The Swedish home furnishing giant has been impressed by public response to its Hyderabad store.
Hyderabad :Impressed with the public response to its one-year-old Hyderabad store, Ikea has announced that it would soon increase its local sourcing of material from the present 20% to 50% in the coming years. The Swedish home furnishing giant with its 403 stores in 49 countries and an annual turnover of around 38.3 billion euros, will soon open its stores in Mumbai and Bangalore.
Ikea CEO Peter Betzel, on the first anniversary of his Hyderabad store on 9 August said that the company would soon announce dates of launch of a store in Mumbai and Bangalore followed by many more Indian cities. “India is a long-term commitment to Ikea which will reach customers with multichannel approach, offline and online,” Betzel said.
The Hyderabad store has drawn around four million customers, which is a record for its stores anywhere in the world. “Our goal is to meet 100 million customers,” claimed Betzel, adding that more local producers would be joining its network. Currently, around 20% of the items displayed at the store are locally produced and this will go to 50% soon.
Ikea’s Hyderabad store is not only visited by customers from the city and Telangana, but from all over the country, both retailers, corporates and individuals.
“This last one year has been phenomenal for us as we learnt a lot from our customers and their changing tastes. The importance to functional value of furniture and home appliances in smaller spaces is the running theme,” store manager Aurelie Raimon said.
Sweden’s ambassador in India Klas Molin was pleased to see the resounding reception from Indians to Ikea store and its products and noted that the company had been playing a role in fostering ties between the two countries. “I am happy to issue more visas to Indians, especially Hyderabad, who wish to visit Sweden,” he said.
Telangana government’s principal secretary for industries Jayesh Ranjan, who turned up as a guest on the occasion, urged the company to promote many of the handicrafts and textiles from the state not only at its Hyderabad store, but all over the world.
The Telangana government would promote a Furniture Park in Hyderabad on an area of 100 acres where Ikea, too, can have an enclave and skill the youth, Ranjan said.
The Hyderabad store of Ikea has 820 employees and 41% of them are females. Most of the products of the store are with a focus of sustainability and affordability. There is a huge demand for its low-cost items like tool-kits and energy efficient lighting and solar lamps etc. Betzel said that very soon, the company would float its online e-commerce wing serving cities like Mumbai and Pune.