Swedish home furnishings major IKEA today opened its first store in India, kicking off its retail journey five years after it received approval to invest in the country's single-brand retail sector. We take a look at a few important facts about one of the world's largest furniture provider.
IKEA, which has employed 950 people directly and another 1,500 indirectly at its store here, plans to hire 15,000 in the coming years as it expands operations in India.
The store here is the first of 25 such outlets planned to be set up in India by 2025. In 2013, IKEA received nod from the government to invest Rs 10,500 crore in single-brand retail.
IKEA had originally planned to open its first store in India by 2017, but it was delayed. The opening of its first store here was scheduled for July 19 this year but the company again pushed it back by almost 20 days to August 9, citing quality commitments. It has invested Rs 1,000 crore on the Hyderabad store alone, which would have a range of around 7,500 products. The store is spread over 13 acres of land and has a built up area of 4 lakh sq ft.
The company said it would increase its investments in India as it looks to accelerate expansion in the country faster than it would usually do elsewhere. After Hyderabad, Ikea's second store would be in Mumbai next year, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.
1. Mega-rich founder
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IKEA is named after the initials of its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd, the farm on which grew up and Agunnaryd, the nearby village. It was founded in 1943 and opened in the US in 1985. (Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
2. IKEA is an acronym for..
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I = Ingvar- first name of our founder
K = Kamprad, his last name
E = Elmataryd the name of the farm Ingvar was raised on in Sweden
A = Agunnaryd the Village he grew up in
(Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
3. More popular than Jesus
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It is beleived that each year, more copies of the catalog are printed than of the Bible. It’s been in existence since 1951 and is said to take up nearly 70 percent of the marketing budget. (Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
4. Let's talk numbers
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690 million customers visited IKEA in 2012. Back then, this number was more than double the population in the United States of America. (Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
5. First product..
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The first item of Ikea flatpack furniture was the LOVET, a leaf-shaped side table, which first appeared in the 1956 catalogue. (Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
6. The most popular product sold
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Between September 1 2012, and October 25 2012, it sold 503,441 Billy bookcases around the world - The company's most popular product. (Image: IKEA India/Instagram)
7. Environment-friendly
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60 per cent of its products ultimately derive from the forest. (Image: IKEA India/Facebook)
