Episode 1 Flatpack Empire


Episode 1

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Transcript


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Where are you going?

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It's not there. There's the beginning of the shop.

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I'm completely lost.

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Love it or loathe it...

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..the world's largest furniture shop has shaped the way we live.

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As soon as you're in you can't get out, can you?

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Spend and spend and spend, really.

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Founded in 1943,

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Ingvar Kamprad established IKEA as a global brand

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before his recent death at the age of 91.

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His unique approach to business still guides staff today.

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I've always seen IKEA as more than a movement than a company.

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For the first time in its 75-year history,

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Sweden's most famous export

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has granted our cameras worldwide access.

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Namaste.

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We filmed the £34 billion operation over the course of a year...

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It's a big machine. It needs to be fed, yeah?

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..following their rapid, global expansion...

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We're just entering one of the biggest markets in the world.

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I think that we're writing some history, actually.

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..discovering what it takes

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for a new product to make it to the shelves...

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So, I wanted to do a cot and a coffin,

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so I approached IKEA with that idea

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and they just said, "No, you're joking."

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..and learning the secrets of how it became one of

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the largest and most influential companies in the world.

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It is creativity versus commercialism

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and finding that beautiful balance.

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You can look upon it from the outside.

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It looks like an ordinary office space,

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but it's actually anything else than an office space.

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It's the very heart of our product development and design facilities

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within IKEA.

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Marcus Engman is IKEA's head of design.

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He's in charge of a team

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that produces thousands of prototypes each year.

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Good morning.

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Here is the prototypes that you work with right now,

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each and every designer, by their desks.

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And it's also things that they think is inspiring for them

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when they sit down at the office space.

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We have this gigantic studio.

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We have like 4,500 square metres of just prototypes.

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We also have our own factory...

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..on site, inside of the office,

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with skilled craftsmen and skilled machinery.

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All of the stuff we can produce within IKEA

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in different parts of the world we could produce here in our office.

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Just another ordinary morning.

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It's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory

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but what comes out of this is not chocolate,

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it's actually great home furnishing.

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Marcus works with an in-house team of just 12 designers,

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who are under constant pressure to come up with new ideas

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to keep IKEA's offering fresh.

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I make dinosaurs with eyes and they look in funny ways, you know.

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So, really angry, happy, bit worried.

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Up, down. It also rotates.

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And the tilting. Just like that.

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I think this could be a carpet.

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I wonder if this is some kind of side table also.

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More like a pillow. I think it's quite an interesting piece.

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Each week, Marcus is pitched new ideas by his team...

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These are sort of in between a carpet and a...

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..a sofa.

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..and he decides which go on to be developed.

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The shapes of them are not that interesting.

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They are a bit too...

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..ordinary, to be honest.

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In an attempt to bring in new customers,

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Marcus has started collaborating

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with a number of big names from outside the company.

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They're working with audio giant Sonos to target tech enthusiasts...

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..and with Virgil Abloh,

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who designed Nike's highest profile trainer of 2017,

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to bring in the millennials.

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And this year, they're working with the enfant terrible

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of British design, Tom Dixon, to target the high-end market.

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Do you think if you don't collaborate or look to the outside,

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-you'll get left behind?

-No.

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Of course, that could always happen

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with someone who's really big like us.

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You know, you...

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That you become kind of slow

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and you think that what you do is truly great

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because you're the biggest

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and I think that's the scary thing, actually,

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to be in that position.

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Working with Tom means IKEA

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won't be in full control of the design process.

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Two strong personalities are meeting in this project.

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What's he like?

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He's a fun guy.

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Could be kind of grumpy from time to time, too.

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Here we are in our epicentre.

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This is the basement workshop. Not quite as good as IKEA's.

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Tom Dixon runs his own furniture business.

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He produces low volume and sells at high prices.

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IKEA hope the collaboration

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will attract customers who would like to own one of his products

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but can't afford one.

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It's a bit more David and Goliath in my mind.

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I always like the ideas of benign parasites, where, you know,

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I can make a living out of this huge beast.

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So, you know, tap into superior engineering,

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extraordinary global sourcing, and it's just actually the beginning.

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My first idea was, I wanted to do from the cradle to the grave.

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So, I wanted to do a cot, and a coffin.

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So, I approached IKEA with that idea and they just said,

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"No, you're joking." But, in the conversation that followed,

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we struck on this idea of working on a bed, because bed, for me,

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is like the primary unit of life, or living, or furnishing.

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Since the original conversation, Tom's idea has evolved.

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-So, what is it?

-It's not a sofa bed, it's a bed sofa.

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But it's really a platform for living.

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For working, for sleeping, for...shagging.

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It's a new way of thinking about furniture.

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It's more permanent and more adaptable.

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From this platform, I can then create a sofa by adding on

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backrests and adding on cushions, an intrinsic coffee table.

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Let's say a reading lamp like this.

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All kinds of different things.

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And then I can evolve the object

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during my life to go back to being a bed if I have kids, for instance,

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or I split up from my wife and I go back to single living.

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It can be re-become what it was at the beginning.

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Very much like a telephone.

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These things are not static. You keep on buying apps for them.

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In fact, you can see the kind of closeness between

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this design and that design.

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Encouraging people to customise one of their sofas

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is a totally new concept for IKEA.

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So, let's say we've got the frame.

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I'm going to slide my 10mm bolt head down a groove

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and that means I can just bolt on any component I like.

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If I want to stick a side table, if I want to stick a lamp,

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if I want to make the legs longer and all the rest of it,

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all I need is a conventional bolt

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that I can buy in any hardware store.

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Tom plans to use IKEA's global manufacturing muscle

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to make the bed as competitively priced as possible.

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The frame will be made out of recycled aluminium,

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which is more expensive than wood,

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but is long-lasting and sustainable.

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There is an association of disposability with IKEA

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and it's certainly something I think about a lot, which is, well,

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can I make something which can last a lifetime or several?

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Marcus has given the challenge of managing the Tom Dixon project

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to one of his team, James Futcher.

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Just going through these detailed concepts from Tom.

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We need to make some decisions on

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how we're going to actually produce it,

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and which one is the right one.

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My role is kind of being diplomatic,

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listen to Tom's views and how he would like it to be,

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and then making it work with how we work at IKEA.

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But working with a maverick designer like Tom is a leap into the unknown.

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It is a fairly complicated project.

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It's a way of constructing upholstery

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that we have never done before.

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Could we really change the way that sofas are made,

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using aluminium as a base

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and not having the typical wood structures with

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nailing and the stapling?

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How could we really industrialise

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making sofas in a different way?

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Because it's important to the world.

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And, you know, we want to

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make the world a little bit of a better place.

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That's part of our ambition within IKEA.

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I think it's about daring to try something different.

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Let's see. It could be one of our greatest mistakes,

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or it could be a really good thing.

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Who to blame?

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If it doesn't work, I would say it's James...

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A lot of my responsibility.

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-To make it work.

-Yeah.

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I do the fun, he has the hard job.

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Yes.

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Of the many prototypes made in Almhult every year,

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2,000 go on to be manufactured and distributed around the world...

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..including Britain,

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where 19 stores contributed £1.8 billion to the company's

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global profits last year.

