IKEA appoints Patrik Antoni as Deputy Country Manager, India

NEW DELHI: Swedish furniture retail major IKEA today announced appointment of Patrik Antoni as the Deputy Country Manager, India, where it is gearing up for opening its first store at Hyderabad in 2017.

Antoni, 49, would be responsible for property, human resources, customer services, communication and sustainability, and would report to IKEA India CEO Juvencio Maeztu.

IKEA, which recently had the ground breaking ceremony for its first India store at Hyderabad, has started hiring for the store, which is slated to be opened by the end 2017.

"Our recruitment for the store in Hyderabad is in full swing and we will have around 500 co-workers in the store and about 1500 will be employed indirectly," Maeztu said in a statement.

He further said after Hyderabad, Mumbai is in line and IKEA plans to open 25 stores by 2025 in different Indian cities with an aim to offer a wide range of home furnishing products.

Antoni has been a part of IKEA team almost 15 years and has played an instrumental role across verticals in many countries like Sweden, Portugal, Russia and now in India.

He has a wide experience within IKEA ranging from Store operations, Marketing, Expansion, Customer Service and most recently has been Country Communication and Sustainability Manager for IKEA in India for last three years.