IKEA opens India’s second store in Navi Mumbai

People will be allowed from today; 7,000 home furnishing products on display

Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA (part of Ingka Group) on Thursday inaugurated its second store in India at Navi Mumbai, which will be open to public from Friday.

Located on Thane-Belapur Road, approximately 600 metres from Turbhe station, the mega store on 5.3 lakh sq.ft. will offer 7,000 products and is expected to attract five million visitors a year.

Peter Betzel, CEO and chief sustainability officer, IKEA India, said, “Today marks a major milestone as Mumbai is the first omnichannel market for us in India. People can now visit our store, shop online, or buy their favourite and affordable products through our ‘click & collect’ service.”

“We remain invested and committed to India and stand by our vision ‘to create a better everyday life for the many people’. Our stores are iconic and will continue to remain important where our customers meet our home furnishing offer: get inspired, get ideas on organising their homes, creating flexible small spaces, and finding products they would want to take home the same day,” he said.

Per Hornell, market and expansion manager and Maharashtra MD, IKEA India, said, “We have a long-term commitment to Maharashtra to create a positive impact on the local economy through our business. With our growing retail presence we will be a strong contributor to increasing the overall home furnishing market. We will generate opportunities for a growing ecosystem for the whole industry, including developing people and skills.”

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the Navi Mumbai store would not only create job opportunities but would also pave the way for many more companies to accelerate their investment plans in the State. “This store is a big progressive step towards boosting the local economy. We welcome IKEA to Maharashtra.”

The Navi Mumbai store will house the largest children’s area ‘Smaland’ in IKEA globally, along with a 1,000-seater restaurants with almost 100% locally sourced food range.

With a planned investment of ₹6,000 crore by 2030 in Maharashtra, the company aims to cater to 25 million people in the State. The company will provide more than 6,000 jobs in Maharashtra, of which 50% will be for women.

The Navi Mumbai store will employ close to 1,000 co-workers of which 50% will be women, 40% of whom will be from Navi Mumbai alone.

Currently, the store has more than 70% support staff — mainly housekeeping and security — coming from in and around Turbhe and Ghansoli.

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