IRF 2016: IKEA for Omnichannel in India; to invest Rs 10,500 crore over 10 years

Sweden-based furniture retailer IKEA, who is all set to open its first store in India in Hyderabad in 2017, is bullish about its Omnichannel play for India.
The company, which plans to open 25 stores by 2025, sees huge potential in the Indian market and plans to invest around Rs 10,500 crore in next 10 years.
“We are preparing for our Omnichannel play in India but as in other countries, in-store experience is going to be the major pull for IKEA stores today, tomorrow and many years to come,” Country Head of IKEA, Pratik Antoni said during the sidelines of India Retail Forum 2016.
“We look forward to invest around Rs 10,500 crore in India and plan to open 25 stores by 2025,” he added.
After the Hyderabad launch slated for 2017, IKEA will open stores in Mumbai in 2018, before venturing into Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru
IKEA which is known for its big-box stores of 3,00,000 sq.ft. area, mostly located in peripheral regions of cities, has also modified its location strategy for India, considering the infrastructure challenges here.
“For India, we are locating areas which will be easily accessible, and have viable transport network in place for consumers. But, I believe there is need to first create awareness about IKEA among consumers and we are also working on our marketing campaign to introduce the brand to our first time buyers here,” Antoni said.
READ MORE: IKEA to integrate its stores with online trade in India
The company is also mulling to double its sourcing from India and to widen its supplier base in the country.
“We currently have 52 suppliers in the country and the aim is to source 40 per cent of the total value of sales locally. But large part of the game plan also depends on materials. We can take advantage of the textile industry, mainly cotton products but wood is more challenging,” he said.
READ MORE: IKEA CEO for more labour, land acquisition reforms to operationalize biz in India