Why are global consumer goods companies such as IKEA headed to India? It’s the country’s burgeoning middle class that holds out the promise of rapidly growing consumption. The domestic consumption is set to treble to $4 trillion by 2025 as rising affluence levels drive changes in consumer behavior and spending patterns that have big implications for companies, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group released last year. About 40 per cent of the population would be living in urban areas by 2025, and city dwellers would account for over 60 per cent of consumption, it said.

Publication: Economic Times

Date: August 31, 2018

Inspired by images of high-end home decor, but constrained by a budget? You’re not alone. Luckily, with the variety of items available both in stores and online these days, it’s a cinch to replicate the more expensive look, on a budget. AD makes this a norm every week, offering a curated list of trending home decor pieces complete with links and prices to save you some legwork. All the decor pieces are from Amazon, because the website’s curation of home decor items is enviable. The e-commerce giant has all kinds of home decor ranging from candles to dustbins! Besides that, Amazon also offers special sale prices, filters for different price slugs and even decor additions for festivals.

Publication: Archtectural Digest

Date: August ...

According to the company, it has observed that the Indian consumer market is largely fragmented and there are several sections of consumers who are more comfortable with cash payments, especially when it comes to large ticket purchases like furniture.

Publication: ET Retail (Online)

Date: August 30, 2018

Omnichannel retailing is becoming a common practice among retailers to address consumers’ need to have the convenience to choose the channel, irrespective of the retailer.

An array of acquisitions by retailers in recent months emphasises the growing importance of following customers at all touchpoints. While the global brick-and-mortar giant Walmart’s acquisition of Indian online retailer Flipkart was the deal of all times, several such cross-channel acquisitions highlight that we are really in the era of ‘omnichannel’ where retailers want to be wherever shopper during her path to purchase.

Publication: Fortune 

Date: August 29, 2018

Furniture and home marketplace Pepperfry has launched its cash on delivery (COD) service for consumers in Mumbai and Delhi NCR ahead of the upcoming festive season. In what is a first in the big ticket furniture category, the firm will offer COD payments of up to Rs 50,000 on high-ticket purchases at no additional cost as an introductory offer.

Publication: ET Tech

Date: August 30, 2018

Twenty days after Swedish retailer IKEA entered the Indian market with much hype and chaos in Hyderabad, it seems like its ‘desi’ counterparts are leaving no stone unturned to take on the home furnishing giant. Although some furniture makers maintain there’s no threat in the long run, some agree that there has been immediate response to IKEA’s launch in India and the sales of other players have significantly reduced.

Publication: IndianRetailer 

Date: August 29, 2018

Giving out cupcakes when the baby arrives—with blue icing for a boy and pink for a girl—is an age-old tradition. This gender-specific approach to colour—in all of its archaicness—has found its way into an infant’s nursery, and beyond. Sadly, what’s construed as a harmless perception of colour becomes a limiting factor for the little one at a sub-conscious level, and shapes a narrow approach to life, in general. AD in its baby decor series, sheds light on the need for a gender-neutral nursery by listing some well-researched design tips. Here are some tips you can steal for your own kid’s room.

Publication: Architectural Digest (Online)

Date: August 28, 2018

Close on the heels of Swedish furniture giant IKEA, Dubai-based Danube Home, the home interior retail arm of building materials player Danube Group on Monday announced that it will be making its India foray by setting up its first store in Hyderabad by October 2018 at an investment of Rs 40 crore.

Publication: Times of India (Online)

Date: August 28, 2018

Over a dozen brands that started off as pure-play e-commerce businesses have an offline presence now, opening brick-and-mortar outlets in a bid to chase profitability and build trust among consumers.

Online players such as Clovia, Craftsvilla, PrettySecrets, Zivame, UrbanLadder, Nykaa, Myntra, Caratlane, Lenskart, Pepperfry, Creyate and Teabox have chalked out a strategy to focus on the offline channel by opening standalone stores or shop-in-shops (small touch-points at multi-brand retail shops).

