IKEA to open three stores in Mumbai, recruit 1,000 people #Sukumarbalakrishnan

IKEA, Swedish home furnishing retailer, intends to open three stores in Mumbai. This would consist of a flagship store in Navi Mumbai along with two smaller outlets. The company plans to recruit around 1,000 people, mainly for the Navi Mumbai store, which is planned to open within a year.

Ms. Jaxa Gohil, Store Manager, IKEA India, said that the company has begun its mass recruitment process, with a couple of hundred people already hired for its Navi Mumbai store.

India is massively significant for IKEA globally, Ms. Gohil said, adding that it is witnessing the company's biggest expansion plans among new markets. IKEA is investing €1.5 billion (Rs 117.96 billion) in India.

The larger stores will be spread over an area of more than 45,000 sq. m, while the small-format ones will span an area of over 6,500 sq. m.

"Mumbai is a significant market for us, one of the top 30 cities globally and our biggest investment in India with warehousing, e-commerce and stores," Ms. Gohil said. The company has set a goal to reach 100 million people in three years.

IKEA has located Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru as cities that have potential and opportunities, said Ms. Gohil. Thus, IKEA will be targeting in these cities and setting multiple 'customer meeting points', that will consist a variety of touchpoints such as flagship stores, small stores as well as digital touchpoints.

It also intends to expand through e-commerce channels for Bengaluru and Delhi soon and has started a pilot for e-commerce in Pune.

In August, IKEA started its e-commerce channel for Mumbai and has garnered 2 million visits so far, said Ms. Gohil. E-commerce for Hyderabad was also started, where it opened its only physical store in India in 2018.

IKEA has introduced 500 products for Indian market as localisation forms an important strategy in India, Ms. Gohil said. The 50-50 diversity agenda which ensures that 50 per cent of the employees recruited are women is another focus area for IKEA India, she added.

Accessibility, affordability and sustainability are among its other focus areas in India. There are around 1,000 products available at less than Rs 200 apiece in India currently, she said. As for accessibility, India will have some of IKEA's first small format stores globally, she added.