After the government last week cleared the decks for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector, Swedish furniture maker IKEA may be the first to enter into the country’s retail market.
Mikael Ohlsson, president and CEO of the world’s largest furniture maker, along with other top executives of the company, will be in India on Monday. They are expected to meet top officials in the ministry of commerce and other government departments to assess the nitty gritties of the new policy, which has drawn strong opposition from some political parties. Ohlsson is also expected to address the media on Tuesday and announce his India strategy.
In 2009, IKEA had shelved its plans to enter the Indian retail space because of stringent FDI norms and also because it was not able to identify an Indian partner. It, however, continued to source supplies from the country for its international operations.
The company, which had announced an investment of $1 billion in the country before deciding to shelve its plans, had made it clear that it would return only after the government raised FDI limit in single-brand retail to 100 per cent from 51 per cent.
