 "<B>Lunch with BS:</B> Juvencio Maeztu")
My guest wanted to sit out in a garden, with sandwiches, and enjoy a leisurely lunch over some engaging conversation. The idea was also to recreate an Ikea-like environment with sofas from the Swedish chain forming a backdrop for the afternoon. But Ikea India Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Juvencio Maeztu had clearly miscalculated the Delhi weather in October and we had to drop the outdoor plan. The final venue is still a garden... well... sort of.
Swedes are known for their punctuality, I was told. So I land up a little ahead of time at Fio Kitchen & Bar, an Italian-Spanish restaurant set in the middle of the Garden of Five Senses, a Delhi Tourism destination, which appears popular with young couples looking for moments of privacy. Sure, Juvencio is at the restaurant sharp at 12.30.
He belongs to Spain, he says when I ask how he’s coping with the long summer in Delhi. “I am from the south of Spain and the weather there is warm too,’’ he replies with an accent that gives away his roots, while handing me Ikea The Book, which is about the designers at the euro 25-billion furniture group. Along with Volvo and Abba, Ikea is the most successful international brand from Sweden, the book tells us.
The 47-year-old Ikea country chief, who recently signed a 13-acre land deal with the Telangana government to open the group’s first India store, is in no hurry even as I want to get done with the toughest part of a lunch — ordering the food. He takes his time studying each dish. Long and careful planning is part of the Ikea culture, and lunch should be no different, I tell myself.
Maeztu orders mushroom soup for himself. “I drink water through the week and red wine with my wife on Saturdays,” he laughs. I ask for fresh lime and soda while reminding him of the day the Ikea proposal to enter India was made public. It was June 22, 2012, and the then commerce minister Anand Sharma had given a statement on Ikea’s euro 1.5-billion application from the sidelines of a business conference that was being held at St Petersburg.
Soup is here, but not what has been ordered. Instead of mushroom, we get a minestrone piemontese soup — a vegetable concoction made with Italian recipe — and a barley-chicken broth. Maeztu stays exceedingly calm, saying he’s fine with it.
Make no mistake. My guest may appear soft, but when it comes to business, Ikea has its way. “We are humble, but determined,’’ Maeztu points out when we discuss India’s single-brand foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and how Ikea had engaged with the government, pressing for some critical changes in the sourcing policy to make the business feasible.
Does he like to eat anything Indian at all? “Oh yes, I love naan, dal (pulses) cooked on slow heat, paneer, birjani....”
We have got our starter by now. It’s tapenade glazed chicken and, as my guest likes it, without much spice.
Since we are on India talk, I ask him if he’s travelled the country. Yes: the Himalayas, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka.... The bucket list is long too: Ajanta, Ladakh, Gulmarg.... His home in Gurgaon has artefacts and furniture from the places he’s travelled to in India. Around 60 per cent of the furniture at home is from Ikea, though.
We are now discussing the challenges of doing business in India. “I am very impressed with the IAS officials. Most of them are extremely good, very knowledgeable, they give immediate response.”
It’s time for the main course. This time there’s no mix-up and the guest is served what he has asked for — penne with zucchini, asparagus and parmigiano cheese. I settle for a tomato ravioli.
Politics is a safe talking point during meals. So I ask Maeztu about the changes he’s seen in India from the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime to Narendra Modi’s NDA government. “I see a lot of stability now.” There’s more confidence in the system now, and that is what “we foreign investors are always looking for”.
How does he look at the Make in India and Smart City campaigns of the present government? “These are good concepts. I read somewhere that this (campaign) is a software and now we need a hardware to execute it.”
Prime Minister Modi has been meeting a lot of global CEOs; wouldn’t Ikea chief Peter Agnefjall come to India? He will, in the near future, says Maeztu, and adds meeting the PM would be a good idea.
Ikea is the biggest consumer of wood in the retail sector, so how does the company handle environmental concerns? Besides sourcing wood from sustainably managed forests, the company is working on developing new raw material. “We don’t have enough pine in India. So we must develop new materials — coconut, mango, jute. If we are successful in India in developing the new material, it will change the whole company.’’
We are almost finishing our main course. “How much do you work,” I ask out of curiosity. “If you ask my wife, too much,” he laughs. “I do work a lot.’’ He has to, with so much happening at the company. Besides Hyderabad (for which land has been bought), Ikea plans to set up stores in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru to begin with. In the next round, it will go to Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. Each store would hire around 600 to 700 permanent full-time employees.
I’m looking for the complimentary dessert promised at the time of booking. It’s a large piece of sinful tiramisu. The guest digs into it and declares there’s “too much alcohol in it”. We decide to focus on Ikea’s furnishings. While the bedroom is a big pillar in Europe and some other geographies, in India “the kitchen and the living room are going to offer us a bigger platform”, Maeztu points out. Most Indian homes don’t have shoe-racks, he has observed. “Shoes are taken off at the doorstep and are all bunched up there.’’ That’s an opportunity for Ikea to offer a solution.
The guest asks for coffee, but the restaurant lets us down. “Sorry, the machine isn’t working.’’ Tea then? That too is not possible, we are told. Maeztu is unperturbed. “Give us water then.”
It’s been two hours and I haven’t asked about the critical numbers that a business journalist must be asking. So some rapid Q&A follows. How much is Ikea sourcing from India now? “It is in the region of euro 300 million now.” How much do you want to step it up to? “Depends on whether we are looking at 50 years or 100 years. I would say, a lot.” What are the short-term targets? “We want to double —may be in three, four or five years.” In terms of sourcing market, isn’t India pretty low on the scale now? “Yes, it’s low in the pecking order, maybe seventh or eighth.” Does Maeztu see India appearing among the top five sourcing markets anytime soon? “Yes, in future. But not soon.”