Publication: The Hindu Business Line (Online)

Date: August 26, 2018

Franchising is a business format with an extensive global recognition. International franchising gives industries a magnificent opportunity for market expansion. International firms use franchising as a mode of entry while expanding internationally. Recently, IKEA launched its first store in Hyderabad and became an instant hit. It experienced a sensational footfall of 40,000 people on day 1 itself. IKEA’s distinctive strategies have contributed to its success. Here are the following strategies franchisors can learn from IKEA’s success story.

Publication: Entrepreneur (Online)

Date: August 25, 2018

Pepperfry has emerged as India’s biggest online furniture player, but it hasn’t shut the door on brick and mortar altogether.

Seven years ago, Jugal Kishore went to his handicrafts shop in Jodhpur thinking it would be just another day at work. Customers walked in as usual, some browsed around for a bit and left while others stopped to buy a souvenir to take home. But one 30-something man who walked in was different: He checked out the products in the shop and then approached Kishore with a business proposal which took the Rajasthani businessman by surprise.

Publication: Fortune India 

Date: August 24, 2018

Ikea’s famously hard-to-pronounce furniture names aren’t just gibberish. They’re part of an elaborate naming system originally designed to help Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad – who was dyslexic – keep track of the thousands of products the furniture giant develops every year. Ikea groups the product names, all derived from Swedish words, into categories instead of using serial numbers. For example, bed textiles are named for flowers and plants, bookcases for professions and Scandinavian boys’ names, and sofas and armchairs for Swedish places.

Publication: Business Insider India (Online)

Date: August 23, 2018

Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea is a global company and it opened its first ever store in Hyderabad, India. While the store owns the typical trains of Ikea store, be it the sprawling layout, cafe or the Hemnes bed, the interesting element coming into fore is that the store also has the distinction of the local flavor.

Publication: Hans India (Online)

Date: August 23, 2018

Earlier this month, IKEA arrived in India with a 400,000 square feet store, 7,500 products, and big expansion plans. But it left out one key thing: its iconic print catalogue.

Publication: Quartz (Online)

Date: August 22, 2018

IndiaTech.Org, the internet industry group founded by companies like Ola and Makemytrip, has expressed support for the draft ecommerce policy that has otherwise garnered flak from multinational companies and some sections of the government as well. The year-old group, which also includes Hike, Policybazaar, Quikr, Lenskart and Urban Ladder as members, said the draft policy pushes for a level playing field for domestic and foreign companies, a primary demand of India’s internet industry.

Publication: The Economic Times (Online)

Date: August 22, 2018

Swedish furniture retailer, IKEA, opened its first store in Hyderabad on 9th August creating a buzz amongst consumers. With a vast range of home furnishing products, the brand announced its launch with over 150 plus OOH media across Hyderabad city.

Publication: Exchange 4 Media (Online)

Date: August 22, 2018

IKEA, the Swedish home furnishing giant with global revenue of over 38 billion euro (Rs 3 lakh crore), will make Bengal one of its procurement hubs in India for its worldwide operations.

Publication: Times of India (Online)

Date: August 22, 2018

Hej IKEA i Indien! This translates to ‘Hello IKEA in India!’ Unless you’re living under a rock, by now we’ve all heard and read about Swedish furnishing brand IKEA’s great and pompous launch in India! Indians alien to the concept of assembling furniture themselves lunged at IKEA’s launch in Hyderabad City. This reflects from 40,000 customers trooping in on the opening day, where the retailer rang up sales of a little over Rs 1 crore the same day.

Publication: Indian Television (Online)

Date: August 23, 2018

Ikea’s first store in India may be drawing the crowds, but for success in the long term, the innovative Swedish giant will need a robust online presence on platforms like Amazon, Walmart-Flipkart or Alibaba.

Publication: Mint (Online)

Date: August 21, 2018

Banish monotony from your abode and bask in the resplendent glory of an array of eclectic hues and textures that will instantly elevate any space.

