IKEA eyes quicker expansion in India as it readies for first store launch in Hyderabad tomorrow

Hyderabad: Swedish home furnishing major IKEA is all set to open its first Indian store at Hi-Tec City here tomorrow.IKEA's Hyderabad store has come up with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore and will house a 1,000-seater restaurant, IKEA's largest.The store is 4,00,000 sq.ft. large and spread over 13 acres.It will offer 7,500 affordable, value for money home furnishing products and 1,000 products will be priced below Rs 200, IKEA Retail India CEO Peter Betzel told reporters on Wednesday.The IKEA Hyderabad store employs 950 co-workers (nearly 50 per cent women) directly and 1,500 indirectly in services and expects to host close to 7 million visitors each year.[caption id="attachment_2153799" align="alignleft" width="380"]

IKEA store. Representational image. AFP.[/caption]Patrik Antoni, deputy country manager of IKEA India said "Rs 10,500 crore is our approved initial investment back in 2013 and so far we have spent around half the amount. As we see big opportunities in India we believe that we will increase this investment as we continue our expansion".IKEA Group, CEO, Jesper Brodin said "We have a long-term commitment to India which is an important market for us. We bring an inspiring, affordable and convenient home furnishing offer".IKEA plans to open retail stores in over 40 cities across the country.After the Hyderabad store, the next will be launched in Mumbai and is expected to be ready by 2019 summer, which will be followed by Bengaluru, Gurugram."We have acquired four land sites in our first-priority markets--Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi/NCR and we continue to look for suitable sites in different cities," they said.By 2025 the company is looking at more than 25 touchpoints across various cities including new ones like Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata, Antoni said.IKEA aims to reach 200 million customers in India in the next three years. The company, currently has 403 stores in 49 countries, with a sales volume of 38.3 billion euros. IKEA has been sourcing its products from India for its global stores for more than 30 years.