IKEA to invest Rs 2,000 crore in state

Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA on Thursday said it will invest Rs 2,000 crore in Karnataka on a long-term basis and to begin with, around Rs 1,000 crore in Bengaluru to set up its store. The company will employ 800-1,000 direct coworkers and another 1,500 indirectly in services.

Of the total workforce, 50% will be women, IKEA said.

The company, which celebrated the ground-breaking ceremony of its third India store in Nagasandra, Bengaluru, said the 5,00,000 sq feet store will open in 2020. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, Industries Minister K J George, IKEA suppliers, coworkers and others.

“Karnataka is a priority market for us and over 7,500 products will be on offer including unique products for the Indian market like chapati maker and masala boxes at the store. We are also planning to introduce multiple touch points so as to bring customers closer to the brand,” IKEA India CEO Peter Betzel said, adding that if any product is unique to Karnataka, they will also include it.

Following the grand opening of its first IKEA India store in Hyderabad two months ago, the Swedish brand will open its second store in Mumbai, and the Bengaluru store will be its third.

“We are also planning to introduce multiple touch points so as to bring customers closer to the brand,” he said, adding that if any product is unique to Karnataka, they will also include it.

Following the grand opening of its first IKEA India store in Hyderabad two months ago, the Swedish brand will open its second store in Mumbai, and the Bengaluru store will be its third.

IKEA aims to be present in 49 cities by 2030. The IKEA store is expected to attract more than seven million visitors a year. “We have visited around 1,000 houses in India and will continue to visit houses as we learn from people and understand their needs.

“We are expecting to reach 200 million people in India in three years and our total commitment to the Indian market is €1.5 billion,” Betzel said, adding they are locally sourcing 20% of the products and they will increase it to 40-50% in a few years.

In India, IKEA has more than 55 suppliers and 45,000 direct employees. IKEA has been sourcing from India for close to 35 years for its global stores.

There are currently 423 stores in 50 countries with a sales volume of €38.3 billion. Around 936 million customers visited IKEA stores in FY17 and more than 2.3 billion people visited IKEA online.