2026-11-03
The 100 Greatest Products · #40 | IKEA Flat-Pack: Sawing Off the Table Legs to Fit a Car Trunk Saved Billions in Shipping and Created the 'IKEA Effect'
【100 Greatest Products Who Changed the World #40 · 88 OVR】Before 1956, furniture was shipped fully assembled—meaning freight companies were mostly paid to transport empty air, and protruding table legs snapped in transit. Then IKEA employee #4 Gillis Lundgren sawed the legs off a LÖVET leaf-table to fit it inside his Volvo trunk. That single act slashed logistics volume by 80%, cut retail prices in half, and unlocked the psychological phenomenon known worldwide as the 'IKEA Effect.'
