Ikea starts e-commerce service in Bengaluru – Times of India
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BENGALURU: Home furnishings retailer Ikea said ecommerce sales already make up about 30% of its sales in India. The company entered Asia’s third largest economy about three years ago through a store in Hyderabad.
The Swedish company offers the online service in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and three cities in Gujarat. And it has just begun it in Bengaluru.
The physical store in Bengaluru, the third in the country after Hyderabad and Mumbai, is still in the works. It has been delayed by the pandemic. Construction had halted for some time last year, but work is now back in full swing. “In another 12 months, we shall be able to open the Bengaluru store,” Ikea India CEO Peter Betzel said.
The first store was opened in Hyderabad in 2018 and the Mumbai one in December. The company is hopeful of meeting the target of rolling out shops in 30 Indian cities within seven years.
The Ikea online store will provide home furnishing solutions and ideas. The app also allows customers to add products to their shopping list even while physically browsing through the products in the store. The physical store will be about 400,000 sqft.
Over the next five years, across different Ikea businesses in Bengaluru, the company plans to engage around 2,500 workers directly and another 1,200 indirectly.
Betzel, an Ikea veteran who headed the company’s Spanish and German operations before moving to India in 2017, said the company is also increasing local sourcing, which is currently at 20%. “The target is to push it to about 50%,” he added. Ikea is working on new offerings in furniture, mattresses and sofas, besides building the textile category, which India has been traditionally strong in.
The Swedish company offers the online service in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and three cities in Gujarat. And it has just begun it in Bengaluru.
The physical store in Bengaluru, the third in the country after Hyderabad and Mumbai, is still in the works. It has been delayed by the pandemic. Construction had halted for some time last year, but work is now back in full swing. “In another 12 months, we shall be able to open the Bengaluru store,” Ikea India CEO Peter Betzel said.
The first store was opened in Hyderabad in 2018 and the Mumbai one in December. The company is hopeful of meeting the target of rolling out shops in 30 Indian cities within seven years.
The Ikea online store will provide home furnishing solutions and ideas. The app also allows customers to add products to their shopping list even while physically browsing through the products in the store. The physical store will be about 400,000 sqft.
Over the next five years, across different Ikea businesses in Bengaluru, the company plans to engage around 2,500 workers directly and another 1,200 indirectly.
Betzel, an Ikea veteran who headed the company’s Spanish and German operations before moving to India in 2017, said the company is also increasing local sourcing, which is currently at 20%. “The target is to push it to about 50%,” he added. Ikea is working on new offerings in furniture, mattresses and sofas, besides building the textile category, which India has been traditionally strong in.
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