Furniture retailer IKEA India saw its net loss widen to ₹720.1 crore in the financial year ended March 2020, according to regulatory documents.
The company had registered a loss of ₹685.4 crore in the financial year ended March 2019, according to Registrar of Companies filing shared by market intelligence firm Tofler.
However, IKEA India saw its net sales grow 64.68 per cent to ₹566 crore in FY 2019-20 from ₹343.7 crore in the previous fiscal.
Its total revenue during 2019-20 fiscal was at ₹665.6 crore, up 63.18 per cent, as against ₹407.9 crore in the previous financial year.
IKEA India, which has opened its second retail store this month in Mumbai, reported a ₹99.6-crore revenue from “other income” against ₹64.2 crore in FY19.
When contacted, IKEA said India is an important market for the company and it is investing to offer customers an omni-channel experience.
“India is an important market for IKEA. We are here for the long term. We are in the initial years of operations in the country where we are investing in our priority markets to offer customers an omni-channel experience,” said IKEA India CFO Preet Dhupar.
Part of Ingka Group, IKEA India had opened its first retail store in Hyderabad in August 2018, followed by online stores in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune.
Besides its new flagship store in Navi Mumbai, IKEA also has plans to set up two city centre stores in Mumbai to cater the demand from the city.
“We are focussed on reaching the many people in our key markets with products and solutions that are affordable, sustainable, follow the best quality standards and relevant to their life at home,” she said.
The ‘100-million target’
IKEA is also investing in the online system and has the ambition to reach 100 million Indian customers by 2022 through its omni-channel approach.
“The company continues to focus on opportunities to grow the business in existing channels and through opening new channels and units; focussing on the cities of Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR,” it said.
The company has also been engaged in completing the land and building rights acquisition process for the land bought in Sector 47, Gurugram in the NCR.
“The company is also actively engaged with government authorities and state governments with various regulations and laws related to the retail business and furniture industry,” it said.
IKEA India is also raising funds to support its growth in the country.
“In order to meet with fund requirement, during the financial year 2019-20, the company issued rupee-denominated bonds amounting to ₹1,790 crore under the automatic route of FEMA Regulation. The due date for re-payment of principal amount of such masala bonds is April 23, 2026,” it said.