After Rs 10,500 crore infusion, Ikea plans further investment in India

Ikea India on Tuesday also announced its second price cut, which is 16-39% across its products

IKEA India has invested most of the Rs 10,500 crore it had set aside for the country and is currently working on a roadmap for the next phase of investments in the country.

In 2012, the Swedish furniture retailer had committed to investing Rs 10,500 crore in two phases. Since then, it has opened three large-format stores in Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru.

It also has two city stores, both of which are within Mumbai.

Ingka Group, the parent of IKEA, has also allocated Rs 7,500 crore to open two shopping centres in the National Capital Region (NCR).

“We have invested most of it. We are coming to an end of that commitment and we are building the plan for the next phase. With that, we’ll also be clear on the investment numbers that we can share,” Susanne Pulverer, chief executive officer (CEO) & chief sustainability officer (CSO), IKEA India, told Business Standard.

IKEA India on Tuesday also announced its second price cut, which is 16-39 per cent across its products. It intends to be more affordable to the Indian consumer. It had cut prices in 2021.

“With the pandemic, volatile supply chain and high inflation, people are struggling with their household finances. We have seen the same in our research — IKEA’s Life at Home report 2022. We think it’s time and we are proud to say that we are now lowering the prices,” Pulverer said.

During the pandemic, IKEA India saw 30 per cent of its sales come from online but that has now come down to 25 per cent.

Pulverer said that as it has expanded offline, that has taken more growth. In India, IKEA has e-commerce operations and its app in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat.

“We have seen the willingness and interest to get out after a long time. We saw footfalls increase, especially during the holiday seasons and during weekends,” Pulverer said.