Ikea, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, is not just investing in building stores in India but also plans to double its local sourcing to €600 million, from the current €300 million, by 2020.
“We’re going to be offering products across the price ladder in all furniture categories,” Juvencio Maeztu, CEO, Ikea India, said at a press conference here.
The company will soon start work on its second Indian store in Navi Mumbai. The store, which will be spread over 4,30,000 sq ft with an investment of over ₹1,000 crore, is likely to be open to customers in early 2019. The Ikea group was the first major single brand retailer to get government approval for foreign direct investment in India.
The company’s first store is expected to open in Hyderabad next year.
Maeztu said the company is close to finalising plans for stores in Bengaluru and NCR, and also considering a distribution centre in Pune and later building additional stores in Mumbai.
Ikea, present in 40 countries, is popular for its affordable furniture and minimalist designs.
Plans for the Navi Mumbai store include 1,500 parking spaces and a 1,000-seater restaurant. The store will display more than 9,500 products with 60 room settings and three full-sized homes.
Ikea expects more than four million customers a year to visit the store, which is located opposite the Turbhe train station.
Despite the Hyderabad store running behind schedule (it was earlier scheduled for a 2017 opening), Ikea plans to set up 25 stores in India by 2025.