Jesper Brodin started as IKEA purchase manager in Pakistan in 1995 and soon became the regional purchase manager for Southeast Asia. In 2000, Brodin took on the assignment as assistant to the CEO at that time, Anders Dahlvig, and the IKEA founder, Ingvar Kamprad. From 2003 to 2008, Jesper worked at IKEA of Sweden as Business Area manager for kitchen and dining before he went back to Asia and became regional purchase manager for China and thereafter the IKEA supply chain manager from 2011 to 2013, based in Sweden. Since 2013, Brodin is the CEO of IKEA range and supply in Sweden. IKEA of Sweden has the responsibility to develop, design, produce and supply all IKEA stores around the world with home furnishing solutions available for the many people.
Brodin has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. He was born in 1968 and lives in Helsingborg, Sweden, with his family.
IKEA is a Swedish company registered in the Netherlands that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds, chairs and desks), appliances and home accessories. As of January 2008, the company is the world's largest furniture retailer.[3] Founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who was listed as one of the world's richest people in 2013,[4] the company's name is an acronym that consists of the initials of Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, south Sweden).[5] The company is known for its modern architectural designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design work is often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity.[6] In addition, the firm is known for its attention to cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes that allowed IKEA to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during a period of global expansion.
As of January 2014, IKEA owns and operates 349 stores in 43 countries.[7] In fiscal year 2010, US$23.1 billion worth of goods were sold, a total that represented a 7.7 percent increase over 2009.[8] The IKEA website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range. There were over 470 million visitors to IKEA's websites in the year from September 2007 to September 2008.[9]The company uses approximately 1% of the Earth's wood supply, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector. [10]
