Ikea, the Sweden-based furniture giant, is all set to commence online shopping services in Mumbai – much ahead of the launch of physical store.
Additionally, the retail firm intends to open small neighbourhood stores all over India, which is a part of Ikea’s business strategy to win over the young customers.
Always known for its huge network of self-service, out of-town mega stores that measure 4 to 5 lakh square feet, Ikea plans to unveil smaller size stores of 50,000-1,50,000 square feet in India.
This will help the retailer penetrate deeper into the unorganised domestic furniture market and take on local retailers that includes the likes of Urban Ladder, Pepperfry, Godrej and Fabindia.
To begin with, the company, which currently operates its maiden store in Hyderabad, has located two sites in Mumbai for such stores.
“In India, we would like to reach 100 million customers in three years with a multi-channel approach. Customers will be able to shop online quite soon in the coming months in Mumbai, followed by Hyderabad and Pune and then other cities. Land sites have been acquired in Bengaluru and Gurugram and we continue to look for suitable sites in other cities across India. The ambition is to be present in as many Indian cities as possible through different channels,” an Ikea India spokesperson said.
So, essentially, there will be a combination of different formats of stores including big Ikea stores, smaller city centre stores, pickup points, digital touch points like the shopable app and the e-commerce platform as a selling channel. The company is looking at integration of both online and offline platforms to offer an omni-channel presence for Indian customers.
