IKEA Catalogue

The IKEA Catalogue (US spelling: IKEA Catalog; Swedish: Ikea-katalogen) is a catalogue published annually by the Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA. First published in Swedish in 1951, the catalogue is considered to be the main marketing tool of the company and, as of 2004, consumes 70% of its annual marketing budget. Worldwide, approximately 208 million copies of the catalogue were printed in fiscal year 2013, more than double the number of Bibles expected to be printed in the same period.

For the 2013 edition, 62 different versions of the catalogue were created for 43 countries. The 2010 edition was published in 30 languages.

Production and distribution

Containing over 300 pages and about 12,000 products, it is distributed both by mail and in stores. Each edition of the catalogue takes about 10 months to develop from concept to final product.

Most of the catalogue is produced by IKEA Communications AB in Älmhult, Sweden, the site of the original IKEA store and where IKEA Communications operates the largest photo studio in northern Europe (8,000 square meters in size). As of 2012, The studio employs 285 photographers, carpenters, interior designers and other personnel working full-time on photo shoots. The catalogue itself is printed on chlorine-free paper of 10-15% post-consumer waste.

The Man

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either passively, openly or via sabotage.

History

As a phrase meaning "the boss" it dates from at least 1918.

In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."