Ikea to Introduce Swedish Furniture to Mumbai, Invests Over $200 Million

The world's largest furniture retailer will invest 15 billion Rupees (US $223.5 million) as part of plans to open 25 stores across India by 2025; the first Ikea store is likely to arrive within 18 months in Navi Mumbai, a suburb of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The Swedish firm is planning to build a 400,000 square foot (37,161 m2) store near Mumbai, which will also include a 1,000-seat restaurant serving Swedish meatballs and other Scandinavian food in addition to more familiar Indian dishes, an official said.

"Ikea is starting to invest now. They have bought a big piece of land for 4 billion Rupees (US $59.6 million) in Navi Mumbai for their store," said Apurva Chandra, a principal secretary of the state industries department.

"They are investing almost 15 billion Rupees (US $223.5 million) here. This will be the first retail store in India," Chandra told PTI. "It will take another year or year and half."

The company expects the Navi Mumbai store to get more than 5 million visitors a year. The company is currently seeking land to set up stores in Delhi and Bengaluru.

Ikea is among several companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Owens Corning and Emerson, which have committed themselves to making investments in Maharashtra. Amazon is launching its first web service from Mumbai. It also plans to set up a data center, as well as Microsoft, Chandra said.

Ikea, which has been sourcing from India for its worldwide chain of furniture stores for three decades, plans to add suppliers and double its sourcing volume by 2020. At present, Ikea sources products worth 300 million euros for its global operations from India.