IKEA'S INDIA SOJOURN: SLOW, STEADY & SUSTAINABLE

FROM PROJECTED 25 TO ON-GROUND 5 OUTLETS! HOW IKEA CHANGED ITS EXPANSION STRATEGY IN INDIA TO INCLUDE AN OMNICHANNEL NETWORK THROUGH A DIGITAL-FIRST STRATEGY, AND ARE NOW ON AN UPWARD CURVE.

- NANDINI BANERJEE

It’s a tale of how a cheetah curbed its pace to conquer a new terrain. When in 2018 IKEA launched its first large format store in Hyderabad, it was an exciting time. The global giant entered the lives of worldtravelled Indians to offer them modernist furniture and affordable quality home interior products and solutions. The brand had taken a big risk, since in India where the streets are dotted with carpenters, handy men and cheap labor, getting homemakers to assemble furniture themselves was a gamble.

However, their reputation preceded their arrival. The first store garnered enough hype and interest and IKEA India planned at least 25 stores by 2025 with announcements of various stores opening in multiple cities. The modernist and accessible furniture design of the brand tapped the gap in the Indian market – those who had visited IKEA global stores and wanted the products at home. Today IKEA India has five outlets – three in Mumbai, one each in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and has expanded its omnichannel network through a digitalfirst strategy. It also has an online store in Pune sans a physical store. The city is additionally home to IKEA’s first Distribution Centre (Fulfilment Centre) in India. The brand plans to open two more such distribution centres in Delhi and Bengaluru in the next few years to ramp up its fulfilment capabilities across the country. Moreover, the company has assembling centres in Hyderabad and Mumbai to assist the end Indian customer.