How did IKEA become the world's largest design brand, as popular as Lego, CocaCola and Nike? Privately held by one of the world's richest men, the company is renowned for its secrecy. How did the company transform itself from one rural Swedish store to a global behemoth with a turnover of $30 billion and 700 million visitors a year? In this candid analysis, former IKEA top director Johan Stenebo writes for the first time about the corporation's ruthless rise to the top. Revealing IKEA's daring and unique business model, he covers the leadership of IKEA's founder Ingvar Kamprad, with whom he worked closely, and IKEA's resourceful ways of brand management using companies like Greenpeace and WWF to cover environmental issues, as well as its challenging future without Kamprad. 'Merciless.' Independent 103714332