“Hej Mumbai!”. With the traditional Swedish greeting, IKEA India announced it would be opening its second store in India in Navi Mumbai on December 18, two years after opening the first, in Hyderabad, to crowds of eager shoppers.
IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer, had announced plans of investing up to $1.53 billion to set up 25 stores in India. The launch of the company’s third store in India, a 5,00,00 sq ft space planned in Nagasandra, Bengaluru, was delayed indefinitely. The company plans to open two smaller stores in Mumbai in 2021.
In response to a post by a user saying he was waiting for “Hej Delhi/NCR”, IKEA India responded saying, “Hej! Thank you for your interest in IKEA. However, we do not have a tentative date for the store launch in Delhi/NCR at this point.”
Given the danger posed by overcrowding due to COVID-19, the company has announced that visitors to its store in Navi Mumbai will need to register online.
Online shopping, another necessity imposed by COVID-19, has also been taken up by the company, which has launched online stores for customers in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
In August, the government relaxed its local sourcing norms for single-brand retailers, a move welcomed by companies like IKEA and H&M.
"Ikea India welcomes the relaxation of local sourcing norms for single brand retailers. Government of India's efforts to enhance ease of doing business for single brand retailers is encouraging. Ikea has been sourcing from India for more than 30 years," Ikea India had said in a statement.
Ikea further said that it was committed to increase local sourcing from India.
"We have ambitious and optimistic plans to work with affordability and offer everyday low prices for the many people in India," it added.