JOIN USIKEA’s Navi Mumbai store to open on December 18
Sweden-based global furnishing retailer IKEA has announced that its brand new store in Navi Mumbai will open on December 18, 2020.
Located on the Thane-Belapur road, the facility is over 5 lakh sq ft, bringing to Mumbai some of IKEA’s iconic products.
IKEA currently has stores in Hyderabad and Pune with over 35 million online visitors so far. The furnishing company aims to cross 100 million customers in India in the next two years. The company aims to open two more stores in Mumbai in 2021.
IKEA will initially cap the number of visitors to enable social distancing to safeguard its employees and customers against Covid-19. Visitors will have to register through IKEA’s website to gain entry. Customers will be allotted time slots on select days.
“We are very excited, as Mumbai is one of our priority markets in India. We have been present online in Mumbai since early 2019 and soon the many people of Mumbai will be able to shop at our fantastic IKEA store" said Peter Betzel, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA India.
The store will provide employment opportunities to locals through its store in Navi Mumbai, with more than 1,200 workers being onboarded, half of whom will be women. With its long term commitment to the Indian market, IKEA is hoping to create as many as 6,000 jobs by 2030 through its operations in Maharashtra.
Betzel added that IKEA will bring to India “multiple solutions for a more beautiful, smart, sustainable and affordable life at home - all this reflecting how people live in Mumbai”, Betzel said.
IKEA is capitalizing on the fact that homes have become more important in the Covid era and it will take additional steps to create safe spaces for people in Mumbai, the company said.
Subhash Desai, Industry Minister, Government of Maharashtra, welcomed the Swedish major into the state. “IKEA’s further expansion with its Navi Mumbai store will create a positive impact in many ways – growing the home furnishings retail and manufacturing sector, creating more jobs, skill development and logistical development in the state. The local community will highly benefit from IKEA’s presence,” he said.