[National] In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the iconic BILLY bookcase, IKEA Canada has decided that it’s time to change the name of the bookcase to one that better expresses the sophistication of its age.

(Burlington, ON) Starting today the classic BILLY bookcase will be renamed, WILLIAM. The name change will be celebrated by spreading the word through social media with the hashtag #ItsWilliamNow.

“The BILLY bookcase is a beloved and iconic IKEA product that has aged so gracefully,” says Lauren MacDonald, Head of Marketing, IKEA Canada. “Forty is a big milestone for BILLY and to mark the occasion, we’ve made a big decision – he goes by WILLIAM now.”

It is estimated that every five seconds, one WILLIAM (aka BILLY) bookcase is sold somewhere in the world. Sixty million WILLIAM (aka BILLY) bookcases have been sold to date globally and nearly two million of those were sold in Canada. The famous WILLIAM (aka BILLY) bookcase launched in 1979 and was designed by Gillis Lundgren who named his design after a colleague, Billy Liljedahl, who had expressed his desire for a “proper” bookcase.

Earlier this month IKEA released a brand new vibrant yellow WILLIAM (aka BILLY) bookcase, along with a new collection of inserts called BOTTNA which includes display shelves and bookends in three different colours. The WILLIAM (aka BILLY) bookcase is available in a variety of sizes and comes in five colours: white, birch, black-brown, brown ash and yellow. The new yellow option is only available in one size.