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Good morning, mate.

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Despite such big numbers, UK sales actually slowed...

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-Morning, Tony.

-..putting every store under pressure.

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Morning, Lucy. All right?

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-TANNOY:

-Co-worker announcement.

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Please attend he five past nine meeting at the checkouts.

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Morning, everyone.

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Good morning.

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How are you doing?

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Water. I've cycled in and it's got past the zip.

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It's a clean top.

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No, it's a clean top.

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It's not drool.

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We've got amazing new products in store.

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We've got some brand-new news that's just come in.

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-Have a guess what they are?

-Chairs?

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Chairs, yeah. Function?

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Little hooks. There are a pack of three and they're for £3.

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Wow! How good are they?

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With last year's figures not so strong,

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the morning meetings are a chance to find out

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how the year-on-year sales are looking.

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Floor sales for yesterday, plus 23% on last year.

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APPLAUSE

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We are a little cog in a big IKEA machine

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but, to the people who work in Warrington, we are IKEA Warrington.

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-We're the number one.

-Have a fabulous day.

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Today is extra special for Warrington.

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It's 30 years since it became the first store in the UK.

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We've got party poppers.

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We've got, oh, air guitars.

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I don't know how much he paid for those

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but I suppose they've gone up with inflation.

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Paul Fishwick is one of the UK's longest serving members of staff.

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# I'm leaning on a lamppost at he corner of the street

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# To watch a certain little lady go by. #

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I started in May 1987...

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..26 years of age,

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and now I'm just an old man.

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I actually had dark hair then, and a little porno 'tache,

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which was the rage in the '80s.

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A lot has changed in the last three decades, including music...

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Bit of Billy.

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..and fashion.

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Morning, Michael. Oh, love the shell suit!

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-Come back round again.

-Where's the trousers?

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But the IKEA concept remains largely the same as when it came to the UK.

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They queued from the early hours

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for a first glimpse into the Aladdin's cave alongside the M62.

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Opening day started about seven in the morning.

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We had the Swedish ambassador here and he cut the log

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and the store was open. People came in.

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People didn't understand the concept.

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We are a little bit different

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in that we set out to allow the customer to

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serve themselves as much as possible.

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People were asking us straight questions.

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"Excuse me, where's the televisions?"

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"Do you do a bumper for a 1981 Vauxhall Cavalier?"

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And "Could you come with me,

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"cos I need to for an hour while I pick my furniture?"

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We said, "No, there's five of us. We can't come out."

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Makes you very reflective.

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Hooray!

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What we do today, what we did in the past,

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and how the customers understand IKEA more and how the concept...

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..is accepted now.

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Beautiful stroll on a wet afternoon in a dry building.

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How can this be deemed unpleasant?

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Daddy... Daddy.

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You're driving me mad.

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And you're going to go and part with some hard cash.

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Can I just get through there, please?

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So, you're getting that thrill of purchasing.

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If anyone's paying by card...

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Retro retail, that's what we call it.

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Nightmare.

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Having worked for the company for 30 years...

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Are you looking for something?

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..Paul has seen how IKEA's "pick, pay, and take it away" formula

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can be frustrating for customers.

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A2 is this area here. Yeah.

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This is actual sort of instant gratification shopping.

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Quite old-fashioned, isn't it?

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Very old-fashioned but old-fashioned is good.

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I'm going to have to get a man.

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In the '80s, IKEA had a little bit of an arrogance about it.

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We're making a lot of money, we're always busy,

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we'll do the basic to sell as much as we can,

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bulla bulla, stack it high,

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and the result was we had 10% growth a year.

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What's changed in IKEA in the past 30 years for you?

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I think, for me, it's got that

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we have to fight for the money a little bit more,

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insomuch as we were always guaranteed, in the early days,

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massive growth. Now we fight for growth.

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What's going to happen in another 30 years?

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And you see it already.

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Online shopping's going through the roof.

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I mean, look at Amazon -

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they've got a big place down the road, twice the size of this.

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No customer ever goes in there.

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And all you do is pick your smartphone up,

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go boop, boop, boop, pay with whatever method you're paying,

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and within an hour or so it's outside, by a drone,

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outside your back door.

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Are you sure you're not being a miserable old man?

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I'm a miserable old man, yes.

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But am I a realist or am I being delusional?

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The internet may have changed the way we shop...

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..but IKEA's biggest marketing tool is still their catalogue.

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Last year, 203 million copies were produced in 35 languages,

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making it the largest publication in the world,

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with more copies printed than either the Bible or the Koran.

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Better to move this one up here and have this here...

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-Standing out there.

-I don't know.

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-Yes, I think so.

-Maybe resize this one a little bit.

-Yep.

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Sara Blomquist is the creative leader on the catalogue,

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responsible for producing one vision,

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seen by millions around the world.

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Let's try that.

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Yeah. Good. Now we have one more spread to go.

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It's such a massive production.

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This is the IKEA catalogue.

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It's so big.

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It reaches so many people, and that's amazing,

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because you affect so many people.

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If that is not addictive, I don't know what is.

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On the outskirts of Almhult,

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in the largest photographic studio in northern Europe...

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..an army of workers build hundreds of realistic rooms.

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No, I haven't, actually.

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There hasn't been any time today.

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So I have no idea actually what's been happening.

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It takes nine months and hundreds of millions of pounds

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to complete the catalogue...

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-Hi, guys...

-..and it works.

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In the month it's released, there's a significant bump in profits.

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We're working over lunch.

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Today, Sara's preparing for the most important photo of all -

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the front cover.

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The first thing that people see is the front cover.

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So it's going to make a huge impact when it lands in people's mailboxes.

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The front cover is the signal to everyone - the idea and the message

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of what we want them to feel when it comes to IKEA.

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Over the years, front covers have tended to be commercially driven

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and focused on furniture.

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Sara has a strong creative vision of what this year's image should be.

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The idea with this year's catalogue cover is to show life, with people,

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different ages, different origins, diversity...

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So, how any people have you got?

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Around 12.

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We're not even sure how many people we'll show on the actual cover.

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The cast are nothing without a set

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and Sara's got just two days to get it ready.

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Have we thought about a bit rugging up the texture a little bit?

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Lived in. Yeah, that's a really good point.

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We are just thinking about how we can make the room look

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a little bit more lived in.

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Instead of having new, fresh flowers from the shop,

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they are on the way to get old but...it's nice things.

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Once the shoot is over, Sara will travel to Malmo

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to present a selection of the photos to a powerful group

0:18:560:19:00

known as the Catalogue Council.

0:19:000:19:01

The council are senior members of different branches from IKEA.

0:19:030:19:07

They have a lot of knowledge about a lot of things.

0:19:070:19:10

Last year, the council rejected the front cover

0:19:110:19:13

and made Sara start again.

0:19:130:19:15

Sometimes it's a challenge, obviously,

0:19:160:19:19

that we might have a little bit different opinions

0:19:190:19:21

about what is the best way of showing the IKEA catalogue.

0:19:210:19:25

This year, Sara's idea of focusing on people and not furniture

0:19:250:19:29

might not be an easy sell.

0:19:290:19:32

It might be almost impossible sometimes

0:19:320:19:34

to meet with the council when they want to be more commercial

0:19:340:19:38

and focused on sales figures and so on.

