Coronavirus impact: IKEA closes only store in India; asks employees to work from home
Coronavirus update: IKEA has already shut operations temporarily in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland, and the United States
- Mar 20, 2020,
- Updated Mar 20, 2020 10:45 AM IST
Swedish retailer IKEA said on Thursday that it will be temporarily closing its only shop in India due to coronavirus. The furniture giant said that its Hyderabad store will be closed for all its customers from 3 pm on March 20. It added that customers would still be able to shop online.
"We have been listening to the advice of the Indian government, guidance from our global group and customer and co-worker feedback. We have taken a day-by-day and hour-by-hour approach, evolving our assessments and decisions as new information becomes available. We are evaluating and making decisions based on the local situation," said Peter Betzel, IKEA CEO.
Betzel said in a statement that IKEA employees have already been asked to work from home. "We ask all co-workers at our Navi Mumbai IKEA store build-up who are dependent on public transport, to work from home and we will continue the dialogue about how best to protect co-worker's wellbeing whilst enabling our work and ambitions to continue," he said in the statement.
Swedish retailer IKEA said on Thursday that it will be temporarily closing its only shop in India due to coronavirus. The furniture giant said that its Hyderabad store will be closed for all its customers from 3 pm on March 20. It added that customers would still be able to shop online.
"We have been listening to the advice of the Indian government, guidance from our global group and customer and co-worker feedback. We have taken a day-by-day and hour-by-hour approach, evolving our assessments and decisions as new information becomes available. We are evaluating and making decisions based on the local situation," said Peter Betzel, IKEA CEO.
Betzel said in a statement that IKEA employees have already been asked to work from home. "We ask all co-workers at our Navi Mumbai IKEA store build-up who are dependent on public transport, to work from home and we will continue the dialogue about how best to protect co-worker's wellbeing whilst enabling our work and ambitions to continue," he said in the statement.