Ikea expresses interest in setting up store in B'lore

Ikea opens its outlets spread over at least 120,000 square feet

Swedish furniture maker Ikea has signed an agreement with Karnataka government which may lead to it setting up its store in Bangalore. Senior government officials said that there may be investment of upto Rs 500 crore from Ikea.

Additional chief secretary, department of commerce and industries Ratnaprabha signed the agreement with Ikea representatives in the presence of chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Ikea in a statement said that the memorandum of understanding is a natural step in the process of establishing an Ikea store. The memorandum of understanding stipulates Ikea India’s intention to open stores and to find new suppliers.

Ikea has asked the state government to allot 10-acre plot in Bangalore for its outlet, government officials said. It is said that Ikea opens its outlets spread over at least 120,000 sq ft.

“Ikea sees India as an important future market. We have been sourcing from India for 26 years and Ikea believes there is big potential to increase sourcing and manufacturing from India over the coming years.

Our priorities currently are to find the right locations for our stores, to increase our supplier base and to establish long-term relations with authorities and other important partners. In the first phase we are looking at establishing Ikea stores in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. We feel very positive about the developments so far, but it is too early yet to say when the first store will open,” Ikea said in a statement.