A furniture company asked its customers to do something strange: carry the furniture home in pieces and build it themselves. Why did millions of people say yes?
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. I bought a new desk. I need to it, but the parts are all in different boxes.
2. The shop has a big with all the sofas, so you can sit on them before you buy.
3. This big table will not in the lift. It is too wide.
4. The delivery man dropped the box, and the glass was .
5. You must read the first, or you will put the parts together the wrong way.
6. It is cheaper if you take it home yourself. You ten euros.
1. assemble · 2. showroom · 3. fit · 4. damaged · 5. instructions · 6. save
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
In 1943, a seventeen-year-old boy from Sweden started a small company. His name was Ingvar Kamprad. He called it IKEA. The name came from his own initials and the first letters of his family's farm and village.
At first, Ingvar did not sell furniture. He sold small things, like pens and picture frames, and people ordered them by post. In 1948, he began to sell furniture. He used a catalogue with pictures and prices, and customers sent their orders.
But there was a problem. Customers wanted to touch and see the furniture before they bought it. So in the 1950s, IKEA opened a showroom in the small town of Älmhult, and in 1958 it opened its first big store there.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Ingvar Kamprad started IKEA when he was an old man.
2. At first, IKEA sold small things by post.
3. The first big IKEA store opened in 1958.
Furniture is big and heavy. A finished table needs a lot of space in a warehouse, and a lot of space in a truck. Delivery is expensive, and the furniture often arrives damaged. All this makes the price higher.
In 1956, the story says, a young IKEA designer called Gillis Lundgren had a simple idea. He wanted to put a table into his car, but the table did not fit. So he took the legs off. Suddenly, the table was flat, and it fitted easily.
Kamprad liked the idea very much. IKEA began to sell furniture in flat boxes. The customer took the box home and assembled it with a small tool and a page of instructions.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Finished furniture is easy and cheap to move.
2. The designer took the legs off a table to fit it in his car.
3. In a flat box, the customer must put the furniture together.
The flat box was a clever bet, because it made things cheaper in many places. A flat box takes less space in the warehouse and in the truck. It breaks less often. And the customer does the last job — carrying it home and building it — so IKEA does not need to deliver it.
All this means IKEA can save money, and it can give the customer a lower price. People did not mind building the furniture, because it was much cheaper.
There was a risk. Some people hated the instructions and the missing screws. But many customers felt proud when the furniture stood in their room. Today IKEA has stores in dozens of countries. One of its simplest products, the Billy bookcase, has sold more than a hundred million.
The lesson is clear: if you ask customers to do some work, give them a good reason, like a much lower price.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. A flat box takes more space in a truck.
2. The customer's work helps IKEA to keep prices low.
3. Nobody had a problem with the instructions.
The story of IKEA is a story of things that started a long time ago and are still going on. For this we use the present perfect continuous.
Form: have / has + been + verb-ing → IKEA has been selling furniture since 1948. / Customers have been building their own furniture for many years.
for + a length of time: for sixty years, for a long time, for two hours. since + a starting point: since 1958, since Monday, since I was a child.
Questions: How long have you been working here? / How long has the company been growing?
Be careful: if you say when something finished or happened, use the past simple: IKEA opened its first store in 1958. (not has been opening in 1958)
Remember: for and since are different. for ten years ✓ / since ten years ✗
| Time word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| for | how long | The company has been growing for sixty years. |
| since | the starting point | It has been growing since 1958. |
| How long …? | asking about the time | How long have you been waiting? |
Write have/has + been + the verb with -ing. Use the correct form of have/has.
1. 1. IKEA (make) flat-pack furniture for more than sixty years.
2. 2. Customers (carry) boxes out of the store since this morning.
3. 3. The designer (work) on the new chair since January.
4. 4. How long have you (wait) for the delivery? (Write two words.)
5. 5. We (build) this bookcase for two hours, and it is still not finished.
1. has been making · 2. have been carrying · 3. has been working · 4. been waiting · 5. have been building
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. The company has been grow fast since 1990.
2. She has been working here since five years.
3. IKEA has been opening its first store in 1958.
4. How long you have been waiting for the table?
5. The customers has been carrying the boxes all morning.
1. The company has been growing fast since 1990. (been + -ing)
2. She has been working here for five years. (for + a length of time)
3. IKEA opened its first store in 1958. (a finished event with a date = past simple)
4. How long have you been waiting for the table? (question order)
5. The customers have been carrying the boxes all morning. (customers = have)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the IKEA story in order, from 1943 to today. Use for and since at least twice. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Role play. Person A bought a bookcase in a flat box and cannot assemble it. Person B works in the shop.
A: Explain the problem. Say how long you have been trying.
B: Ask questions and offer help.
Ask and answer: How long have you been doing your job, your hobby or your studies? Ask three more How long questions.
Think of a business where the customer does a small job to get a lower price. Explain the idea. What does the customer do? What does the company save?