After announcing its plans to double its India sourcing by 2020, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has said that it’s aiming to increase its strength in India to 13,000 employees by 2025, the company’s deputy country manager Patrik Antoni said in a statement on Thursday (18 May).
Currently, IKEA sources products for approximately €315 million every year, with the aim of doubling it to €600 million by the end of 2020 to meet global and Indian needs.
“We believe we will have 13,000 employees by 2025. Retail does not drive the employment directly in the stores but it drives the employment in the whole supply chain. One store will have 500-700 employees directly employed with IKEA,” said Antoni.
The retail giant is setting up their first store in Hyderabad and the second one in Mumbai. The Hyderabad store is in under construction and they are laying their foundation in Mumbai on Thursday in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Antoni.
IKEA is planning to open around 25 stores in India by the end of the year 2025 with an estimated revenue of Rs 10,500 crore. The stores will be spread across the country, with cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune as the hub. Currently, IKEA is in the process of purchasing venues for their stores in Delhi and Bengaluru but nothing has been finalised at the moment.
IKEA is bullish about sourcing from India but at the same time, the furniture brand is looking for sustainability as well. “We are first looking at sourcing and then how the stores are built, how we treat our co-workers and women policies and so on,” added Antoni.
IKEA’s objective is to reach the masses even with their smallest of needs. In order to be affordable in India, the brand is sourcing products locally.
Apart from targeting traditional materials for their furniture, it is also opting for sustainable material such as bamboo jute, Kesar wood and coconut peel. The global furniture brand is going for material that hasn’t been used much previously, trying out new material experimenting it in different forms such as base and cover.
IKEA has had its business in India for more than 30 years and works with 50 suppliers in the country. They had got FDI approval to set up a retail chain in 2013 and see a huge potential in the Indian market.
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
