Billy bookshelves and biryani: Ikea announces second India store

Ikea said on Friday it will open its second Indian store on December 18, seeking to woo the nation's growing middle class with Swedish functionality and a dash of local masala.

The furniture giant opened its first Indian outlet two years ago in the southern city of Hyderabad. Its next shopfront will be on the outskirts of financial capital Mumbai.

"We are very excited, as Mumbai is one of our priority markets in India," Ikea India chief Peter Betzel said in a statement.

Ikea is betting big on the world's second-most populous country and its 1.3 billion people, planning to open 25 outlets by 2025 as it diversifies away from Western markets.

The Hyderabad outlet mixes the brand's staple selection of "Billy" bookshelves and bedspreads with "locally relevant products" like spice boxes and mattresses with a coconut-fibre centre.

Its canteen serves Ikea's signature meatballs but without beef or pork in deference to local religious practice, as well as local favourites like biryani.

With coronavirus cases nearing 10 million in India -- but with economic activity almost back to normal -- Ikea said customers will have to register online for an alloted time slot to visit the.

The home goods behemoth first tried to enter India in 2006 but was foiled by strict foreign investment rules obliging international firms to partner with local companies.

Ikea said its new store would create over six thousand jobs by 2030, with the aim of ensuring half of its employees are women.