0:19:380:19:40

That's the reality we live in.

0:19:420:19:44

IKEA are one of the world's biggest consumers of wood...

0:19:510:19:54

..using 1% of the world's commercial wood supply each year.

0:19:570:20:01

Estimates suggest this is equivalent to 70 million trees.

0:20:010:20:04

With such an impact on the environment,

0:20:100:20:12

they are rethinking how to make their products more sustainable.

0:20:120:20:16

Aluminium is 100% recyclable.

0:20:160:20:18

So all of this is going in for re-melting.

0:20:180:20:21

-Beautiful material.

-Yes.

0:20:230:20:24

James has come to a recycled aluminium factory in southern Sweden

0:20:250:20:29

to check on the progress of the Tom Dixon project.

0:20:290:20:31

You can see why we've decided to use aluminium.

0:20:320:20:35

I mean, it's super strong, it's lightweight, durable,

0:20:350:20:39

and it's really kind of making something different

0:20:390:20:41

with aluminium that hasn't been done before.

0:20:410:20:44

So, it's super exciting to see the starting point.

0:20:440:20:47

So, all of that aluminium's going to be melted down.

0:20:490:20:51

Once melted, the aluminium will be used to make a small number

0:20:560:20:59

of prototype frames.

0:20:590:21:01

It's so important that we get this part right.

0:21:010:21:04

If we don't get it right now,

0:21:040:21:06

we'll have made thousands and thousands of pieces

0:21:060:21:09

and it will be so hard to change.

0:21:090:21:11

Why is it bent at the end?

0:21:120:21:14

In the first place, you don't have the correct temperature.

0:21:140:21:18

When we start up the production,

0:21:180:21:20

you test to see that all dimensions are OK.

0:21:200:21:22

Here you can really see

0:21:250:21:26

all the things that we've spent time on designing.

0:21:260:21:29

You can see he channel where the upholstery parts will clip in,

0:21:290:21:33

-the two channels.

-Yep.

0:21:330:21:35

Screw slots. Here you will put a corner piece going here.

0:21:350:21:40

It's amazing now to see it come to life.

0:21:400:21:43

Very soon we'll be able to cut the panels

0:21:430:21:45

and actually put them together into a sofa to see how it works.

0:21:450:21:49

The prototypes will be shown

0:21:540:21:55

at a prestigious furniture festival in Milan,

0:21:550:21:58

where the design will be revealed to the world's press.

0:21:580:22:01

When you work with any designer, but especially Tom,

0:22:020:22:05

you want to do your best job.

0:22:050:22:07

And it is about making sure that you get everything right.

0:22:070:22:10

More than 1,000 miles away,

0:22:180:22:20

fabrics and cushions are prepared for the prototype.

0:22:200:22:23

Tom's design uses a sprung mattress,

0:22:260:22:29

similar to what's found in a standard bed.

0:22:290:22:31

I've just got something jammed.

0:22:470:22:49

At product development HQ, the Tom Dixon prototypes have arrived.

0:22:500:22:54

You need to actually get it into the groove,

0:22:540:22:57

and that's what we've worked out with the aluminium.

0:22:570:22:59

You can choose whether you sit on it, lay on it or sleep on it.

0:23:020:23:06

You can bolt on pieces, strap things on.

0:23:060:23:09

That's what's new for us.

0:23:090:23:10

We're letting the customer choose how they put it together.

0:23:100:23:13

Whether it's a sofa or a bed, it's up to you.

0:23:130:23:16

Although it has many functions,

0:23:170:23:20

Tom Dixon's clear which is the most important.

0:23:200:23:23

I want to make sure that it's a bed first,

0:23:250:23:28

and then you can make it into a sofa later.

0:23:280:23:30

Ultimately, lots of sofa beds are...

0:23:300:23:32

..a reasonably uncomfortable sofa with an even more uncomfortable bed

0:23:330:23:37

inside, whereas I wanted to make a great bed that would also make a...

0:23:370:23:42

..an amazing sofa, yeah?

0:23:420:23:44

You know, from a commercial perspective,

0:23:440:23:46

they sell much more beds than sofas, right?

0:23:460:23:48

So, it gives that base of...

0:23:480:23:50

..a successful item from the beginning

0:23:510:23:54

and then the sofa is almost like the cherry on top of the cake.

0:23:540:23:58

So, you know,

0:23:580:23:59

you've got to have the first things first and the first thing is the bed

0:23:590:24:04

and second thing is the sofa.

0:24:040:24:06

Bed sofa.

0:24:060:24:07

Back in Sweden, James is having a meeting with the business team

0:24:090:24:13

to discuss marketing the product.

0:24:130:24:15

It's really important that in the internal communications

0:24:160:24:18

that we stick with sofa, not call it sofa bed nor bed.

0:24:180:24:22

And I know that I just read a magazine from Tom,

0:24:220:24:25

where he said it's primarily a bed.

0:24:250:24:28

But it's been tested as a bed as well.

0:24:280:24:30

The frame? Yes.

0:24:300:24:32

But it's due to the mattress that we can't call it a bed sofa or a bed.

0:24:320:24:37

To be marketed as a bed, Tom's design would need to pass

0:24:370:24:41

stricter and more expensive safety tests.

0:24:410:24:44

Because it's due to there are different requirements

0:24:450:24:47

if it's a sofa, if it's a sofa bed or if it's a bed.

0:24:470:24:50

So, what we are fulfilling is the sofa requirements.

0:24:500:24:53

It's due to the mattress that we can't call it a bed sofa or a bed.

0:24:530:24:56

I honestly thought that that's why we've attached it to the slats

0:24:560:25:00

with the Velcro, that was to take that...

0:25:000:25:03

-To be able to call it a bed?

-Yes.

-No.

0:25:030:25:06

Not to call it a bed, no.

0:25:090:25:10

No, it's not.

0:25:100:25:11

With the Milan launch in just five weeks' time,

0:25:130:25:15

James has suddenly got an extra headache.

0:25:150:25:18

The only thing I'm a little bit nervous was about the bed thing.

0:25:180:25:21

-I didn't know that.

-We're not allowed to call it a bed.

0:25:210:25:23

We cannot make it in a picture with bed linen on top of it.

0:25:230:25:26

So, we have a challenge here.

0:25:260:25:28

With this project, we are really kind of testing the boundaries,

0:25:280:25:31

making a sofa that you can build up

0:25:310:25:34

but, at points, the way you build it up,

0:25:340:25:38

it does look like a bed and can be...

0:25:380:25:41

..a bed platform.

0:25:410:25:43

So, it's not a simple project.

0:25:440:25:46

That's what keeps me up at night.

0:25:490:25:50

The day of the front cover photo shoot has arrived.

0:26:010:26:05

Ah, babies!

0:26:050:26:07

Sara has pushed forward with her plan

0:26:070:26:09

to put a large, diverse group of people centre stage.

0:26:090:26:12

Maybe I'm so driven to work hard for this course,

0:26:140:26:17

because it's a course in a way.

0:26:170:26:19

It could be because of the background that I come from

0:26:190:26:22

a very, very poor situation in South Korea

0:26:220:26:25

and was adopted by a beautiful woman,

0:26:250:26:28

who took me in and gave me a home and became my mother.

