many pictures."
0:46:19 > 0:46:22- No. You've got to... Don't spoil it. - Experience it for the first time.
0:46:22 > 0:46:23I don't want to. Exactly.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28I want to walk through this train and see it and go, "Ah!"
0:46:28 > 0:46:30I just know the prospect of it is so exciting.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33And I guess a lot of people today will have this,
0:46:33 > 0:46:34when you meet your future wife,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37you had these butterflies, you know...
0:46:37 > 0:46:40We're slowing. We're slowing.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43- Nearly there.- Goose bumps.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Have you? You got goose bumps, Sean?
0:46:45 > 0:46:46Have you? He has as well.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52This feels special, doesn't it?
0:46:52 > 0:46:55You can see the blue, guys.
0:46:55 > 0:46:56IKEA.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Was that it? Let's go. Let's go. Come on. Let's go.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08The trip is a chance to see where Ingvar Kamprad started IKEA
0:47:08 > 0:47:11and learn about the values he founded the company on.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Down you come, down you come.
0:47:15 > 0:47:20To understand the cultures and the values that we live by every day,
0:47:20 > 0:47:22and everything what we do,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25this is where I hope I will see all of it.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30Hello, everyone. We have Ingvar, welcoming you.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33Born in 1926,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Ingvar Kamprad began his business career at just five years old,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40selling matches to locals.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42He fuelled a furniture revolution
0:47:42 > 0:47:45when he started selling flat pack in 1956.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49In this backwater of the world,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53it was still a really shitty area.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56LAUGHTER
0:47:56 > 0:48:00And when they started to farm, they had to clear the stones.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02They had a really tough time.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07And they used the stones to build stone walls...
0:48:08 > 0:48:11..which served a purpose.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14And you solve the problems and the challenges
0:48:14 > 0:48:18and you create the stone wall of today, which is the IKEA brand.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20And we're still building it together,
0:48:20 > 0:48:22because that was the spirit that
0:48:22 > 0:48:25these people had to live by - togetherness.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30Next, the team head to a building called Tillsammans.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36Tillsammans means togetherness, and it's a chance for a bit more...
0:48:36 > 0:48:38CHEERING
0:48:38 > 0:48:40..togetherness. THEY CHEER
0:48:42 > 0:48:46All the way there.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51The displays are focused on how IKEA operates as a global business.
0:48:51 > 0:48:52Oh, hello!
0:48:52 > 0:48:55One in particular, about how products are given the same name
0:48:55 > 0:48:58around the world, has caught the group's attention.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00I'm a little bit bowled over.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02We've just been having a look at the words,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04because obviously people say they're Swedish words,
0:49:04 > 0:49:06but they don't translate in every country.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10So, there was a product that may have been called Prick,
0:49:10 > 0:49:12but it can't, because it's a slang expression in the UK,
0:49:12 > 0:49:14so it's gone in the bin.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16- Another one... - LAUGHTER
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Again, can't go in.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22The team head to a room dedicated
0:49:22 > 0:49:25to the book Ingvar Kamprad wrote in 1976,
0:49:25 > 0:49:27The Testament Of A Furniture Dealer.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30- Thank you.- No, I need one.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35It's where he wrote down the values he expected his workers to adopt.
0:49:38 > 0:49:39Have you got Portuguese?
0:49:41 > 0:49:42No matter where in the world,
0:49:42 > 0:49:46IKEA still expects all staff to live by these beliefs.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:49:49 > 0:49:50Thank you. Thank you.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56A lot of the stuff that we got today,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59it was just like, "Look at this!"
0:49:59 > 0:50:03- I know.- To be honest, to be honest, he is a genius.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06If you have to remember one thing from the trip,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08what would you remember?
0:50:08 > 0:50:11It's the togetherness. It's completely that, is what I'm taking.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14I mean... It's something similar to me but, you know,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16you almost can imagine...
0:50:18 > 0:50:20..that one of the stone have your name.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23I think that's what Ingvar realised.
