Swedish furniture retailer Ikea on Thursday said it has begun delivery of home furnishing solutions in Bengaluru through its ecommerce services and mobile shopping app.
This announcement comes closely after opening its second IKEA India store in Navi Mumbai in December 2020, and the recent online entry into Gujarat. IKEA’s much awaited Bengaluru market entry, led by eCommerce and mobile shopping apps, is the first step in entering the market, the company said in a statement.
The company is offering over 8,000+ home furnishing products and solutions.
Prior to this, Ikea’s products were available for home delivery in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara.
The newly launched IKEA mobile shopping app features product recommendations, ratings, and reviews, along with easier searching and browsing experience. The app also allows customers to add the products to their shopping list even while physically browsing through the products in the store. Customers can also find a built-in barcode scanner which will help them learn more details about the products, including materials and dimensions.
Peter Betzel, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA India said, “Karnataka is a very important market for IKEA and Bengaluru is one of the largest home furnishing markets in India. We will bring a complete omnichannel offer to the market and are excited to take the first step now with the launch of our eCommerce channel and meeting the many people in Bengaluru with their aspirations and dreams for a better life at home."
IKEA will also open a big IKEA store, close to 4,00,000 sq. ft. in Nagasandra within a year. The store will be connected to the Nagasandra metro station.
"Over time, we will also open a city centre store within Bengaluru to be even more accessible and connect with many more people,” he said.
Over the next five years, across different IKEA businesses in Bengaluru, the company plans to engage around 2,500 co-workers directly with 50% diversity across all levels and will generate close to 1,200 indirect jobs linked with its business operations.
IKEA works with 9 Home Furnishing suppliers in Karnataka including a social entrepreneur engaging 1,200 local artisans, thereby increasing its local sourcing footprint in the state.
IKEA continues its expansion journey in India with an omnichannel approach, focusing on giving more options to consumers across India with both online and physical formats. In the coming year, while continuing to look for more market entry opportunities, IKEA is gearing up to open 2 city centre stores in Mumbai and create more customer meeting points in Bengaluru in a phased manner, the company added.