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Swedish retail giant IKEA has opened its first store in Delhi-NCR at Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden, months after entering the north India market through online deliveries. The 15,000 sq ft outlet departs from IKEA’s typical large-format stores — often exceeding 4.5 lakh sq ft — and comes as bigger stores in Gurugram and Noida remain under construction.
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The new city store in West Delhi is part of IKEA India’s “One Click, 30 Minutes Away” model, aimed at making the retailer more accessible in high-footfall urban locations where large stores are not feasible.
“We see the city format as a great complement to other formats. Online is our base, complemented by large stores like those in Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, and Bengaluru. We’re building two more in Gurugram and Noida. Then we have city stores, which can be closer to customers in shopping centres and other areas,” said IKEA India’s outgoing CEO Susanne Pulverer.
In late 2021, it opened its first city store in India in Mumbai’s Worli, spanning about 80,000 sq ft. More recently, it launched a “Plan and Order Point” in East Bengaluru to offer personalised home planning and design services.
‘Delhiites focused on living rooms and bedrooms’
The West Delhi store showcases over 2,000 products and features a Swedish Café serving classic IKEA snacks. The launch follows IKEA’s north India e-commerce debut in March, covering Delhi-NCR, Agra, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Prayagraj, and Varanasi.
IKEA’s research indicates that Delhiites show particular interest in living rooms and bedrooms.
“What we’ve learned from Delhi is based on the many home visits we’ve done over the years. We know that many homes here are a bit larger, especially compared to Mumbai. Socialising is a big part of life in Delhi — people love to meet, host, enjoy food, and express themselves culturally. So a lot of focus will be on the living room, but the bedroom is also of great interest to Delhiites,” Pulverer said.
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Gurugram store to open within 2 years
The retail giant plans more such stores in Delhi-NCR and expects the large-format store in Gurugram to be completed within the next two years, followed by the Noida store. On quick commerce, Pulverer said IKEA will explore and test whether there is demand for furniture products to be delivered instantly.
On the store launch, Patrik Antoni, IKEA India’s incoming CEO, said “We are humbled by the positive response and love IKEA has received from our North Indian customers since we began online deliveries here in March. To finally open our first store in the heart of the vibrant capital is a big milestone for us and we are very happy to offer the opportunity for the many people in Delhi to touch and feel the IKEA products.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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