0:50:23 > 0:50:30How co-workers are important to all this, um, expansion,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32to the success of the company.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36Without the small stones, the wall will just collapse.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45OK, James.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Ah, it's full of people.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53- Are you finishing? - Oh, great. Thanks!
0:50:53 > 0:50:57James is updating Marcus with news about the Tom Dixon project.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59We've passed all the seating tests,
0:50:59 > 0:51:02we've passed all the sleeping tests in all countries,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05unfortunately, except in the US.
0:51:05 > 0:51:06And why's that?
0:51:06 > 0:51:08It's quite complicated when you need to make something
0:51:08 > 0:51:11that is for seating and sleeping.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14So we are going to do a retest. But there is a consequence
0:51:14 > 0:51:17that it won't be on time for the global launch,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19so, a sale start later,
0:51:19 > 0:51:23but we are doing everything we can do to get it as soon as possible.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25- INTERVIEWER: - So, how did this happen then,
0:51:25 > 0:51:26because you started a year ago?
0:51:28 > 0:51:29Um...
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Yeah, I think it's been very complicated for the team.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Is it a bed, is it a sofa?
0:51:36 > 0:51:38We took on something which had a little bit of a bigger
0:51:38 > 0:51:41learning curve than a normal product development,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44and then from time to time you pay the price for that.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46That's good thing of not being on the stock market,
0:51:46 > 0:51:48that we can invest in crazy stuff.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52- Does Tom know?- Yes, Tom knows.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56- He knows about the delay?- Yes.- He loves it.- No, they're not happy!
0:51:57 > 0:52:01I'm kind of bored of talking about it, actually, and so...
0:52:01 > 0:52:04..if I have to go to the US in six months to talk about it again,
0:52:04 > 0:52:06after I've talked about it in Europe,
0:52:06 > 0:52:08I'm going to run out of things to say, you know?
0:52:10 > 0:52:14In order to make sure the product can go on sale in all 49 markets
0:52:14 > 0:52:18at once, IKEA will now have to pass a retest for the American market.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24What impact does that have, not going out in the US?
0:52:26 > 0:52:30Well, it makes it that then you start having regional launches
0:52:30 > 0:52:35rather than using this massive power of IKEA to be global,
0:52:35 > 0:52:36and doing it one time.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44The final decision about the catalogue front cover
0:52:44 > 0:52:45has been made...
0:52:46 > 0:52:49..and 203 million copies are being printed.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Of course I am a little bit, you know, disappointed.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08I wanted to have more life in this picture.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10It's not the outcome Sara wanted,
0:53:10 > 0:53:13but she's already thinking about next year's catalogue.
0:53:13 > 0:53:18I have no idea if there will be people on the front cover next year.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21We will all fight for it and I will be part of that fight.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28We believe that we have to have an emotional connection with the world.
0:53:28 > 0:53:34We want to be, you know, more than just a furniture dealer,
0:53:34 > 0:53:37and I think that is the most important message of all.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43Drum roll please, everybody, drum roll for the catalogue.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45With the focus very much on furniture,
0:53:45 > 0:53:49the catalogue lands in stores around the world at the same time.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51WORKERS DRUM ON TABLES
0:53:58 > 0:53:59DRUMMING STOPS
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Why is there so much anticipation
0:54:01 > 0:54:03from the co-workers about the catalogue?
0:54:03 > 0:54:07It's sort of like a yearning to see what's in it,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10what the special offers are, and, yeah, they want to see all that,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12and it's nice to have a book.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14I mean, we've had books in the store for 30 years,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17since the 1987 catalogue.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21It's the biggest marketing investment we ever, ever will have,
0:54:21 > 0:54:24so, just think about how powerful the catalogue is, guys.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31- What do you think?- Very good.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33I love the colour scheme, lovely and bright.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35How long have you been shopping at IKEA?
0:54:35 > 0:54:38- Since it was built.- Since it was opened.- Seriously? From the '80s?
