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Here's What The Swedish Really Think About IKEA
By JULIANA LUMAJ
Not long after IKEA opened in 1943, other Swedish furniture vendors became worried that they would erase all competition, and as a result, many of these companies pressured suppliers to stop working with the furniture store. They also prevented founder Ingvar Kamprad from attending and exhibiting at furniture fairs across the country.
Outside of the furniture industry, some Swedes are annoyed by the monopoly the company has over search engine results. Since IKEA typically names their items after a Swedish city or town, there can be a lot of confusion when someone searches for a location only to find endless photos of trash cans.
To fight back against this, the Swedish Tourism Board created a campaign called "Discover the Originals." The lighthearted campaign pokes fun at the issue, and uses the example of Bolmen, a beautiful lake in Småland.
To many, the word "Bolmen" may not mean much, but when people search the word on Google, they see a toilet brush instead of picturesque lake views. The tourism board says they respect IKEA for bringing business to Sweden, but hope their new campaign will be able to shed a light on some of the incredible places in the country.