Publication: Business Standard (Online)

Date: August 20, 2018

While the press is obsessed with how India will gain from Ikea, a more attractive topic from a branding perspective is to decipher what Ikea will gain from India. As in, how the experiences of operating in such a diverse yet unique geography will add back to the reputation and ammunition of Ikea.

Publication: Best Media Info (Online)

Date: August 20, 2018

Across the world, IKEA is an iconic brand. From its unique store concept to its attractive advertising, it is known to keep the audience engaged. This makes it a front runner in the global retail sector considering not just the sales numbers but also from brand value perspective. IKEA’s brand ranks at No.25 and is valued at $18,472 million as per Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2017 Rankings.

Publication: AdAge (Online)

Date: August 20, 2018

Ashish Goel, founder, Urban Ladder, Satheesh Kumar KR, founder, Enzen Global, and the IKP team, where we are currently located. Mrinal [Pai, cofounder] and I met Ashish back in 2014. He mentored us during some of our most difficult times. We met Satheesh almost 10 months after starting and connected instantly. IKP’s Deepanwita Chattopadhyay (chairman) and Vikraman Venua (CEO, IKP Eden) have always been great to us. We were the first startup to be present at IKP Eden and it was one of our best decisions.

Publication: ET Panache (Print)

Date: August 20, 2018

Around the globe, Ikea launches are known for frenzied crowds and on occasion, even riots and tear gas — as was the case when 6,000 people showed up for a store launch in Edmonton London in 2005 and caused a deadly stampede. At the launch of its first store in India earlier this month, at Hyderabad, the company had clearly learnt its crowd control lessons well.

Publication: Business Standard (Online)

Date: August 19, 2018

Is space maximisation on your mind? Mumbai based home specialist Livspace show us city dwellers clever yet easy methods to declutter and organise compact living spaces.

Publication: Vogue (Online)

Date: August 17, 2018

IKEA, the Swedish retail giant, has received an overwhelming response after opening its first store in Hyderabad on August 9. The store is the first of 25 outlets that IKEA hopes to open by 2025 across the country of 1.25 billion people.

Publication:  News18 (Online)

Date: August 18, 2018

With a focus on affordability and variety, the Sweden-based furnishing major has scripted a success story in almost every country it operates in. Will the script play out here?

 

Publication: Outlook Business

Date: August 9, 2018

After the stories about the stampede at the opening of India’s first IKEA store in Hyderabad, came the stories on the food. Most noted that the IKEA’s iconic Swedish meatballs were not made from beef or pork but chicken and veggies. And with 1,000 seats, it is the largest IKEA restaurant in the world.

But why did a furniture-seller get into food at all? Because of their size IKEA’s stores are situated on city outskirts, far from regular restaurants. It took time to get there and shop and as Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder realised, “it’s difficult to do business with someone on an empty stomach”.

Publication: Economic Times

Date: August 16, 2018

Swedish furniture maker IKEA, which launched its first India store in Hyderabad last week is using electric vehicles as its delivery fleet. And for the smell vehicle segment of its delivery fleet, Hyderabad-based Gayam Motor Works, which makes electric vehicles, will supply its Smart Autos to IKEA.

IKEA has procured the smart autos through Gati, which is its logistics partner in Hyderabad. For IKEA, this is part of its global compliance code of sustainability.

Publication: The News Minute

Date: August 15, 2018

Walking through the sprawling, newly-opened IKEA store here needs energy and the company is making sure that customers get to recharge at its trademark restaurant. The 1,000-seater restaurant is the biggest among the Swedish home furnishings retailer’s global network in 50 countries.

Publication: Business Standard

Date: August 14, 2018

I recalled McDonald’s misadventures last week as Ikea finally opened its long-awaited first store in India, in the southern city of Hyderabad, a dozen years after it first applied for permission to enter a market that still tantalises foreign companies with its promise.  As Ikea executives and their 950-strong Indian team cheered and enthusiastic customers thronged the store, I wondered whether India would end up as a success story for the company founded in Sweden, or if it will be a cause of perpetual heartburn.

