BENGALURU: Bengaluru is all set to get its first IKEA store. The Swedish home furnishing company has acquired a 14-acre property in the city from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) for this purpose. Once set up, it will be the company’s third store in India.
IKEA’s first store in the country is set to open in Hyderabad early next year, followed by Mumbai.
According to an official release, the store will be next to the Nagasandra Metro Station on Tumkur Road. The store will be constructed in an area of 4.5 lakh sqft to cater to more than 5 million visitors per year.
Speaking to Express, BMRCL MD Pradeep Singh Kharola said they had called for a bid about 8-10 months ago for the space and Ikea had won. However, he did not divulge details about the other contenders.
Each IKEA store would employ 500-700 workers directly and 1,500 people indirectly for different services. IKEA is looking for more suitable sites in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Pune and plans to open 25 stores in India by 2025, according to the company.
IKEA (India) Chief Executive Officer Juvencio Maeztu said, “Karnataka is a highly strategic and important market for IKEA. Along with retail stores, IKEA’s purchasing team will also grow local sourcing and engage with local artisan and communities in many projects. Our first Indian sofa supplier is from Karnataka supplying to our global stores.”
In an official statement, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “We are very happy that we will soon see an IKEA store in Bengaluru. We believe that IKEA will work as a catalyst in our development plans. The government is committed to providing necessary support to IKEA for its future expansion plans in the state.”
There are currently 390 IKEA stores in 46 countries with a sales volume of 34.2 billion euros, as per data provided by the company.