Careful planning for entering new markets paved the way for IKEA's rapid growth in other countries. To facilitate its expansion, IKEA was reorganized into four geographic regions; however, purchasing, distribution, and engineering functions were centrally controlled. The senior management was Scandinavian and followed a simple, people-oriented philosophy. Armed with a strong management team, Kamprad purchased a failing IKEA franchise in Canada, making it profitable in just three years. The venture into the world's largest furniture market, the United States, was part of IKEA's Canadian business. Before the stores even opened, the company was challenged by copycat stores like Stor that opened in California. The retailer copied IKEA's concepts so exactly that IKEA had to take legal action against them. By 1989, IKEA stores opened in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh, with several more scheduled to open by 1992 (Bartlett & Nanda,