Polle de Maagt 
Polle de MaagtIngvar Kamprad and his wife had dinner with the CEO of H&M at the time and his wife. The evening went well. At the end, the H&M couple got into a limousine and drove home.
On the way, they passed a bus stop and noticed two figures waiting there. They looked again: it was Ingvar Kamprad and his wife, waiting for the bus.
Why it stuck.
When I worked for IKEA as a freelance consultant, this story was told again and again to explain the culture. Every euro saved inside the company, on processes and the way people work, could be given back to customers. That helped keep prices low, and it was part of staying ordinary despite Kamprad’s wealth.
The lesson showed up in everyday choices, too. You didn’t take a taxi when public transport would do. People looked hard at travel and hotel costs and avoided them when they weren’t really necessary. The point wasn’t thrift for its own sake. It was a shared habit tied to low prices for customers.
Context.
Kamprad was known for it. He drove an old Volvo for years, flew economy and took public transport (CNBC).
Every euro we save inside is a euro we can give back to the customer.
A paraphrase of the story’s lesson, not a verbatim quote.
Look at an ordinary cost: travel, hotels, or an internal process. Ask whether it is truly necessary, then connect any saving to the value it creates for the customer.
Source: a story told inside IKEA, as I remember it. Context: CNBC, 29 January 2018. Related: Colruyt: no coin lock on the shopping cart.
