 "Ikea gets aggressive, wants to kill namesakes before opening stores")
After its winning battle with the FIPB and various arms of the government, Swedish retail giant Ikea is now getting aggressive about its India foray. Before opening its stores here, the company wants to ensure that there are no products with names even remotely similar to its.
According to a report in the Economic Times, Ikea has asked its legal team to send injunction orders to more than 24 small businesses across India that have been selling products and services such as furniture, modular kitchen and packaging material under similar sounding names.
“The retailer is also in no mood to excuse HR consultancies, spas and event management and advertising firms that are involved in businesses not connected with IKEA’s own business,” the report said.
[caption id=“attachment_1114711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
 Ikea has said that it will invest more than Rs 10,000 crore to set up 25 stores in India.
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However, these businesses are viewing Ikea’s tough stance as pure harassment and fear that by allowing it to set foot in India, all small businesses will be wiped out.
According to the report, Ikea’s lawyers asked the founders of Aikya Global to remove the company’s website, registered under the name Aikya, as it is phonetically similar to Ikea.
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More Shorts“We are totally surprised and zapped with this legal notice and feel that we have been bullied as there is no similarity between what IKEA does and what we do,” Mariyanka, who is preparing a legal response to the notice, was quoted as saying by ET.( Read the full report here)
But despite stiff opposition from SMEs,Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh earlier this month assured its full support to Ikea for setting up its stores in the state.
In fact, media reports said Ikea could start its first store in Hyderabad.
The chief executive officer of Ikea reportedly urged the Haryana chief minister to provide adequate land preferably in the national capital region (NCR) to set up their venture which included retail, factory and warehouse, as NCR being close to the national capital, has better connectivity to highways and easy access to metro service.
Ikea has said that it will invest more than Rs 10,000 crore to set up 25 stores in India.
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