Juvencio Maeztu is IKEA Country head

A day after it filed a final application with the Indian Government to kick start its Indian operations, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA is understood to have appointed Spain-born Juvencio Maeztu as its Country Manager for IKEA Retail India. Sources said that Maeztu has been associated with IKEA for 12 years. He was managing IKEA’s London operation. Maeztu has been given the task of finding the right real estate location and hiring talent for IKEA’s India foray. The company plans to invest about €1.5 billion (Rs 10,500 crore) to set up 25 stores over a 10-year horizon. Its stores are expected to be rolled out on the outskirts of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.