Mumbai: IKEA (part of the Ingka Group), the Swedish brand and the home furnishings retailer has announced it will open the doors to its Navi Mumbai store on December 18, 2020.
IKEA wants to create a better everyday life for many people with big dreams and thin wallets. The home is the most important place in the world and IKEA’s unique and affordable range is created to improve life at home. The 5 lakh+ sq. ft IKEA store will inspire people with more than 7000 well-designed, affordable, good quality, and sustainable home furnishing products along with ideas and inspirations for every home. It is located on the Thane-Belapur Road, approximately 600 mts from the Turbhe Station. Customers will now be able to test, try, and purchase some of IKEA’s iconic products such as BILLY Bookcase, MALM Bed, EKTORP Sofa, among others.
IKEA stated that the Safety of customers and co-workers is its first priority. To provide a safe shopping experience during COVID times, it is taking a number of extra precautions from its global best practices and relevant learnings from its Hyderabad operations. To ensure good social distancing, IKEA will initially have a cap on the number of visitors to the store through prior registration on its website, by which customers will be allotted a day and time slot to visit the store. The company is putting together a whole process that will be released soon to the public.
Peter Betzel, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA India said, “We are very excited, as Mumbai is one of our priority markets in India. We have been present online in Mumbai since early 2019 and soon the many people of Mumbai will be able to shop at our fantastic IKEA store. IKEA will bring alive inspiring home furnishing solutions with its large, unique range and home furnishing knowledge, showcasing many room-sets and homes, and multiple solutions for a more beautiful, smart, sustainable, and affordable life at home – all this reflecting how people live in Mumbai. With our long-term commitment to Maharashtra, we will create 6000+ jobs by 2030 of which 50% will be women.”
Per Hornell, Market and Expansion Manager, IKEA India added, “Lately we have all experienced that our Homes have become even more important. IKEA is passionate about Home Furnishings and when visiting our new Store in Navi Mumbai, customers will find inspiring home furnishing solutions and everything they need for their home at low prices. All to make small or big changes to their homes at an affordable price. We have taken additional measures to create a safe and inspiring, shopping experience. Looking forward to meet the many people in Mumbai.”
Subhash Desai, H’ble Industry Minister, Government of Maharashtra said “IKEA’s further expansion with its Navi Mumbai store will create a positive impact in many ways – growing the home furnishings retail and manufacturing sector, creating more jobs, skill development, and logistical development in the state. The local community will highly benefit from IKEA’s presence. Welcome to Maharashtra!”
IKEA ‘s presence in Navi Mumbai is expected to boost employment opportunities for the local community. The store in Navi Mumbai store will be employing close to 1200 coworkers out of which 50% are women. 40% of its staff are from the Navi Mumbai area and 70% of its support staff – mainly housekeeping & security are from in and around Turbhe and Ghansoli. IKEA has been actively supporting many vulnerable families in the nearby community during the pandemic. It has also partnered with MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) to provide community relief support.
IKEA continues to develop its omnichannel presence with eCommerce, physical stores, and additional services like Click & Collect, Click & Deliver and remote planning. After the Navi Mumbai store, two more city center IKEA Stores will open during 2021 to reach many more people in Mumbai. IKEA is present online in Hyderabad and Pune with over 35 million online visitors so far and it has the ambition to reach 100 million Indian customers by 2022.
