New Delhi: IKEA India, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, today celebrated the ground-breaking ceremony of its third India store in Nagasandra, Bengaluru. The 500,000 sq. ft. store, planned to open in summer 2020 is connected to the Nagasandra Metro Station, the company said in a statement.
IKEA store in Bengaluru is expected to attract more than 7 million visitors per year. This store will have around 2000 parking space and a 1000 seater restaurant serving Swedish and Indian delicacies. It will also house a supervised children’s play area called “Småland”.
“Bengaluru is a very special city for us as we have active participation from our total value chain – IKEA Foundation, IKEA suppliers, IKEA social entrepreneurs and now IKEA retail. This city is truly cosmopolitan with many people moving in to find new opportunities. With the IKEA store, we will contribute to a better everyday life for all Bengalureans with well designed, functional home-furnishing solution. We will contribute positively to the state’s development by creating employment opportunities, investing in skill development, growing local sourcing to meet India and global demands and bringing IKEA’s global best practices to grow India’s retail and manufacturing sector,” said Peter Betzel, CEO, IKEA India.
The Bengaluru store will employ 800-1000 direct co-workers and another 1500 indirectly providing services such as assembly, delivery etc. The store will have solar panels, LED lights, rainwater harvesting, water treatment plants, and modern waste management systems. IKEA will use electric vehicles for deliveries and even co-worker transportation in the future.
IKEA has been sourcing from India for close to 35 years for its global stores. In India, IKEA currently has more than 55+ suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in the extended supply chain. IKEA Purchasing organisation works with 7 suppliers and are looking to sign up many more suppliers with a strategic and value fit. In India, IKEA aims to maximize local sourcing in the long term to make the products more affordable
In the Hyderabad store, there are 1000 products priced below Rs.200. Besides its big format stores, IKEA will create a multichannel experience for its customers in India. It will launch e-commerce in Mumbai next year and introduce other touch points that will bring the brand closer to customers. IKEA aims to be present in 49 cities by 2030.
The development was reported by retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com