0:26:280:26:32

And I think it matters so much

0:26:320:26:35

for me to bring out that feeling of belonging to people.

0:26:350:26:40

We'll just see if we can get people out and get them to move and then

0:26:490:26:53

do it a little bit more free-flowing, in a way.

0:26:530:26:55

Maria Berge used to do Sara's job

0:26:550:26:58

and has come along to help manage the shoot.

0:26:580:27:01

We had many sort of discussions about the world today and

0:27:010:27:04

everything's maybe not going that well for the world as a whole and we

0:27:040:27:08

can kind of be a little optimistic and happy about life at home.

0:27:080:27:12

Maria Berge and I are quite similar.

0:27:170:27:19

We are both kind of these adrenaline junkies.

0:27:190:27:21

We work 24/7.

0:27:210:27:24

Sometimes it's a little bit too much.

0:27:240:27:26

You feel like you're not in control of everything that happens but then

0:27:260:27:29

maybe you have to be a little bit, you know, out of control.

0:27:290:27:32

There's loads going on, isn't there?

0:27:320:27:34

Once you throw models in, it's going...

0:27:340:27:36

It'll be a challenge.

0:27:370:27:38

When all the models are coming in, it's going to be havoc, I would say.

0:27:390:27:43

It's going to be people running round all over the place

0:27:430:27:45

and then it's going to be the trick

0:27:450:27:47

to actually make it look like it's something...

0:27:470:27:49

..a place where you want to be and not feel like it's crowded and messy

0:27:490:27:53

and also that the furnitures that we're showing are visible.

0:27:530:27:56

The models are on set for hours and are encouraged to move around

0:27:580:28:02

the space as the photos are taken.

0:28:020:28:03

What the baby does, we can't really...

0:28:140:28:17

..coordinate, to be honest.

0:28:180:28:19

But we're happy. He's doing very well.

0:28:190:28:22

Right now, we're up to 1,300 and something photographs, shots.

0:28:230:28:28

Until now. But we are not finished.

0:28:280:28:30

So, it will be a lot.

0:28:300:28:31

-How many do you think?

-It could be 3,000 and something.

0:28:310:28:36

THEY SPEAK SWEDISH

0:28:380:28:40

The front cover is so important,

0:28:470:28:49

one of IKEA's most senior managers, Jesper Brodin,

0:28:490:28:52

has come to the set to see if Sara's idea is working.

0:28:520:28:55

Hi. there. Hi. How are you?

0:29:030:29:05

-I'm good.

-We're just enjoying it actually.

0:29:050:29:08

Wonderful! It's good to see it come alive, right?

0:29:080:29:11

It's fantastic! This is like Christmas Eve in IKEA.

0:29:110:29:13

Yes, it's good to have you here.

0:29:130:29:15

It's, er, very much imitating life in a way.

0:29:180:29:21

It also reflects the values of diversity, of gender,

0:29:210:29:26

people of different ethnicities.

0:29:260:29:28

So, it actually has a political message as well.

0:29:280:29:30

We try to have one message

0:29:300:29:32

and make that attractive throughout the world.

0:29:320:29:35

Jesper may like the idea but, in IKEA,

0:29:350:29:38

decisions are often made democratically

0:29:380:29:41

and Sara still needs to convince the Catalogue Council

0:29:410:29:44

that her vision is the best way to sell the company to the world.

0:29:440:29:48

I would fight for anything that I think is important.

0:29:480:29:52

This council meeting is like a hen house sometimes.

0:29:520:29:54

It's a total chaos.

0:29:540:29:56

To actually get to agree on things, you have to be very persuasive.

0:29:580:30:02

IKEA's head of design, Marcus, has flown to Milan

0:30:090:30:12

for the most important furniture festival in the world.

0:30:120:30:15

We're going to Via Ventura now, which is in Lambrate,

0:30:170:30:20

where we have the big IKEA exhibition.

0:30:200:30:23

-Do you normally travel in cabs?

-No. A cab is not the IKEA way.

0:30:250:30:28

There was no bus, so we had to take a cab.

0:30:280:30:31

You know, everything you do that costs more money,

0:30:310:30:33

at the end of the day, that's going to hit the customer.

0:30:330:30:35

That's partly why I work here, actually.

0:30:350:30:37

I've always seen IKEA as more of a movement than a company.

0:30:370:30:41

The festival attracts thousands of designers, journalists

0:30:490:30:52

and social influencers,

0:30:520:30:54

and it's where Marcus and Tom Dixon

0:30:540:30:56

are revealing their prototype to the world's press.

0:30:560:30:59

I really love it. You know, I think it's so nice.

0:31:000:31:03

It's quite impressive. The thing I like here is also that it's so many

0:31:030:31:07

variations to this system.

0:31:070:31:09

Despite Tom insisting it's primarily a bed,

0:31:090:31:12

IKEA are pushing ahead with their plan to market it as a sofa.

0:31:120:31:16

It's come out good, really good.

0:31:160:31:19

Excited. I love that you can really see all of the possibilities.

0:31:190:31:25

It's a landscape of sofas.

0:31:250:31:27

Hopefully, Tom really likes it.

0:31:280:31:30

Hey, how are you?

0:31:300:31:33

Really well. How are you?

0:31:330:31:35

Tom has just flown in from London.

0:31:350:31:37

He's not aware of how IKEA are displaying his design.

0:31:370:31:40

I like to come when it's too late for me to affect anything because

0:31:400:31:43

otherwise I just get in the way.

0:31:430:31:45

Hi, Johan, how are you?

0:31:450:31:47

I think it's quite confusing, the way we're showing it.

0:31:520:31:55

So, I hope people are able to decode it.

0:31:550:31:57

Um, there's so many sofas around in so many colours,

0:31:590:32:03

it's a bit hard to know what you're looking at, really.

0:32:030:32:06

There's no beds.

0:32:060:32:08

They're pushing it into a non-bed feeling,

0:32:080:32:11

and the bed is the basic departure point.

0:32:110:32:14

So, there's going to have to be a lot of explanation.

0:32:140:32:17

The presentation of the design

0:32:170:32:19

is not the only thing Tom has a problem with.

0:32:190:32:21

I just think we should move this one forward.

0:32:210:32:23

They can't decide which of the sofas, that isn't a bed, to sit on.

0:32:230:32:27

We need to be in the middle.

0:32:270:32:29

Wouldn't it be good to have two of those?

0:32:290:32:31

One there and one here and then, you know?

0:32:310:32:34

It is kind of each side challenging each other.

0:32:340:32:37

-I think we've got to be...

-Or should we be a little bit like this?

0:32:370:32:40

Tom wants some friction, maybe, tries to get some friction in there,

0:32:400:32:43

but I think Marcus is quite good at giving it back,

0:32:430:32:46

just as much as Tom will give it out.

0:32:460:32:48

There's James Futcher. Oi! How is it?

0:32:480:32:52

All green.

0:32:520:32:53

Tried to fit in with the sofas.

0:32:540:32:56

The event is a sell-out,

0:33:020:33:04

with more than 250 journalists keen to see the design.

0:33:040:33:08

Will I ever be ready to go?

