IKEA Hyderabad to achieve break-even soon, says CEO

HYDERABAD: Swedish furniture maker Ikea expects its Hyderabad store, the first in the country, to achieve operational break-even in a year or so, the company said on Monday without providing the revenue details. The company shared plans of mulling different formats to optimise space utilisation while planning an expansion.

Ikea Hyderabad was opened in 2018, witnessing a footfall of three million during the past 12 months, against 2.9 million last year after a Covid-induced lull.

Ikea India’s chief executive officer Susanne Pulverer said: “India has given us an opportunity to understand the diverse needs of the consumers and we have used these learnings to develop our offerings not only in India but across the globe.”

Pulverer said that the company was exploring different formats of stores in terms of size. “The effort is to get closer to people where they live. It would be complemented by online services,” she said, at an event to mark five years of the store in Hyderabad.

She said the break-even in a new location will take some time and some of the investments go into creating infra and talent for other markets. Ikea had made a commitment to invest Rs10,500 crore in the Indian market and that amount will be exhausted once the two stores in Noida and Gurugram are completed.

Ikea has three big-format stores in Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai, and Bengaluru, and two city stores in Mumbai. The official said Ikea will look at new investments and it is currently working on them, without divulging details.

“Local sourcing is a priority to become even more affordable and it will work to increase it to 50 per cent in the coming years,” she said.

IT and industries principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan, the chief guest, urged Ikea to consider a second store in Hyderabad as the city is expanding. He wanted the company to support T-Works with design concepts and support the branding of Telangana cotton for global brands.

“The incredible journey of Ikea started from our first store in Hyderabad, a city that has warmly embraced us with love and trust. Hyderabad homes are all about togetherness and love for the home,” said Christophe Adrien, market manager, at Ikea Hyderabad.