Ikea breaks ground for first Indian store in Hyderabad

Ikea, a global leader in retail furniture, has laid the foundation in Hyderabad for its first store in India. The store is expected to open somewhere in July–August next year. The Swedish furniture giant is planning to build a 400,000 square foot store here, which will also include a 1,000-seater restaurant serving Swedish cuisine, besides Indian and others. [caption id=“attachment_1114711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the company is planning to invest about Rs 700 crore in setting up the store in Hyderabad. Ikea had earlier said it has purchased 13 acres of land parcel to build retail store here. The site is close to the IT hub in Hyderabad’s HITEC city, and within easy access to public transport and next to an upcoming Metro line. The furniture maker is also looking to set up stores in Bengaluru, Mumbai and NCR (National Capital Region) as part of plans to have 25 outlets across India in at an investment of Rs 10,500 crore. Ikea was one of the first companies in India to get approval for setting up 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail. “The decision by Ikea to set up its first store in Hyderabad will place the city on the international map of Ikea stores. The retail outlets have a standard design and each location entails an investment of USD 100 million (Rs 550-600 crore),” the company had said earlier. “In addition, the backward integration of supplier linkages will have tremendous economic impact to the state,” it had said. With PTI