Flatpack Empire

Last updated

Flatpack Empire
Also known asFlatpack: The World’s Biggest Furniture Store
Genre Documentary
Directed byRob Farquhar
Narrated by Olivia Colman
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
  • Tom Barry
  • Liesel Evans
  • Tim Wardle
ProducerTom Swingler
Running time60 minutes
Production companyRaw TV
Release
Original network
Original release6 February (2018-02-06) 
20 February 2018 (2018-02-20)

Flatpack Empire is a British documentary television series that was first broadcast on BBC Two between 6 and 20 February 2018. The three-part series goes behind the scenes of the world's largest and best-known furniture retailer, IKEA [1] [2] [3] [4] with narrator Olivia Colman.

Contents

Production

The series was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two, and Jamie Balment, Commissioning Editor, BBC Documentaries. [5] The series was produced in partnership with the Open University. [6]

The series explores the "distinctly Swedish philosophy behind the company’s extraordinary cultural influence and commercial success". [5]

Critical reception

The Daily Telegraph described the documentary as "gloomy" [7] and The Guardian describing the culture shown in IKEA as "less like a furniture shop and more like a flatpack cult". [8]

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References

  1. "Topic: IKEA". www.statista.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  2. Loeb, Walter. "IKEA Is A World-Wide Wonder". Forbes. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. "How IKEA creator Ingvar Kamprad built the world's largest furniture retailer — and a $39 billion fortune". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  4. Reuters Editorial. "IKEA mulls joint venture with Bosnia furniture maker". U.S. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 "BBC - BBC Two commissions Flatpack: The World's Biggest Furniture Store (w/t) from Raw - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. "BBC Two commissions Flatpack: The World's Biggest Furniture Store - Raw TV". Raw TV. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  7. "Flatpack Empire was a gloomy portrayal of Ikea and its sunny promise of a happier lifestyle: review". The Telegraph. 6 February 2018. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  8. Wollaston, Sam (6 February 2018). "Flatpack Empire review – Ikea's furniture revolution witnessed from the shop floor". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2018.