Ikea to debut in India with a store in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD/ BANGALORE: Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retail chain, on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Telangana government to setup its first India store in the state capital Hyderabad.
The Swedish furniture maker has committed to invest $100 million (Rs 610 crore)onthe store. Ikea India chief executive Juvencio Maeztu met Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao,who promised to allocate land for the store near a terminal of the upcoming Hyderabad Metro Rail.

Ikea has agreed to establish backward integration of supplier linkages locally, which is expected to have a significant impact on the economy of Telangana. The proposed Ikea store would come up on a 5-6 acre land with a built-up area of nearly four lakh square feet, providing employment to around 1,000 people.

Also on Wednesday, Ikea signed an MoU with Karnataka proposing to open outlets and set up a supply chain. The agreement was signed by the Ikea management in presence of chief minister Siddaramaiah and additional chief secretary K Ratnaprabha. Ikea plans to expand into Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.