IKEA to invest Rs 2,000 cr in Haryana; signs MoU with state

New Delhi: Swedish furniture retailing giant IKEA today signed a memorandum of understanding with Haryana government and said it will invest an estimated Rs 2,000 crore to open its stores in the state. [caption id=“attachment_2663474” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “IKEA India today inked an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the state of Haryana as a major step forward towards establishing retail stores in the state. IKEA will invest an estimated Rs 2,000 crore for its retail expansion in Haryana, will employ about 1,000 coworkers directly and engage around 3,000 more for providing services such as furniture assembly, delivery services among others,” the company said in a statement. In 2015, IKEA had signed MoUs with Karnataka, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to set up stores. “Haryana is a prioritised state for IKEA due to its open investment climate…IKEA will set up retail stores to bring high quality, functional home furnishings with affordability and design for the many people,” IKEA India CEO Juvencio Maeztu said. IKEA said it sees India as an important future market and is evaluating different sites in the prioritised states of Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Earlier this week, IKEA announced opening of its first store in India at Hyderabad in the second half of 2017 even as it scouts for more sites in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company, which received government approval in 2013 for its Rs 10,500 crore proposal to open retail stores under 100 per cent FDI, plans to open 25 stores by 2025 in nine Indian cities. PTI