0:33:080:33:10

What's happened to Marcus? Has he legged it?

0:33:100:33:12

Yes. He's sitting there.

0:33:120:33:14

Despite IKEA displaying it as a sofa, once on stage,

0:33:200:33:24

Tom takes the chance to tell the world what the design really is.

0:33:240:33:28

We wanted to make something which had a degree of permanence

0:33:280:33:31

but adaptability. So that was the departure point.

0:33:310:33:34

The platform is the bed,

0:33:340:33:35

but the bed can equally be a sofa or something else.

0:33:350:33:38

You know, maybe you've got a student bed that turns into a family sofa,

0:33:380:33:43

that eventually turns into a child's bed again.

0:33:430:33:48

Like, I kind of obsessed about beds because beds are such an important

0:33:480:33:53

part of furnishing generally,

0:33:530:33:55

and probably the only piece of furniture you'd really need.

0:33:550:34:00

Tom's continued insistence that it's a bed and not just a sofa

0:34:000:34:04

means IKEA have to test it as a bed

0:34:040:34:06

before it can go on sale around the world.

0:34:060:34:09

We need to adapt our designs to the regulations all over the world

0:34:110:34:15

for different species of furniture, and there is...

0:34:150:34:19

The way we test sofas is different from how we test beds.

0:34:190:34:23

So, we started off testing it as a sofa,

0:34:230:34:25

we haven't tested it as a bed yet.

0:34:250:34:27

After a successful photo shoot,

0:34:340:34:36

Sara is travelling to meet with the Catalogue Council.

0:34:360:34:39

She'll need to persuade them to break with tradition

0:34:430:34:46

and back her idea of having a front cover

0:34:460:34:48

that is more about people than furniture.

0:34:480:34:50

Even if they are, you know,

0:34:510:34:53

cluttering up the room and covering the furniture,

0:34:530:34:57

it's something about being able to see, this is life,

0:34:570:35:00

people are using our furnitures,

0:35:000:35:02

and I hope we're not just going to end up

0:35:020:35:05

with a cover showing a beautiful, empty room set,

0:35:050:35:09

because that would be such a failure.

0:35:090:35:11

The council will painstakingly deliberate

0:35:130:35:15

over whether the front cover should be

0:35:150:35:17

sending the world a message, or just selling furniture.

0:35:170:35:20

I always go into these meetings

0:35:210:35:23

and I kind of never know what to expect, in a way.

0:35:230:35:25

They can be a tough crowd sometimes, but they do it with all...

0:35:250:35:28

..you know, the best intentions in the world.

0:35:280:35:30

OK. So, just let us jump straight into the biggest thing

0:35:330:35:38

we have right now, then. The cover. I think, as I said,

0:35:380:35:42

a room is not just any room without the people.

0:35:420:35:45

It's personal, it's human, and it's also a moment of life.

0:35:460:35:50

The way it's very lived-in actually reaches out and talks to you.

0:35:500:35:54

This is the most people.

0:35:540:35:56

-This is the most people we have.

-LAUGHTER

0:35:560:35:59

MOCK GASP

0:35:590:36:00

We would love to be able to have everyone in, actually, in the cover.

0:36:010:36:05

When you see the people in the picture,

0:36:050:36:07

then you turn to this one without, you suddenly feel how empty it is.

0:36:070:36:11

-Or very beautiful.

-Yes.

0:36:110:36:13

LAUGHTER

0:36:130:36:15

Empty beautiful!

0:36:150:36:17

I believed beforehand that as many as possible,

0:36:170:36:20

as big a party as possible, that would be fantastic.

0:36:200:36:22

But when I saw this one, I got, "Hey, hang on..."

0:36:220:36:25

We have made a room here where you can see yourself in it.

0:36:250:36:29

Whenever it's not clear, whenever I have to look twice, yeah,

0:36:290:36:33

then I'm getting disturbed.

0:36:330:36:34

And it was two things.

0:36:340:36:36

One, what is the baby doing?

0:36:360:36:37

Do I see that on the first-hand or not?

0:36:370:36:39

And if I have to look twice, it disturbs me, personally.

0:36:390:36:43

The second one is this cushion.

0:36:430:36:44

This cushion is very hard to understand what it is -

0:36:440:36:47

this pencil cushion.

0:36:470:36:49

-OK, yes.

-What is...?

0:36:490:36:51

You cannot even realise, what is that?

0:36:510:36:54

And that, as an observer, that disturbs me a lot, yeah?

0:36:540:36:58

Do we need to remove all this disturbances, that it's very clear?

0:36:580:37:02

Sometimes, when something disturbs, it's not always bad.

0:37:020:37:06

I would say that I strongly recommend us

0:37:060:37:09

to go with life in this room,

0:37:090:37:12

because this is also what makes IKEA stand out.

0:37:120:37:15

You can't find any other cover actually working with rooms

0:37:150:37:19

that does it the way we do.

0:37:190:37:21

Personally, I would go for the one without.

0:37:210:37:23

I think this is the boldest, and thereby the strongest.

0:37:230:37:26

And if I had to choose,

0:37:260:37:27

I would actually go for this one without people,

0:37:270:37:30

because in some of the others, I get the feeling of the construction.

0:37:300:37:36

Don't feel real that this would actually happen in a home,

0:37:360:37:41

as it's set up. The people disturbs me.

0:37:410:37:44

-I didn't find it so commercial.

-Mm.

0:37:440:37:47

But then, I'm from the old school.

0:37:470:37:49

Of course I'm a little bit disappointed now, if it's...

0:37:560:37:59

It tended to sound like we are maybe moving towards

0:37:590:38:03

an empty room set.

0:38:030:38:05

And, for me, it's a little bit... a generic solution...

0:38:050:38:08

..that's not as interesting as it could be.

0:38:100:38:15

It is creativity versus commercialism, and finding that...

0:38:150:38:19

..beautiful balance.

0:38:190:38:20

A final decision will be made in two weeks' time.

0:38:210:38:25

It's like reality, only virtual.

0:38:330:38:35

To help the store celebrate turning 30,

0:38:350:38:38

Paul has had a delivery from IKEA headquarters.

0:38:380:38:41

This is a VR experience and you can go back in time with IKEA,

0:38:440:38:49

see the products, and it tells you about the products,

0:38:490:38:51

and it's very, very good. It's the future, like garlic bread.

0:38:510:38:54

Oh, yeah. Brilliant.

0:38:570:38:59

Ready to travel through time.

0:38:590:39:01

I'm in a room that's 1980s.

0:39:020:39:05

It's got pictures of, like, Yaz

0:39:050:39:06

and women with lots of make up and high hair.

0:39:060:39:10

There's a Billy bookcase.

0:39:100:39:11

There's an old black-and-white portable TV.

0:39:110:39:14

Oh, and a wire chair here.

0:39:140:39:16

I think I'm in the '90s.

0:39:180:39:19

Oh, a kitchen! It's misted up now, I can't see.

0:39:210:39:24

It was great. It's made my eyes sweat.

0:39:240:39:26

I think it's all that time travel that does it.

0:39:280:39:30

But IKEA recognise they can't live in the past,

0:39:320:39:34

and are embracing technologies of the future.

0:39:340:39:37

I'm just adding sofas everywhere.

