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Flat pack empire on iplayer - not only do I detest the chipboard and MDF one way hell store's, after watching this programme it looks pretty shit behind the scenes and I couldn't think of anywhere worse to work.
Both Sara the catalogue designer and James the glasses chewing guy both look like they would be happy to join me in a local Ikea store with a gallon of petrol and a box of matches.
I like Ikea so much, one day a few weeks ago I went to three different ikea branches on the same day, just for the free coffee.
It was an interesting programme but as the American’s would say the employees seem to have “drunk fhe coolaid”
As an aisde it amuses me that in this day and age you have a company which basically makes disposable throw away furniture as one of the leading brands. Cheap sells I suppose.
Very depressing look into corporate culture.
As an aisde it amuses me that in this day and age you have a company which basically makes disposable throw away furniture as one of the leading brands. Cheap sells I suppose.
Most of their furniture comes with a 10 year warranty, some 15 or 25 years. That's a pretty decent innings. I'd say the quality is ok. I've got pieces that I've moved house with and had for well over 10 years still doing just fine. I've also found them good at providing spares if you do damage something. Not throwaway at all.
I thought they actually came across OK in the program. Yes some of the staff did seem a bit over the top but I bet you won't find many people like that working at Sports Direct.
Kitchen has an awesome warranty as do the built in appliances. 5 years on a dishwasher, washing machine, oven and fridge. Not bad at all.
Sofa has a an awesome warranty. Can be added to etc. Has covers that remove off all parts and are machine washable. Ideal when you have toddlers.
Good stuff for the average, getting by family.
I like IKEA.
Haven’t seen it but Kelvin probably has it nailed, it’s cooperate culture. That and it’s a TV programme so they pick footage to fit what they are trying to portray.
Oh and while we’re on I’ve still got Ikea stuff I bought for when I first started up in my own home, 23 years ago not that disposable then.
20+ year old wardrobes from ikea when i got my first house and was skint, still going strong ( but will be replaced soon as they dont fit the space). I like ikea for the fact that you can get stuff really cheap if you are on a budget but get moderately priced stuff which is fairly robust. I bought two high sleeper beds for the kids a year ago and they are very well made and way cheaper than the others we looked at. I didn't want to spend too much as they will out grow them and i reckon ill get a decent price selling them s/h.....
We have had a few bits of tat from Ikea. But most has been great. Most isn't MDF of chip board.
Best value are the stainless steel shelves and rails in our kitchen.
I do hate going to the shops. But if you want a piece of furniture today not in six weeks, options are limited
As an aisde it amuses me that in this day and age you have a company which basically makes disposable throw away furniture as one of the leading brands.
if you wanted to let us know that you know nothing whatsoever about IKEA, it would have been easier just to say so.
Used to work there in weekends when I was 16/17.
Was a good company to work for.
We even got given Christmas pressies.... The year I was there I everyone was given a bike!
Have a few IKEA items at home, but being a chippie I prefer to build my own when it makes sense.
I have a lampshade above my kitchen table that my parents bought the year before I was born. I’m 40 later this year - so it’s not all disposable junk.
You have to pick and choose a bit, but most of the Ikea stuff is well made, well priced and durable.
We've got some "quality" German furniture that is also made from chipboard, mdf and oak just for the veneer / cappings - the reasoning being that the core materials were much more dimensionally stable and wouldn't twist / warp / swell with changing temperature and humidity.
The other reason to use those materials is to re-use nearly all the waste from making the solid wood bits - not a bad thing in my mind.
We broke our holiday drive home at Almhult last summer for a nice lunch and quick mooch round the museum. The Ikea presence in the town was massive, but it generally seemed a creative (in a muted Swedish way) relaxed and VERY multicultural place to work. Middle of nowhere without a full size motorway link so maybe you'd go a bit crazy eventually but train escape to Malmo or Copenhagen looked easy.
I do sometimes wonder if the next big scandal will be sustainability of all this imported oak furniture - it grows pretty slowly so must surely be depleting stocks somewhere in the world.
Oh, don't get me wrong… IKEA probably better to work for than most other large companies. But looking inside the "better" corporates (I'd lump IKEA in with Apple, rather than Sports Direct or Amazon) is still depressing. Imagine a similar doc about one of the worse ones!!!
And all our beds are IKEA… metal ones that will no doubt last 50 years. They've done 15 already, and are as good as new. Brilliant construction design.
Alpin sed: The year I was there I everyone was given a bike!
Self-assembly?
“if you wanted to let us know that you know nothing whatsoever about IKEA, it would have been easier just to say so.”
I think there’s a common theme with Jamby’s posts
I'd love to see some research into the environmental impacts of not having a company like Ikea, with their flat packed approach. The design and packaging to reduce waste is genius and at least they are trying to use sustainable sources for materials.
As nice as solid wood furniture is, it wouldn't be sustainable for everyone to own it, and the shipping impacts would be horrendous of moving such bulky items around the world.
10 year warranty on furniture and you think that’s a good thing? 🤔. Stuff you sit on takes a beating but everything else should last longer than that! I’d question the sustainability of a chest of draws that falls apart in 3 years and a kitchen that looks a bloody mess after 8. Not an Ikea fan.
I was sat on an IKEA sofa that i sold to my mate in 2012 that I got in 2010, still perfectly good. At the price its exceptional value and build quality for £200
The beauty of IKEA is it seems to cater for most budgets, good design and quality doesn't always have to cost the earth. No complaints with longevity of any of the items I have bought.
The staff all seem to be pretty happy there, I can certainly think of worse places to work.
I like the place.
Quite enjoyed watching it but I hope the coolaid-drinkers portrayed were just cherry-picked (I'm sure IKEA wouldn't have allowed a negative behind-the-scenes documentary). Not sure how someone can get so excited by visiting IKEA-town, looked a lot like a grim business park to me.
Their stuff is hardly throw-away/disposable, lasts as long as anything I've bought non-flat-pack IME. I'm not sure what the plates/bowls are made out of either but mine are still fine 20 years later, despite dropping them on a few occasions.
"10 year warranty on furniture and you think that’s a good thing? 🤔. Stuff you sit on takes a beating but everything else should last longer than that! I’d question the sustainability of a chest of draws that falls apart in 3 years and a kitchen that looks a bloody mess after 8. Not an Ikea fan"
Surely that depends on how well one looks after a kitchen? If it's a warranty issue then you can claim no? The 25 year warranty covers hinges, moulding etc.
Our friends IKEA kitchen is 15 years old and is pristine. That's with two kids. Ours hasn't fallen apart after three years....
Stuff you sit on takes a beating but everything else should last longer than that!
And it does, I’ve got an Ikea Poang chair that just short of 30 years old.
Still looks good and in near perfect condition.
I’d question the sustainability of a chest of draws that falls apart in 3 years and a kitchen that looks a bloody mess after 8
I’d question the person that put them together and the person using them.
They sound ****ing ham fisted to me.
'As an aisde it amuses me that in this day and age you have a company which basically makes disposable throw away furniture as one of the leading brands. Cheap sells I suppose.'
a lot of people don't have a lot of money to spend, it may surprise you to find out. when you've just stretched everything to buy a property, being able to go down the road and make that property functional, in the space of a day, for not a lot of cash, has value of it's own. quite aside from that some of their designs are great. cheap it may be, but if you can provide good design for not much money it should be lauded, not sneered at.
compare what ikea were doing with what their contemporaries were up to 35 years ago. MFI anyone?