Publication: Financial Times (online)

Date: Aug 13, 2018

The mad rush at IKEA, the Swedish retail giant that entered India after many hurdles, is no guarantee that its global success may be an easy grab here. Its late entry has meant other conglomerates have already emulated its model. Its ready-to-assemble and functional ware works only with techies and youngsters. Much depends on how it localises its line further for extra edge.

Publication: The Pioneer

Date: August 13, 2018

Three days after Swedish home furnishings major IKEA opened the doors of its first India store in Hyderabad, all roads for thousands of residents as well as a good number of visitors to the city seem to be leading there.At a massive 4,00,000 sq. ft., this is one of the largest single brand retail showrooms, and yet the rush of customers is making it appear small.

Publication: The Hindu 

Date: August 11, 2018

HYDERABAD: With three external parking lots now being designated for IKEA shoppers, the traffic chaos around the newly-inaugurated Swedish giant’s store has reduced, say commuters.

Publication: Times of India

Date: August 12, 2018

The Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA’s first day in the country was worthy of its preparation to launch its first store in India. As the store opened on August 9, a staggering 40,000 customers visited IKEA’s Hyderabad store. The crowd started pouring in a little after the launch at 11 am. IKEA staff was initially struggling to manage the entry point. A video of the same has gone viral on social media. The road leading up to the 4,00,000-sq-ft store at HITEC City in Cyberabad was also jam-packed and additional traffic police were deployed.

Publication: Business Today

Date: August 10, 2018

NEW DELHI: IKEA had a gate-crasher of sort when the world’s largest furniture retailer opened its first store in India: Kishore Biyani. Biyani’s home furnishing chain, Home-Town, strategically placed ads on the walls just across the IKEA outlet. Those were visible even from the inside of the sprawling store in Hyderabad’s Hitec City.

Publication: Economic Times

Date: August 11, 2018

 

Among other factors to mark its entry into the country, the Swedish furniture giant has tied up with UrbanClap as its furniture assembly service partner in Hyderabad.

Publication: Financial Express (Online)

Date: August 10, 2018

It took 12 years, but IKEA has finally opened its first store in India in Hyderabad. The Swedish furniture maker is known for its affordable and aesthetic designs worldwide. But will its DIY-ethos work in India, a country known for hiring carpenters and electricians to fix the smallest problems? Simply put, ‘do it yourself’ is not something we do in India. Instead, we like people doing things for us.

Publication: The New Indian Express (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Ikea’s first India store, which opened its doors to a huge response by customers on Thursday, offers a world of options for people looking to furnish their homes with good quality and yet affordable products.

Publication: Times of India (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Swedish home furnishings major IKEA says Namaste to Indian customers as it throws open its first store in Hyderabad. Company has ensured that it adapts to local tastes & prices to win over customers. Ashwin Mohansays gets us a sneak peak of the store Ikea In India.

Publication: The Economic Times (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Ikea has opened its first ever store in India on Thursday. The giant blue store that can easily be recognised all over the world, stands big and proud on a 13-acre plot in HITEC city, Hyderabad amid tech giants Google and Facebook. Indians have never seen a store of this magnitude ever before. The store with its classic warehouse style design hopes to become the go-to store for all things affordable.

Publication: The Week (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

The past couple of days have seen landmark Indian moments for two retail heavyweights. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved US retailer Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of e-commerce venture, Flipkart. Whilst Swedish home furniture giant, Ikea, opened its first Indian store, in the southern city of Hyderabad.

Publication: Retail Tech Innovation Hub (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Ikea’s 400,000-square-foot Hyderabad store is the first step in the retailer’s plans for India, with more outlets scheduled to debut in Mumbai, Bengaluru and the New Delhi area soon after.

