IKEA plans to make West Bengal a sourcing hub for natural fibre and bamboo

World's leading furniture retailer IKEA is exploring the possibility of making West Bengal a sourcing hub for natural fibre and bamboo, state Finance Minister Amit Mitra said at the MSME Conclave on Tuesday. 

According to a presentation made by an IKEA official at the conclave, IKEA’s purchasing operations from India stood at Rs 30 billion in the 2017-18 fiscal year.  IKEA sources around Rs 20 billion of natural fibre and bamboo for its furniture. The company has expressed interest in procuring the products from bamboo- and natural fibre-rich Bengal, provided it met quality norms, Mitra said.

As the next step, IKEA -- buoyed up by the response to its first store in Hyderabad -- could look at setting up stores in the state, according to reports. However, Mitra didn't want to elaborate on it.

In April, IKEA had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressing interest in setting up one-two stores with investments of over Rs 20 billion. Typically, IKEA stores are large. The Hyderabad store is spread across .4 million square feet with a 1,000-seater cafeteria.