IKEA likely to open India's first store on July 10 in Hyd'bad

:Swedish furniture major IKEA islikelyinaugurate its first Indian store here on July 10, a senior official of the Telangana government said.

"They (Ikea)are likely to open their firststorein India in Hyderabad on July 10. Their CEO is expected to inaugurate the outlet.They earmarked Rs 800 crore for the store.This will create many direct and indirect jobs in the state," Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT and Industries, told PTI.

When contacted, a company spokesperson, without mentioning a date, said the outlet would be opened next month.

"The first Ikea India store is opening in Hi tec city, Hyderabad in July 2018. We will be able to confirm the exact date very soon," the official said in an email reply.

The investment in store is more than Rs 800 crore, including land, construction and capital goods, among others.

The store will be 400,000 square foot of built up area on 13 acres, the IKEA official further said.

The Swedish companyhad earliersaid itwasgoing to recruit about 800 people for the store, including 120 for the 1,000-seater restaurant coming up along with the outlet here.

"(as on) Today we have recruited 400 workers, of which 50 per cent are women. The store will have range of 7,500 products," the official said.

After the Hyderabad store, the second store will open in Mumbai in 2019, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi NCR,an IKEA official had earlier said.

The company has also opened a distribution point in Pune.

Initially, the company had earmarked Rs 10,500 crore to open about 25 stores in the country by 2025.

"We're opening our first store in Hyderabad this July. See you there!," Ikeasaid in its official Facebook page.

In November last year, Ikea launched 'IKEA Hej HOME' to familiarise customers with IKEA home furnishing solutions and offer a first-hand experience of an IKEA store.

The company plans to bring Hej HOME to the other cities where it will open stores.

IKEA India Sales Manager Christian Kampe had earlier said almost 1,000 products (at the upcoming store in Hyderabad) would be priced below Rs 200.

"In India, IKEA currently has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and going forward we are looking at expanding this supply chain," he had said.