The company has been criticized for its complex corporate organizational structure.
In 1973, Kamprad moved Ikea's headquarters from Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark, to avoid unfavorable business taxes for the fast-growing company.
Kamprad stepped down as CEO in 1986 at age 60, at which time Ikea was divided into three separate and independent companies: Inter Ikea Group, Ingka Group, and Ikano Group.
Inter Ikea Group controls the intellectual property of the Ikea brand and is where the Ikea franchisor sits. Ingka Group is one of Ikea's 12 franchisees and owns Ikea Retail, which operates 367 of Ikea's 434 stores.
Ikano Group, which has interests in banking, insurance, real estate, and more, became an independent company in 1988 and is now owned by Kamprad's three sons. It operates eight Ikea stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and will open one store in Mexico and one in the Philippines in 2020, a spokesperson for the brand told Business Insider.
In the late 1980s, the Interogo Foundation was established in Liechtenstein to become the ultimate owner of the Inter Ikea Group. Kamprad sat on the supervisory council of the foundation until his resignation in 2013, at which point he gave up the rest of his formal power over Ikea, according to the brand.