IKEA, famous for its self-build flat packs and huge stores, said in a statement that Mikael Ohlsson, chief executive since 2009, had informed the board he wished to step down one year from now.

"The current IKEA business direction, which covers the years until 2020, remains in place," Goran Grosskopf, chairman of IKEA group's parent company, INGKA Holding BV, said.

Agnefjall, 41, is currently head of IKEA Sweden and has since 1995 held various leadership positions in the group, IKEA said.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Patrick Lannin)