0:54:38 > 0:54:42- I've been here from the beginning. - Yeah.- Well, I'm glad you like it.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44- Thank you very much.- And let's have another 30 years, eh?
0:54:44 > 0:54:45- Yeah.- Brilliant!
0:54:49 > 0:54:51What do you think of the front cover?
0:54:51 > 0:54:53Er, it's in-your-face.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56- It's a bit in-your-face?- Yeah. - Does it inspire you?
0:54:56 > 0:54:57Not really, I don't know.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00It's not really my thing. There's too much going on here.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02It just looks like there's stuff everywhere.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04I guess you can imagine it's lived in,
0:55:04 > 0:55:05is what they were going for, but...
0:55:05 > 0:55:08- ..not for me.- I think it would look better with people.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10- Yeah, I think people. - Or pets or something.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13Yeah, maybe pets, animals. Everyone loves animals.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16It does look a bit busy. I mean, a lot of customers have said that.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18It does look like the house has been burgled.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22- Should I not say that?! - HE LAUGHS
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Honest and transparent, that's IKEA.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Yeah, it's exciting now, to see how it looks,
0:55:38 > 0:55:40get the first reaction from the customers.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44It's really exciting. A little bit nervous.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47James is assembling the bed sofa in an IKEA store
0:55:47 > 0:55:48for the very first time.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Shall we find somewhere that we can may be put it here
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- and put all the covers on? - Yeah, I thought maybe here.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02It looks nicer than I thought it would look here.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05It looks kind of quite elegant and sophisticated.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It's quite different from the typical sofas we have.
0:56:08 > 0:56:13- Do you think it's comfortable? - Yes. It's very comfortable.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Really surprisingly comfortable.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20Having initially failed the safety test for North America...
0:56:20 > 0:56:24We're going to go to the bedroom department to get some bedding.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27..Tom Dixon's design has passed the retest.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29We take one of those and the pillow set,
0:56:29 > 0:56:31I think that would be really cool.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34In all of those 419 stores around the world,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38we can now talk about it as a sofa and as a bed,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41and that's what Tom wanted to do, Marcus and me wanted to do.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43You know, it's a great relief.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45Put the pillows down.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49You take all the cushions off and, you know, here's a bed.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51It looks quite inviting. I could jump in.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53It is a sofa, it is a bed.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55It's a multifunctional platform unit
0:56:55 > 0:56:57that you choose what you want to use it for.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00Tom's happy, I'm happy, Marcus is happy,
0:57:00 > 0:57:02and I hope the customers will be happy.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05Ah, it's really comfy.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08It looks very modern, as well.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11Yeah, I like it.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Yeah, I think it would be something to buy, especially for my kid.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18I mean, it can be something that I start out with a bed
0:57:18 > 0:57:21and then I can add on. Maybe it's something for you?
0:57:23 > 0:57:24The delays and retesting
0:57:24 > 0:57:28mean the idea of a low-cost piece of furniture is slipping away.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34Each country will decide how much they sell it for...
0:57:34 > 0:57:35It's quite nice.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40..but the recommended price has gone up from £530 to £700.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42Feels good.
0:57:42 > 0:57:43It's a relief.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45And now that it's safe to be released,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49the bed sofa will go on sale around the world.
0:57:49 > 0:57:50We made it.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54It's going to be in the stores.
0:57:59 > 0:58:00Next time...
0:58:00 > 0:58:03We produce a lot of furniture for IKEA.
0:58:03 > 0:58:05Oh, smoke comes from that machine.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Failure is not really an option for us right now.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11Look at that. There is no way in the world you think
0:58:11 > 0:58:14that's going to open. Not this August. You're thinking next August.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19Hannah's got this idea of sticking a finger in each vase
0:58:19 > 0:58:21to make it different. That's really crazy.
0:58:21 > 0:58:27Uncover the mysteries of flat pack, everyday design and brand names.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30To find out more go to...
0:58:32 > 0:58:34..and follow the links to the Open University.