Swedish furniture maker Ikea launched its first Indian outlet on 9 August.
The 4,00,000-square foot showroom in Hitech Complex, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, displays around 7,500 products. About 1,000 of these will sell for less than Rs 200 apiece, Bloomberg News reported. It’s the first of 25 stores Ikea plans to open across India by 2025.
Here’s a peek into the facility.
The store in Hyderabad is the first of 25 such outlets planned to be set up in India by 2025. In 2013, Ikea received the nod from the government to invest Rs 10,500 crore in single-brand retail.
Ikea had originally planned to open its first store in India by 2017, but it was delayed. The opening of its first store was scheduled for 19 July this year but the company again pushed it back by almost 20 days to 9 August, citing quality commitments.
Out of the total outlay of Rs 10,500 crore, the company has so far invested Rs 4,500 crore in its different projects in India.
It has invested Rs 1,000 crore in the Hyderabad store alone, which would have a range of around 7,500 products. The store is spread over 13 acres of land and has a built up area of 4 lakh sq ft.
The company said it would increase its investments in India as it looks to accelerate expansion in the country faster than it would usually do elsewhere.
Besides retail, Ikea said it will also enter the e-commerce segment in India by next year, besides exploring small format stores as part of its India expansion.
After Hyderabad, Ikea's second store would be in Mumbai next year, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.
The company has also identified four more cities in India where it plans to set up its stores, but did not disclose details.
(With inputs from PTI)
(This story first appeared on BloombergQuint and has been republished with permission)
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