Ikea is almost as famous for its food as its furniture, so in 2024 the retailer capitalised on this; opening a standalone restaurant in London, serving affordable meals as well as its iconic meatballs.
All Threads
At Ikea, you have to walk through the entire maze-like store to get to the checkout, and if you buy something, you have to assemble it all yourself. Hardly easy, but nowadays how many other stores are people genuinely excited to visit?
Although we think of Ikea as a furniture seller, it’s mission is much broader: to create a better everyday life for the many. Need a helping hand with odd jobs round the house? Ikea acquired TaskRabbit in 2017. Need affordable financial services? Ikea acquired Ikano Bank in 2024.
When asked in general terms, most people say that immigration is too high and the government is spending too much money. But the story is more nuanced when it relates to specific examples: the public actually wants more migrants who are highly skilled or in social work. We can’t expect to understand complex topics with generic prompts.
To calculate inflation, the ONS uses a typical basket of goods to work out the rate at which the cost of goods and services are rising – but the selection is inherently subjective. For instance.
Have you been in an accident that wasn’t your fault?
Contradictions are hardwired into humans. We are natural born worriers – to prevent harm from unknown threats – but we’re also wired for curiosity; a trait that gave our ancestors access to new sources of food, water and tools. This is why we can love and loathe uncertainty, depending on the context.
The food delivery business is slowly becoming an advertising business: a quarter of its revenue comes from brands promoting on its website.
Iphone CHECK PIC IS OK
When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod to the world, he didn’t say: “the iPod. A 5GB MP3 player”. He said, “the iPod. 1,000 songs in your pocket.”
Actually, London gets 562mm per year on average: a bit less than Malta (592mm) and Rome (586mm), and about half of the annual average of Sydney (1,222mm) or New York (1,059mm).
Itsu started out as a sushi restaurant, but it’s morphing into a supermarket range: close to half of its revenue now comes from grocery products.
Reframing location
In the UK, older groups prefer Sean Connery as James Bond and younger groups prefer Daniel Craig.
Uber may never have existed without James Bond. In Casino Royale, Bond tracks down Le Chiffre through a Sony Ericsson phone. The phone seems highly outdated by today’s standards, but it allowed Bond to see the location of his car update in real-time – an image that stuck with Uber co-founder Garrett Camp.