Ikea India buys site for first store

Ikea India has acquired the land for the first of 25 stores planned for the country.

The Swedish home furnishings company says the 13 acre site is located close to the IT hub Hitec City and is close to public transport, including a metro line under construction.

Further details were scant, except that the land was acquired from the Telangana government. Ikea India plans 24 more stores in the long term and is currently evaluating sites in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.

Each Ikea store will cost about $100 million to establish, including land and construction costs.

Part of the arrangement allowing Ikea to open single brand stores in India is that it has to source product from within the country. The company already has about 50 suppliers in India employing some 45,000 people. Now it is actively searching for more suppliers to boost the proportion of locally-sourced stock.

IKEA India CEO Juvencio Maeztu described India as a promising market because it offers the company the opportunity to source, retail, conduct CSR initiatives through Ikea charitable foundation and empower social entrepreneurs through next generation projects.

“Our focus now is to bring all of it together in Hyderabad as we have bought our first land to build an Ikea store. We will bring a unique shopping experience through our inspiring stores offering affordable home furnishing products,” he said.