IKEA: Succession Of Three Powers

Born in 1926, it is now nine years old. It ranks eighth in the Bloomberg 2014 billionaires index. How to inherit huge family property? IKEA group And who is going to take over? The problem is imminent.

Kamprad has three sons. Peter Kamprad, the eldest son, is known as the "replica" of the company. He has a bad temper, but he has excellent management and organizational skills. The two son, Jonas Kamprad, who is a design major, has been responsible for IKEA's home design. Although his product sales are not very good, he still has enthusiasm for design. Jonas is very different from his father because he has stuttering, is not good at speaking, and is too shy to appear in public. He is not as keen on showing leadership as his two brothers. On the contrary, he is willing to obey his leadership. Matheus Kamprad, a youngest son, was full of personality when he was young. He was self centered when he was in charge of IKEA. He did not like to listen to others' opinions, but he lacked the right judgement. When Kamprad arranged for Mathews, the youngest son, to be the head of IKEA Sweden headquarters, he was opposed by La Mason, the head of IKEA Europe. However, the final result was that he had been dismissed and could not have any contact with IKEA in the future. It is obvious that Kamprad wants to place his three sons in the kingdom of his own creation as an important position to ensure the absolute control of the family to IKEA, and no outsiders to interfere with his decision.

Before the power of the old man was completely decentralized, the three brothers seemed to be fighting in private. Gao ten Nat, chairman of the original angca holdings company, is Kamprad's brother-in-law. He has worked in the company for many years, and has a strong ability to understand the company's business. On the successor candidate, Peter thought that the old lady was indecisive and weak in judgement. Therefore, he supported the old Mathews's succession, which, of course, was dissatisfied with Peter. Then he was relieved of the position of chairman of the angca Holdings Company and became a victim of the succession dispute.

In June 2013, the 87 year old retired from IKEA's board of directors and headed by his youngest son, Mathews. At this point, founder Kamprad almost completely withdrew from the control of IKEA group, and then continued to take over by his three sons. Peter, the eldest son, took over the IKEA foundation, the vault of the Kamprad family, and served as chairman of the monitoring committee of the British conam group. Take a look at the two son Jonas. Although Jonas is not as popular as the two brothers, he has a strong interest in design and product lines, and has extensive product experience. He eventually took charge of IKEA group's operations in the Anglo card holding company oversight committee.

In the complex structural design of IKEA, the operation of IKEA brand ownership, the IKEA foundation and IKEA group are equally important. The interwoven network of "company and foundation" created by Kamprad has successfully dispersed the power of various organizations within the group and avoided the situation of the right of succession between brothers. Since then, there has been no new contradiction between the successors.

Outside the enterprise management, who will be the helm of Kamprad's huge asset management? In the IKEA system, there is also a role that can not be ignored - the British group. The group provides financial, insurance, real estate investment and retail services to the outside world. It looks like an independent group. However, it is widely believed that the establishment of the group is actually to manage the huge family property of the Kamprad family.

As a subsidiary of IKEA group, the British group was independent in 1988. Luxembourg Its three founder is precisely Kamprad's three son. Within the group, the supervisory committee is the highest decision-making level and the supervisory committee is headed by the chairman. Since its establishment, this position has been held by Kamprad's eldest son Peter, and his youngest son and two sons are also on the list of members of the supervisory committee.

Kamprad built a complex and exquisite IKEA kingdom for the camp, and built a high fence for his family. He not only gathered wealth in the family, but also controlled the whole control in the hands of family members, and did not allow outsiders to set foot in it.

When Kamprad founded IKEA, he wanted to work on furniture that most people could afford. With this concept, IKEA has become the largest home retailer in the world. Today, IKEA's business philosophy has a new height, that is, "creating a better life for most people".

IKEA has a strong corporate culture, such as a relaxed working atmosphere: jeans and sweaters for work clothes, no honorific words between the upper and lower levels, and colleagues living together like family members. In this unique culture, employees have a sense of ownership, career development and the company's development plan has a blending point, it is more likely to regard the interests of IKEA as personal interests. IKEA's executive selection is also very distinctive. Most of its headquarters executives are Nordic people, that is, Scandinavia people. Nordic has its own unique cultural atmosphere. They follow the simple, people-oriented spirit and are very opposed to bureaucratic style of work. Kamprad thinks that this culture constitutes the leading ethical thought of IKEA management. Therefore, speaking Swedish and understanding the Swedish national spirit are very important principles for the selection of executives. In addition, IKEA culture also believes that management from people of similar races will bring greater efficiency.

It can be said that the reason why IKEA became IKEA today is strongly influenced by Kamprad's own character and thinking. IKEA is Kamprad's personal amplification. After 1970, Kamprad began to accept frugal management philosophy. He also followed low and simple principles in his life. No one knows what he experienced at that time, but the concept of "simplicity is virtue" has become IKEA's main core value. Combined with the high standards of entrepreneurship and strict self requirements, the origin of IKEA culture is formed.

Corporate responsibility is one of the most important elements in IKEA's corporate culture. The IKEA foundation is currently the largest contributor to UNICEF. In IKEA's stores, many products made of environmentally friendly materials are also displayed. IKEA's corporate culture can be summed up as simple words: passion for life, continuous innovation, endless cost awareness, modest and low-key lifestyle and corporate social responsibility. This series of cultural construction has made IKEA a negative news sticky pot. Even though IKEA has recalled several times of quality problems, it is not enough to destroy consumers' trust in the world's largest furniture store. IKEA's sales are also booming.

Since its establishment, IKEA has more than 70 years of history and has experienced many obstacles. It has not only declined, but has been more and more brave. kamprad The low profile made people almost forget the richest old man in the world. His three sons also learned the principles of his father's practice. His life was low-key and simple, and he was not so active in the media as other dudes. Kamprad once said, "IKEA will never be on the market." Transparency brought about by the listing will inevitably hinder the operation of the complex IKEA system, but in addition, he strongly refuses all speculation and puts all his energies into the main business. Kamprad thinks that listing will make shareholders only focus on short-term interests. After listing, it will need to allocate about 30% of profits to shareholders every year. If not listed, the money will become the company's reserves and develop.

Control costs, create innovative stores, advocate the "simple and virtuous" corporate culture, and in the company's operation, through the "brand use rights" and "foundation" and other discrete organizational structure, to avoid the barriers of high taxes and family disputes, Kamprad created a unique culture and business philosophy for IKEA, and built a high fence for the family with low-key style and complex structure design, forming a IKEA Kingdom firmly controlled by Kamprad family members.