Billy is a bookcase sold by the Swedish furniture company IKEA. It was developed in 1979 by the Swedish designer Gillis Lundgren and IKEA have sold over 60 million units of the bookcases worldwide. Its popularity and global spread has led to its use as a barometer of relative worldwide price levels.

Why is Billy bookcase so popular?

The Billy bookcase is extraordinarily popular. According to the BBC, over 60 million have been sold worldwide, meaning almost 1% of people own one of these bookcases. ... The bookcase's popularity is due to how inexpensive they are, how long they have been around, and how easy they are to customize.

Why is it called a Billy bookcase?

The bookcase was designed in 1979 by Gillis Lundgren, IKEA's fourth employee. His initial sketches for the bookcase were done on the back of a napkin. ... The name Billy was chosen by Lundgren after an IKEA advertising manager named Billy Liljedahl stated that he wanted "a proper bookcase just for books" to be designed.