0:39:380:39:40

Look, you've got the new app, the IKEA app. What do you think?

0:39:400:39:43

This app allows customers to place

0:39:430:39:45

3D images of furniture in their homes.

0:39:450:39:48

You're going to be on this desk in the future?

0:39:480:39:50

There's going to be so many questions about it.

0:39:500:39:52

Old people like me are going to come in and say,

0:39:520:39:54

"My augmented reality's playing up. Can you sort it out for me, please?"

0:39:540:39:57

-Definitely not.

-I've got 75 sofas in my living room!

0:39:570:40:01

Hiya. Would you like to have a go on our augmented reality app?

0:40:010:40:05

You press that plus button there, that adds furniture.

0:40:050:40:07

Great stuff. You're better at it than me.

0:40:070:40:10

-That's pretty cool.

-Oh, you're good at this.

0:40:110:40:13

30 years' time, what do you think this store will look like then?

0:40:150:40:18

I think everything will be virtual. You won't even need one of these.

0:40:180:40:22

It could be the IKEA is just a meatball shop.

0:40:220:40:25

You sit and eat your meatballs and chips, or your fish and chips,

0:40:250:40:29

and that might be the IKEA store.

0:40:290:40:30

Once the trolley is full with meatballs, then we will cover them.

0:40:390:40:44

Last year's meatball sales

0:40:440:40:46

helped IKEA make £1.7 billion from catering,

0:40:460:40:50

making them the tenth largest food retailer in the world.

0:40:500:40:53

The things that customer come for is the meatballs.

0:40:530:40:57

Do you know how any meatballs we sell throughout the year, global?

0:40:570:41:00

One billion meatballs.

0:41:000:41:03

-So, that's quite big, hey?

-Yeah.

0:41:030:41:05

Originally from Poland,

0:41:050:41:07

Simon Rabinski has worked for IKEA for 11 years.

0:41:070:41:10

So, you, as a chef,

0:41:100:41:11

your two main dishes that you will cook throughout the day

0:41:110:41:15

-will be meatballs and...

-Meatballs and fish.

0:41:150:41:17

Very good. Very good. We're learning, we're learning.

0:41:170:41:20

He's just landed a job as food manager at a new store

0:41:200:41:25

that's due to be built in Sheffield.

0:41:250:41:27

When I came to England, I didn't speak much English,

0:41:300:41:33

and IKEA invest a lot of money in me, so they sent me to college,

0:41:330:41:39

they sent me to university.

0:41:390:41:41

And all they expected from me is the commitment and hard work.

0:41:410:41:45

-Lovely. Enjoy.

-Thank you very much.

0:41:450:41:47

It's now 11 years and I'm still here,

0:41:470:41:49

smiling, because I like what I'm doing. Definitely.

0:41:490:41:53

-We need two, right?

-They're here, chef.

0:41:530:41:57

Simon's hoping his 11 years' hard work will be rewarded

0:41:570:42:00

with a trip to Almhult,

0:42:000:42:02

the small town where IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943.

0:42:020:42:07

OK. Happy to go?

0:42:090:42:11

The company pay for staff from around the world

0:42:110:42:14

to make the pilgrimage.

0:42:140:42:15

I must go. Whatever happens, I must go.

0:42:150:42:17

Because I have to go.

0:42:170:42:19

Cos I heard so many stories, I just want to go and feel it.

0:42:190:42:22

Having missed out three times in the past,

0:42:220:42:25

Simon is having to battle it out with the other managers,

0:42:250:42:28

who will work in the Sheffield store when it opens.

0:42:280:42:30

And, for me, it will be kind of like another step that I made it.

0:42:320:42:35

These managers are incredibly keen

0:42:350:42:37

to go to see the house where Ingvar was born.

0:42:370:42:40

They want to see the museum.

0:42:400:42:42

They want to get excited, to say, "This is where it all began."

0:42:420:42:45

I went and I was very proud, and I met him, as well.

0:42:450:42:47

Amazing guy. So, I can't share how that made me feel,

0:42:470:42:51

but I've got that with me, inside me.

0:42:510:42:53

Have we looked at people that maybe have been before and taken them off?

0:42:530:42:57

-How long in your career did you go?

-Er, after five years.

0:43:010:43:06

Like I said in the beginning, this is, for me, a privilege to go.

0:43:060:43:09

Team, we have to break it. It's gone four o'clock.

0:43:090:43:13

Thank you very much for what you've done so far.

0:43:130:43:15

They just want to go.

0:43:150:43:16

I understand why they want to go. I'd like them to go.

0:43:160:43:19

But, in IKEA, everything has a cost, and we're cost conscious.

0:43:190:43:22

With no immediate decision, Simon will have to wait to see

0:43:240:43:27

if he's made a strong enough case to go to Almhult.

0:43:270:43:30

I hope I will go, finally, after my third attempt.

0:43:300:43:34

A very exciting time.

0:43:340:43:36

Almhult is very different because it's hard to make friends outside

0:43:440:43:48

of IKEA, because, um, everybody you know works in IKEA.

0:43:480:43:55

James Futcher has worked for IKEA all over the world,

0:43:560:43:59

moving to Almhult 11 years ago.

0:43:590:44:02

I've never been anywhere like it. It's kind of IKEA Town.

0:44:020:44:06

IKEA... This is the IKEA catalogue.

0:44:070:44:10

This is where the catalogue is produced

0:44:100:44:11

for all the countries all over the world.

0:44:110:44:13

Here we have the IKEA Hotel.

0:44:150:44:16

Here's the museum, which is the old IKEA store,

0:44:170:44:21

the first, original store.

0:44:210:44:22

We go past the new IKEA.

0:44:240:44:26

I think it takes some getting used to when you've moved

0:44:290:44:31

from a different country.

0:44:310:44:32

It's sometimes quite hard to get away from IKEA.

0:44:320:44:36

With Tom Dixon continuing to call his design a bed,

0:44:410:44:44

IKEA are having to carry out a new round of safety tests.

0:44:440:44:47

We're hoping to make sure that the sofa will pass the tests

0:44:490:44:53

and the requirements to fulfil it being a bed.

0:44:530:44:56

So, it's a lot of kind of touch-and-go

0:44:560:44:58

and making sure that we can pass

0:44:580:45:00

those tests to make sure that it's safe if it's used as a bed.

0:45:000:45:05

I have a gas flame.

0:45:050:45:06

Although they're sticking to their plans to only market it as a sofa,

0:45:070:45:11

they're now carrying out flammability bed tests.

0:45:110:45:14

And now we wait for two minutes.

0:45:140:45:17

It must pass the safety test

0:45:170:45:18

for each of the 49 countries it will be sold in.

0:45:180:45:21

It should self-extinguish within two minutes,

0:45:250:45:29

and it has been a minute and a half now.

0:45:290:45:32

So, it's...

0:45:320:45:34

I don't think it's going to extinguish.

0:45:340:45:38

Any failure is bad news for James.

0:45:390:45:42

It means they have to change the materials before retesting,

0:45:420:45:45

which may increase the cost

0:45:450:45:47

and delay the product going on sale around the world.

0:45:470:45:50

A decision's been made, and a group of managers from Sheffield

0:45:580:46:01

are on a pilgrimage to Almhult.

