Preceded by much hype, IKEA, the Swedish furniture conglomerate, opened its third store in India in Bengaluru, as large crowds thronged the place to get the first look on Wednesday.
Some were there for storage organisers and others for kitchen essentials. Some were just looking around to see what the hype was all about. A few people said they had skipped work to check out the store.
Some were there after recommendations from family and friends, such as Prashant Menon. ‘My sister-in-law residing in the U.S. insisted I visit the store. I came here looking for some lighting to furnish our new house,” he said.
There were also some who wanted to see if the store is better than the ones they’ve been to in other cities. Ashwini Tallur said, “I wanted to find out how different it is from ones I’ve seen in Switzerland”.
Inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the store in Nagasandra houses over 7,400 products and has attempted to localise production with a range of made-in-India utensils and wooden sofa sets, adapting to the demands of the Indian market. IKEA intends to increase local sourcing to over 50% in the long haul, said Anisha Agarwal, IKEA Karnataka’s Marketing Manager.
Indians typically aren’t used to assembling furniture, but at IKEA, over 90% of the store is filled with do-it-yourself furniture. For those who do not wish to assemble it themselves, they can opt for assembly on delivery at a reasonable price, said Francisco, IKEA’s Customer Relations and Market Services Manager.
Meanwhile, in collaboration with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), a foot overbridge connecting the store and the Nagasandra metro station has been proposed to be built by the end of the year, said Ms. Agarwal.
