Swedish furniture giant IKEA is optimistic about India’s potential, fuelled by its rapid urbanisation and growing aspirations of its consumers, even though the country is currently facing consumption slowdown..
The company has begun exploring the possibility of setting smaller-format stores and increase accessibility to its products through the online channel, with large-format stores expected to next come up in Mumbai and Bengaluru. In addition, it is looking to bring its Ingka Shopping Center format to India.
Stating the company has a long-term investment vision for the country, Peter Betzel, CEO, IKEA India, said, “India still remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world. We believe the home furnishing sector is still a very fast-growing sector. With rapid urbanisation and growing aspirations of Indian consumers, we believe the interest for home furnishing segment will also dramatically increase as homes are an important space in the Indian society.”
More stores
“We believe India is a fantastic market for us to invest for the future,” he added. The company has in the past announced plans to set up 25 stores by 2025 in the country.
Speaking at the sidelines of the India-Sweden Business Summit, Betzel said, “Digitilisation and technology have changed our lives as well as the retail landscape. We need to be even more accessible to Indian consumers so we are building a true omni-channel opportunity.”
It currently operates its large-format store in Hyderabad and consumers in Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad can also buy Ikea products through the online channel.
“The next large format store is expected to come up in Mumbai hopefully during the summer. We are also looking at opening a large-format store in Bengaluru,” he said adding that IKEA will widen its online presence in these areas.
“We will explore the possibilities of opening smaller-format stores in Delhi. Also, will bring our “Shopping Center” format along with the large-format IKEA store to the capital region,” he elaborated.
The Swedish furniture retailer is also working towards growing local sourcing from the country. Currently it sources about 20 per cent of the products from local manufacturers.