0:46:010:46:03

Do whatever you want, so just chill out and then we'll see.

0:46:030:46:06

-We have an hour.

-Yep.

0:46:060:46:08

Food manager Simon is lucky enough

0:46:080:46:10

to have made it on the trip to the company's spiritual home.

0:46:100:46:13

I want to go and see it, you know?

0:46:130:46:15

I think everyone was saying to me, "Go now internet,

0:46:150:46:17

"there's so many pictures."

0:46:170:46:19

-No. You've got to... Don't spoil it.

-Experience it for the first time.

0:46:190:46:22

I don't want to. Exactly.

0:46:220:46:23

I want to walk through this train and see it and go, "Ah!"

0:46:230:46:28

I just know the prospect of it is so exciting.

0:46:280:46:30

And I guess a lot of people today will have this,

0:46:300:46:33

when you meet your future wife,

0:46:330:46:34

you had these butterflies, you know...

0:46:340:46:37

We're slowing. We're slowing.

0:46:370:46:40

-Nearly there.

-Goose bumps.

0:46:400:46:43

Have you? You got goose bumps, Sean?

0:46:430:46:45

Have you? He has as well.

0:46:450:46:46

This feels special, doesn't it?

0:46:490:46:52

You can see the blue, guys.

0:46:520:46:55

IKEA.

0:46:550:46:56

Was that it? Let's go. Let's go. Come on. Let's go.

0:47:010:47:04

The trip is a chance to see where Ingvar Kamprad started IKEA

0:47:040:47:08

and learn about the values he founded the company on.

0:47:080:47:11

Down you come, down you come.

0:47:110:47:13

To understand the cultures and the values that we live by every day,

0:47:150:47:20

and everything what we do,

0:47:200:47:22

this is where I hope I will see all of it.

0:47:220:47:25

Hello, everyone. We have Ingvar, welcoming you.

0:47:260:47:30

Born in 1926,

0:47:310:47:33

Ingvar Kamprad began his business career at just five years old,

0:47:330:47:37

selling matches to locals.

0:47:370:47:40

He fuelled a furniture revolution

0:47:400:47:42

when he started selling flat pack in 1956.

0:47:420:47:45

In this backwater of the world,

0:47:470:47:49

it was still a really shitty area.

0:47:490:47:53

LAUGHTER

0:47:530:47:56

And when they started to farm, they had to clear the stones.

0:47:560:48:00

They had a really tough time.

0:48:000:48:02

And they used the stones to build stone walls...

0:48:040:48:07

..which served a purpose.

0:48:080:48:11

And you solve the problems and the challenges

0:48:110:48:14

and you create the stone wall of today, which is the IKEA brand.

0:48:140:48:18

And we're still building it together,

0:48:180:48:20

because that was the spirit that

0:48:200:48:22

these people had to live by - togetherness.

0:48:220:48:25

Next, the team head to a building called Tillsammans.

0:48:260:48:30

Tillsammans means togetherness, and it's a chance for a bit more...

0:48:320:48:36

CHEERING

0:48:360:48:38

..togetherness. THEY CHEER

0:48:380:48:40

All the way there.

0:48:420:48:46

The displays are focused on how IKEA operates as a global business.

0:48:460:48:51

Oh, hello!

0:48:510:48:52

One in particular, about how products are given the same name

0:48:520:48:55

around the world, has caught the group's attention.

0:48:550:48:58

I'm a little bit bowled over.

0:48:580:49:00

We've just been having a look at the words,

0:49:000:49:02

because obviously people say they're Swedish words,

0:49:020:49:04

but they don't translate in every country.

0:49:040:49:06

So, there was a product that may have been called Prick,

0:49:060:49:10

but it can't, because it's a slang expression in the UK,

0:49:100:49:12

so it's gone in the bin.

0:49:120:49:14

-Another one...

-LAUGHTER

0:49:140:49:16

Again, can't go in.

0:49:160:49:18

The team head to a room dedicated

0:49:200:49:22

to the book Ingvar Kamprad wrote in 1976,

0:49:220:49:25

The Testament Of A Furniture Dealer.

0:49:250:49:27

-Thank you.

-No, I need one.

0:49:270:49:30

It's where he wrote down the values he expected his workers to adopt.

0:49:310:49:35

Have you got Portuguese?

0:49:380:49:39

No matter where in the world,

0:49:410:49:42

IKEA still expects all staff to live by these beliefs.

0:49:420:49:46

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:49:470:49:49

Thank you. Thank you.

0:49:490:49:50

A lot of the stuff that we got today,

0:49:540:49:56

it was just like, "Look at this!"

0:49:560:49:59

-I know.

-To be honest, to be honest, he is a genius.

0:49:590:50:03

If you have to remember one thing from the trip,

0:50:030:50:06

what would you remember?

0:50:060:50:08

It's the togetherness. It's completely that, is what I'm taking.

0:50:080:50:11

I mean... It's something similar to me but, you know,

0:50:110:50:14

you almost can imagine...

0:50:140:50:16

..that one of the stone have your name.

0:50:180:50:20

I think that's what Ingvar realised.

0:50:200:50:23

How co-workers are important to all this, um, expansion,

0:50:230:50:30

to the success of the company.

0:50:300:50:32

Without the small stones, the wall will just collapse.

0:50:320:50:36

OK, James.

0:50:430:50:45

Ah, it's full of people.

0:50:450:50:49

-Are you finishing?

-Oh, great. Thanks!

0:50:490:50:53

James is updating Marcus with news about the Tom Dixon project.

0:50:530:50:57

We've passed all the seating tests,

0:50:570:50:59

we've passed all the sleeping tests in all countries,

0:50:590:51:02

unfortunately, except in the US.

0:51:020:51:05

And why's that?

0:51:050:51:06

It's quite complicated when you need to make something

0:51:060:51:08

that is for seating and sleeping.

0:51:080:51:11

So we are going to do a retest. But there is a consequence

0:51:110:51:14

that it won't be on time for the global launch,

0:51:140:51:17

so, a sale start later,

0:51:170:51:19

but we are doing everything we can do to get it as soon as possible.

0:51:190:51:23

-INTERVIEWER:

-So, how did this happen then,

0:51:230:51:25

because you started a year ago?

0:51:250:51:26

Um...

0:51:280:51:29

Yeah, I think it's been very complicated for the team.

0:51:310:51:34

Is it a bed, is it a sofa?

0:51:340:51:36

We took on something which had a little bit of a bigger

0:51:360:51:38

learning curve than a normal product development,

0:51:380:51:41

and then from time to time you pay the price for that.

0:51:410:51:44

That's good thing of not being on the stock market,

0:51:440:51:46

that we can invest in crazy stuff.

0:51:460:51:48

-Does Tom know?

-Yes, Tom knows.

0:51:490:51:52

-He knows about the delay?

-Yes.

-He loves it.

-No, they're not happy!

0:51:520:51:56

I'm kind of bored of talking about it, actually, and so...

0:51:570:52:01

..if I have to go to the US in six months to talk about it again,

0:52:010:52:04

after I've talked about it in Europe,

0:52:040:52:06

I'm going to run out of things to say, you know?

