Ikea opened its first Indian store and prepares USD 1.5 billion investment in the country

Newsroom 09/08/2018 | 14:48

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has opened its first store in India in the southern city of Hyderabad. The Swedes are counting on the growing middle class in India.

Ikea’s store sits on a 5.5 hectares campus, by the side of a busy road, in the hitech city of Hyderabad, which is also home to global firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook.

The company wants to start selling online in India by next year even if has taken care to adapt to India, even if tis do-it-yoursel business is not something Indians are used to, specially because the cheap labour in the country.

Maybe saving money will convince the Indians to do it themselves, hopes the Swedish retailers, even if they have signed up with companies, experts, but also a social entrepreneurship network with people that will be able to get great jobs in serving customers with assembling.

Even the famous Ikea meatballs had to be changed in order not to offend. The 1,000 seater restaurant – the largest in the world for Ikea – they are serving only chicken and vegetarian meatballs on offer.