Ikea is Making TV and Building Houses

IKEA – the Swedish furniture brand is not easily satisfied by their market share, in fact just recently they launched a furniture-TV, advertised to be wireless and integrated. Not only that, they are also touting for their own ergonomic compounds in East London. More details here :

IKEA Launches Its Own Clutter-Free, Smart TV

IKEA has launched a new range called UPPLEVA that integrates smart TV and sound system with furniture that rids the problem of cable clutter. Built in co-operation with China’s TCL Multimedia, the unit houses an HDTV, Blu-ray/DVD player, 2.1 surround sound, wireless speakers and WiFi connectivity.
The furniture is designed to banish cable clutter by having ample storage space.The sleek unit retails for around US$950 and comes with a 5-year guarantee.Come June, it will be available in Stockholm, Milan, Paris, Gdansk and Berlin. From autumn 2012 onwards, it will be stocked in all stores in Sweden, Italy, France, Poland, Denmark, Spain, Norway and Portugal, before making its way to more countries next year.

Welcome to Ikea-land: Furniture giant begins urban planning project

Not content with its current market share among college students and new homeowners, Ikea is building its own little ergonomic Spahn Ranch compound outside London. The company bought 27 acres of land where—presumably with many giant Allen wrenches—it will build townhouses, apartments and offices to rent out. It will also be putting up a hotel because it’ll probably need the conference room somewhere down the line. A Globe and Mail report about the project (which isn’t an April Fools’ joke, even though the story was published April 1) paints Ikea’s role here as a landlord-slash-local government, perpetually leaning over the community’s shoulder, which is more than a little unnerving. Maybe you don’t think so, but I’m only 30 minutes away from Columbia, Md., a town known for a) being an extensively planned suburban community, and b) insane homeowners associations that make it impossible to live there. Don’t say you weren’t warned, Londoners.

Source : Adweek, designtaxi, the globe and the mail