Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture giant IKEA has launched its first online store in Mumbai offering more than 7,500 products. Ranging from home furnishing solutions to electronics, the online store will cater to the needs of Mumbaikars, which will run in parallel to its offline operations.
The global home furnishings retailer said the online store is part of its new multichannel approach to reach 100 million customers in the next three years. IKEA aims to be present in 49 cities by 2030.
Mumbai will see a multichannel offer including smaller format stores, and a big format store in Navi Mumbai, IKEA said in a statement.
"IKEA's unique Mumbai market entry, led by e-commerce marks a significant milestone in the Swedish retailer's new retail direction," the company said in a statement. IKEA added that it will focus on both digital and physical formats to reach customers.
Speaking on the launch, Peter Betzel, CEO, IKEA India said, "Today marks an important occasion in our history as we roll out our multi-channel, digital-first approach with Mumbai being among the first few markets worldwide, where we are bringing alive this transformation."
The online store will offer 1,000 products priced below Rs 200, it said adding that prices would be uniform across India, both in the offline and online stores. Deliveries to most locations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai will have a lead time of four to seven days, subject to availability and distance from the centre.
IKEA has been sourcing from India for its global stores for close to 35 years. In India, IKEA currently has more than 55+ suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in the extended supply chain.
The furniture giant opened its first store in India in Hyderabad on August 9, 2018. So far, more than 3 million customers have visited IKEA's Hyderabad store and about 8 million have visited IKEA's India website.
IKEA has four land sites in the states of Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi/NCR and continues to look for more in other major cities.
Edited by Chitranjan Kumar
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