What Are We Going to Read Over the Holidays? IKEA Discontinues Catalog

Budget-friendly home shoppers are going to have to curl up on the couch with "Nicholas Nickleby" this holiday season instead of the epic tome for all things affordably Scandinavian, otherwise known as the IKEA catalog.

The company announced yesterday, after 70 years, that it will no longer print its "iconic and beloved" publication, making the "emotional but rational decision to respectfully end the successful career of the IKEA Catalog, both the print and digital versions - and look to the future with excitement."

"For both customers and co-workers, the IKEA Catalog is a publication that brings a lot of emotions, memories and joy. For 70 years, it has been one of our most unique and iconic products, which has inspired billions of people across the world. Turning the page with our beloved catalog is, in fact, a natural process since media consumption and customer behaviors have changed. In order to reach and interact with the many people, we will keep inspiring with our home furnishing solutions in new ways," says Konrad Gr�ss, Managing Director, Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

The company's founder Ingvar Kamprad created the very first catalog in 1953, which has evolved over the decades to include "IKEA at the Office" (1998) and migrate online for the digital age (2000). At its peak, 200 million copies of the IKEA Catalog were distributed in 69 different versions, 32 languages and to more than 50 markets.