IKEA Takes Press on Grand Virtual Tour of 5.3 Lakh Sq Ft Store Before its Opening in Mumbai Today

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Marketing | December 18, 2020 | News

IKEA

Leading Swedish home furnishings retailer brand IKEA, a part of the Ingka Group, enters Maharashtra with the opening of its 5.3 lakh sq. ft store in Navi Mumbai today. This was preceded by a virtual press conference on December 17, during which the Press was taken on a grand virtual tour of the mega store, showcasing not just its look and feel and products, but also the safety and hygiene protocols being followed in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sustainability quotient of the business in every facet – from building construction to product sourcing - was also showcased.

The IKEA store in Navi Mumbai – the second in India after Hyderabad - has an area “comparable to 10 football fields put together” in the words of a spokesperson, and offers 7,000 functional and sustainable home furnishing products, of which 1,000 are made in India.

For display, the store has designed 50 room sets, six homes and 10 vignettes depicting life at home in Mumbai. IKEA has also curated affordable packages, like transforming a bedroom for Rs 50,000, for the low budget customer. The store is equipped with a large children’s IKEA area and restaurant with 1,000 seats and food sourced locally to encourage local business and provide employment.

To provide a safe shopping experience during COVID times, IKEA is taking precautions to ensure social distancing, by having a cap on the number of visitors to the store through prior registration of customers on its website, by which people will be allotted a day and time slot to visit the store.

Mamma Mia! It was a lively Press meet indeed!

For attendees at the virtual press event, IKEA leaders including Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group; Peter Betzel, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA India; Per Hornell, Market & Expansion Manager and Maharashtra MD at IKEA India; Preet Dhupar, CFO, IKEA India; Kavitha Rao, Country Commercial Manager, IKEA India; Alan Buckle, Navi Mumbai Store Manager, IKEA India and others shared insights on various aspects of IKEA’s business in India, especially the new store in Navi Mumbai.

The joy and excitement of Team IKEA was quite apparent at the press conference – in a spontaneous gesture, the entire team that was briefing journalists got up and grooved together to the famous Abba number, Mamma Mia, to liven up the launch of the Navi Mumbai store!

“India is one of the biggest markets for any company, and opening a store in Mumbai is a sign of confidence. It’s a celebration for all of us - opening of our first store in region and second in India. I believe India brings us both traditional perspectives and new opportunities, which is like living in both the old and the new world parallelly. We hope that India will help us find new ways to present IKEA to people in future, and open it up to the rest of the world too,” said Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group.

‘Mumbai is the first omnichannel market for IKEA’

“Today marks a major milestone as Mumbai is the first omnichannel market for IKEA in India. People can now visit our store, shop online or buy their favourite and affordable products through our ‘Click & Collect’ service. We remain invested and committed to India and stand by our vision ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’. We are happy to bring our passion and knowledge for home furnishing to the people of Maharashtra. We want to contribute positively to today’s extraordinary times, where home has emerged as the centre of our universe,” said Peter Betzel, CEO & Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA India.

To boost employment opportunities for the local community, the Navi Mumbai store has employed close to 1,000 co-workers out of which 50% are women. About 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. 

Anna Lekvall, Consul General of Sweden in Mumbai, who joined the press conference remotely, said, “The launch of the Swedish global brand IKEA in Navi Mumbai is yet another milestone in the ‘Swedish-Indian sambandh’ in which the dynamic state of Maharashtra holds a special place. It is the State with the largest presence of Swedish companies contributing to growth in India. The Sweden-India relationship holds great value for sustainable solutions, promoting green transition, gender equality and innovation. IKEA is a company working towards finding sustainable solutions. I would like to thank the Government of India and Maharashtra for its commitment and support to IKEA and other Swedish companies over the years.”

Later, Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism and Environment, Government of Maharashtra, visited the store and interacted with the co-workers.