Whether it’s sourcing or retail potential, India is a long-term bet for Ikea. On that note, it’s time to leave, with the promise to meet again, soon.
Swedes are known for their punctuality, I was told. So I land up a little ahead of time at Fio Kitchen & Bar, an Italian-Spanish restaurant set in the middle of the Garden of Five Senses, a Delhi Tourism destination, which appears popular with young couples looking for moments of privacy. Sure, Juvencio is at the restaurant sharp at 12.30.
He belongs to Spain, he says when I ask how he’s coping with the long summer in Delhi. “I am from the south of Spain and the weather there is warm too,’’ he replies with an accent that gives away his roots, while handing me Ikea The Book, which is about the designers at the euro 25-billion furniture group. Along with Volvo and Abba, Ikea is the most successful international brand from Sweden, the book tells us.
The 47-year-old Ikea country chief, who recently signed a 13-acre land deal with the Telangana government to open the group’s first India store, is in no hurry even as I want to get done with the toughest part of a lunch — ordering the food. He takes his time studying each dish. Long and careful planning is part of the Ikea culture, and lunch should be no different, I tell myself.
Maeztu orders mushroom soup for himself. “I drink water through the week and red wine with my wife on Saturdays,” he laughs. I ask for fresh lime and soda while reminding him of the day the Ikea proposal to enter India was made public. It was June 22, 2012, and the then commerce minister Anand Sharma had given a statement on Ikea’s euro 1.5-billion application from the sidelines of a business conference that was being held at St Petersburg.
Soup is here, but not what has been ordered. Instead of mushroom, we get a minestrone piemontese soup — a vegetable concoction made with Italian recipe — and a barley-chicken broth. Maeztu stays exceedingly calm, saying he’s fine with it.
Make no mistake. My guest may appear soft, but when it comes to business, Ikea has its way. “We are humble, but determined,’’ Maeztu points out when we discuss India’s single-brand foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and how Ikea had engaged with the government, pressing for some critical changes in the sourcing policy to make the business feasible.
Does he like to eat anything Indian at all? “Oh yes, I love naan, dal (pulses) cooked on slow heat, paneer, birjani....”
We have got our starter by now. It’s tapenade glazed chicken and, as my guest likes it, without much spice.
Since we are on India talk, I ask him if he’s travelled the country. Yes: the Himalayas, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka.... The bucket list is long too: Ajanta, Ladakh, Gulmarg.... His home in Gurgaon has artefacts and furniture from the places he’s travelled to in India. Around 60 per cent of the furniture at home is from Ikea, though.
We are now discussing the challenges of doing business in India. “I am very impressed with the IAS officials. Most of them are extremely good, very knowledgeable, they give immediate response.”
It’s time for the main course. This time there’s no mix-up and the guest is served what he has asked for — penne with zucchini, asparagus and parmigiano cheese. I settle for a tomato ravioli.
Politics is a safe talking point during meals. So I ask Maeztu about the changes he’s seen in India from the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime to Narendra Modi’s NDA government. “I see a lot of stability now.” There’s more confidence in the system now, and that is what “we foreign investors are always looking for”.
How does he look at the Make in India and Smart City campaigns of the present government? “These are good concepts. I read somewhere that this (campaign) is a software and now we need a hardware to execute it.”
Prime Minister Modi has been meeting a lot of global CEOs; wouldn’t Ikea chief Peter Agnefjall come to India? He will, in the near future, says Maeztu, and adds meeting the PM would be a good idea.
Ikea is the biggest consumer of wood in the retail sector, so how does the company handle environmental concerns? Besides sourcing wood from sustainably managed forests, the company is working on developing new raw material. “We don’t have enough pine in India. So we must develop new materials — coconut, mango, jute. If we are successful in India in developing the new material, it will change the whole company.’’
We are almost finishing our main course. “How much do you work,” I ask out of curiosity. “If you ask my wife, too much,” he laughs. “I do work a lot.’’ He has to, with so much happening at the company. Besides Hyderabad (for which land has been bought), Ikea plans to set up stores in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru to begin with. In the next round, it will go to Surat, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. Each store would hire around 600 to 700 permanent full-time employees.
I’m looking for the complimentary dessert promised at the time of booking. It’s a large piece of sinful tiramisu. The guest digs into it and declares there’s “too much alcohol in it”. We decide to focus on Ikea’s furnishings. While the bedroom is a big pillar in Europe and some other geographies, in India “the kitchen and the living room are going to offer us a bigger platform”, Maeztu points out. Most Indian homes don’t have shoe-racks, he has observed. “Shoes are taken off at the doorstep and are all bunched up there.’’ That’s an opportunity for Ikea to offer a solution.
The guest asks for coffee, but the restaurant lets us down. “Sorry, the machine isn’t working.’’ Tea then? That too is not possible, we are told. Maeztu is unperturbed. “Give us water then.”
It’s been two hours and I haven’t asked about the critical numbers that a business journalist must be asking. So some rapid Q&A follows. How much is Ikea sourcing from India now? “It is in the region of euro 300 million now.” How much do you want to step it up to? “Depends on whether we are looking at 50 years or 100 years. I would say, a lot.” What are the short-term targets? “We want to double —may be in three, four or five years.” In terms of sourcing market, isn’t India pretty low on the scale now? “Yes, it’s low in the pecking order, maybe seventh or eighth.” Does Maeztu see India appearing among the top five sourcing markets anytime soon? “Yes, in future. But not soon.”
Whether it’s sourcing or retail potential, India is a long-term bet for Ikea. On that note, it’s time to leave, with the promise to meet again, soon.