0:52:060:52:08

In order to make sure the product can go on sale in all 49 markets

0:52:100:52:14

at once, IKEA will now have to pass a retest for the American market.

0:52:140:52:18

What impact does that have, not going out in the US?

0:52:210:52:24

Well, it makes it that then you start having regional launches

0:52:260:52:30

rather than using this massive power of IKEA to be global,

0:52:300:52:35

and doing it one time.

0:52:350:52:36

The final decision about the catalogue front cover

0:52:410:52:44

has been made...

0:52:440:52:45

..and 203 million copies are being printed.

0:52:460:52:49

Of course I am a little bit, you know, disappointed.

0:53:020:53:04

I wanted to have more life in this picture.

0:53:040:53:08

It's not the outcome Sara wanted,

0:53:080:53:10

but she's already thinking about next year's catalogue.

0:53:100:53:13

I have no idea if there will be people on the front cover next year.

0:53:130:53:18

We will all fight for it and I will be part of that fight.

0:53:180:53:21

We believe that we have to have an emotional connection with the world.

0:53:230:53:28

We want to be, you know, more than just a furniture dealer,

0:53:280:53:34

and I think that is the most important message of all.

0:53:340:53:37

Drum roll please, everybody, drum roll for the catalogue.

0:53:390:53:43

With the focus very much on furniture,

0:53:430:53:45

the catalogue lands in stores around the world at the same time.

0:53:450:53:49

WORKERS DRUM ON TABLES

0:53:490:53:51

DRUMMING STOPS

0:53:580:53:59

Why is there so much anticipation

0:53:590:54:01

from the co-workers about the catalogue?

0:54:010:54:03

It's sort of like a yearning to see what's in it,

0:54:030:54:07

what the special offers are, and, yeah, they want to see all that,

0:54:070:54:10

and it's nice to have a book.

0:54:100:54:12

I mean, we've had books in the store for 30 years,

0:54:120:54:14

since the 1987 catalogue.

0:54:140:54:17

It's the biggest marketing investment we ever, ever will have,

0:54:170:54:21

so, just think about how powerful the catalogue is, guys.

0:54:210:54:24

-What do you think?

-Very good.

0:54:290:54:31

I love the colour scheme, lovely and bright.

0:54:310:54:33

How long have you been shopping at IKEA?

0:54:330:54:35

-Since it was built.

-Since it was opened.

-Seriously? From the '80s?

0:54:350:54:38

-I've been here from the beginning.

-Yeah.

-Well, I'm glad you like it.

0:54:380:54:42

-Thank you very much.

-And let's have another 30 years, eh?

0:54:420:54:44

-Yeah.

-Brilliant!

0:54:440:54:45

What do you think of the front cover?

0:54:490:54:51

Er, it's in-your-face.

0:54:510:54:53

-It's a bit in-your-face?

-Yeah.

-Does it inspire you?

0:54:530:54:56

Not really, I don't know.

0:54:560:54:57

It's not really my thing. There's too much going on here.

0:54:570:55:00

It just looks like there's stuff everywhere.

0:55:000:55:02

I guess you can imagine it's lived in,

0:55:020:55:04

is what they were going for, but...

0:55:040:55:05

-..not for me.

-I think it would look better with people.

0:55:050:55:08

-Yeah, I think people.

-Or pets or something.

0:55:080:55:10

Yeah, maybe pets, animals. Everyone loves animals.

0:55:100:55:13

It does look a bit busy. I mean, a lot of customers have said that.

0:55:130:55:16

It does look like the house has been burgled.

0:55:160:55:18

-Should I not say that?!

-HE LAUGHS

0:55:200:55:22

Honest and transparent, that's IKEA.

0:55:220:55:25

Yeah, it's exciting now, to see how it looks,

0:55:360:55:38

get the first reaction from the customers.

0:55:380:55:40

It's really exciting. A little bit nervous.

0:55:400:55:44

James is assembling the bed sofa in an IKEA store

0:55:440:55:47

for the very first time.

0:55:470:55:48

Shall we find somewhere that we can may be put it here

0:55:480:55:51

-and put all the covers on?

-Yeah, I thought maybe here.

0:55:510:55:54

It looks nicer than I thought it would look here.

0:55:590:56:02

It looks kind of quite elegant and sophisticated.

0:56:020:56:05

It's quite different from the typical sofas we have.

0:56:050:56:08

-Do you think it's comfortable?

-Yes. It's very comfortable.

0:56:080:56:13

Really surprisingly comfortable.

0:56:130:56:16

Having initially failed the safety test for North America...

0:56:160:56:20

We're going to go to the bedroom department to get some bedding.

0:56:200:56:24

..Tom Dixon's design has passed the retest.

0:56:240:56:27

We take one of those and the pillow set,

0:56:270:56:29

I think that would be really cool.

0:56:290:56:31

In all of those 419 stores around the world,

0:56:310:56:34

we can now talk about it as a sofa and as a bed,

0:56:340:56:38

and that's what Tom wanted to do, Marcus and me wanted to do.

0:56:380:56:41

You know, it's a great relief.

0:56:410:56:43

Put the pillows down.

0:56:430:56:45

You take all the cushions off and, you know, here's a bed.

0:56:450:56:49

It looks quite inviting. I could jump in.

0:56:490:56:51

It is a sofa, it is a bed.

0:56:510:56:53

It's a multifunctional platform unit

0:56:530:56:55

that you choose what you want to use it for.

0:56:550:56:57

Tom's happy, I'm happy, Marcus is happy,

0:56:570:57:00

and I hope the customers will be happy.

0:57:000:57:02

Ah, it's really comfy.

0:57:030:57:05

It looks very modern, as well.

0:57:060:57:08

Yeah, I like it.

0:57:090:57:11

Yeah, I think it would be something to buy, especially for my kid.

0:57:110:57:15

I mean, it can be something that I start out with a bed

0:57:150:57:18

and then I can add on. Maybe it's something for you?

0:57:180:57:21

The delays and retesting

0:57:230:57:24

mean the idea of a low-cost piece of furniture is slipping away.

0:57:240:57:28

Each country will decide how much they sell it for...

0:57:310:57:34

It's quite nice.

0:57:340:57:35

..but the recommended price has gone up from £530 to £700.

0:57:350:57:40

Feels good.

0:57:400:57:42

It's a relief.

0:57:420:57:43

And now that it's safe to be released,

0:57:430:57:45

the bed sofa will go on sale around the world.

0:57:450:57:49

We made it.

0:57:490:57:50

It's going to be in the stores.

0:57:520:57:54

Next time...

0:57:590:58:00

We produce a lot of furniture for IKEA.

0:58:000:58:03

Oh, smoke comes from that machine.

0:58:030:58:05

Failure is not really an option for us right now.

0:58:060:58:09

Look at that. There is no way in the world you think

0:58:090:58:11

that's going to open. Not this August. You're thinking next August.

0:58:110:58:14

Hannah's got this idea of sticking a finger in each vase

0:58:150:58:19

to make it different. That's really crazy.

0:58:190:58:21

Uncover the mysteries of flat pack, everyday design and brand names.

0:58:210:58:27

To find out more go to...

0:58:270:58:30

..and follow the links to the Open University.

0:58:320:58:34

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