Swedish home furnishing major IKEA is set to open its flagship store in India by Spring 2018, while it scouts for more land parcels in select cities.

Work on the ₹1,000-crore facility located in the IT hub of Hyderabad, has gathered pace, so has the firm’s efforts to step up sourcing from India.

Taking media persons through IKEA’s journey in India and the upcoming store site, Patrik Antoni, Deputy Country Manager, IKEA India, said: “Apart from Hyderabad, we have acquired land in Mumbai and Bengaluru, and are scouting for land in Delhi-NCR, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Kolkata. While the Hyderabad store will be ready by Spring next year, work on the Mumbai project will commence in November.”

IKEA is in the process of setting up a 250-seater contact centre in Hyderabad by November. Simultaneously, it is working to set up the country’s first experience zone in Forum Mall here, he said.

1,000-seater restaurant “When the store gets launched, out of the more than 10,000 items in it, more than 800 will be India-specific. We will also have a 1,000-seater restaurant, our biggest in any IKEA store across the world,” said John Achillea, Managing Director, IKEA Telangana.

“We have embarked on a recruitment drive for the store and expect to induct about 800 people for the Hyderabad store in a phased manner.

“The restaurant will serve both Swedish and Indian dishes, including the meat and veggie balls popular among IKEA store visitors worldwide. To provide the visitors with the authentic local touch, IKEA also plans to serve biryani and other Indian dishes,” Achillea said.

Explaining about IKEA’s over 32-year-long association, Antoni said: “Even though we are setting up our first store in the country only now, we have been sourcing a number of products for our global operations.”

Local sourcing “The regulations mandate that local sourcing should be about 30 per cent, we will start with initial 4-5 per cent and gradually ramp up as we develop a chain of suppliers. We recently added two new suppliers, including a mattress maker, whose products are now being sold through stores in several other markets,” Antoni said.

The company has been making home visits in India, as it does in other global markets. During such visits, it seeks to understand and offer products that suit local requirements. In tune with its plans, IKEA expects to offer metal plates, tavva and other kitchen items, bamboo furniture and textiles that are made according to the Indian taste.

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