Sweden based global furniture retailer IKEA which is all set to open doors of its first physical store in India on July 19 in Hyderabad, is now seeing e-commerce operation as a viable option in the country. The furniture retailer is optimistic that online sales in India may surpass global average of 8-10 per cent.
“Mumbai will be first location in India where IKEA may kick off its e-commerce operations from next year,” chief executive Peter Betzel told media.
The furniture brand is considering this option in view of rapid growth in digitization and e-commerce in India.
In addition to online sales, the furniture retail brand is also planning to go for small format stores of 1,000-5,000 square meters to penetrate more in cities like Mumbai.
“The e-commerce operation will be expanded in other cities as well where it can offer fulfillment, delivery and assembling services,” added Betzel.
Overall, IKEA is planning to increase its physical presence by opening large or small format stores in at least 49 Indian cities where more than a million people reside. After Hyderabad and Mumbai, the brand will come up with stores in Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Chennai.
The Hyderabad store is set up at a cost of Rs 800 crore including land, construction and capital goods. The outlet also boasts of a restaurant with a seating capacity of 1,000, largest among all operated by furniture giant. Both Indian and Swedish dishes would be served here.
Before finalizing 7,500 varieties of home furnishing items to be made available at its stores in India, a team of IKEA met more than 1,000 homes in India with varied income levels and lifestyles to understand their needs and dreams.