Publication: Live Mint (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

If you are planning to shop at Swedish furnishing giant IKEA’s first India store in Hyderabad this week, it may very well be a 3-wheeler Electric Vehicle dropping off your purchase if you opt for door delivery.

Publication: CNBC TV (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

The world’s largest furniture retailer IKEA opened its India doors. The store is all set to say ‘Hej Hyderabad’ from August 9.

Publication: Telangana Today (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

As IKEA opens its first store in India on Thursday following years of delays, AFP picks five challenges the Swedish furniture giant will face while trying to navigate a difficult local market.

Publication: NDTV (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Ikea’s blue-and-yellow stores are instantly recognizable: iconic, monolithic and now, as India’s first store throws open its doors to the masses, operating in more than 400 stores in some 50 countries.

Publication: Brand Equity (Online)

Date: August 9, 2018

Ikea of Sweden AB is looking to keep prices even lower in India than it typically does elsewhere when it opens its first store in the country on Thursday, overcoming high taxes on imported goods as it woos cost-conscious shoppers unaccustomed to DIY furniture. Over a decade since floating its India expansion plan, the Swedish retailer will finally mark its entry with a 400,000-square-foot (37,160 sq. mt) store in the southern city of Hyderabad, where it will sell 1,000 items, including cutlery and stuffed toys, for less than ₹ 200.

Publication: Live Mint (Online)

Date: August 8, 2018

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is opening its first retail store in Hyderabad on Thursday. While IKEA’s sees India as a big market, some say the furniture giant’s entry into India will lead to job loss in the country. However, Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP),  believes there will be no job loss in India due to IKEA’s entry.

Publication:  ET Now News (Online)

Date: August 8, 2018

In a milestone that’s been more than a decade in the making, India’s first Ikea store will open Thursday (Aug 9), bringing inexpensive Nordic-inspired furnishings and food to the world’s fastest-growing middle class.

Publication: The Straits Times (Online)

Date: August 8, 2018

The Swedish furniture giant opens in Hyderabad, India, this week. To appeal to customers, it is cutting prices, offering assembly and selling samosas.

Publication: The New York Times (Online)

Date: August 8, 2018

Swedish furniture retailer IKEA had an­nounced its plans to enter the Indian market in 2012 and its first store is be­ing launched in Hyderabad on Thursday. IKEA may have taken six years to open its first store in the country, but in these years online furniture retail has grown from zero to $1 billion cate­gory and is expected to triple to $3 billion by 2020.

Publication: Financial Chronicle (Print)

Date: August 8, 2018

Promising to provide about 7,500 home furnishing products at attractive prices, Swedish furniture maker IKEA has announced that its first Indian outlet will be launched in Hyderabad on August 9. The launch was earlier planned for July 19 but got delayed.

Publication: Mint (Online)

Date: August 6, 2018

Hyderabad is fast becoming the design capital of the country. On the heels of the news that Swedish furniture retailer IKEA will throw open the doors to its massive store in Hyderabad on August 9 — its first in India — comes news of another first for the city. The World Design Organization (WDO) has announced that its 31st World Design Assembly will be held in Hyderabad in tandem with a five-day local design event organized by India Design Forum (IDF). Under the theme Humanizing Design, the design showcase will include installations, interventions, exhibitions, and workshops that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives.

Publication: Architectural Digest (Online)

Date: August 6, 2018

As the start-up ecosystem evolves and develops, entrepreneurs are finding their niche in ideas that get quirkier and outlandish, but carry a potential to disrupt the flow of things.

Publication: DNA (Online)

Date: August 6, 2018

Swedish furniture maker IKEA on Sunday said that its first Indian outlet will be launched here on August 9. “We will be joined (on the opening day) by key IKEA leaders, including IKEA Group, CEO Jesper Brodin,” IKEA said in a release.

Publication: Business Standard (Online)

Date: August 5, 2018

IKEA Retail India had earlier said it decided to move the date to August 9 from July 19 as it needs some more time to live up to its expected quality commitments towards customers and co-workers.

Publication: The New Indian Express (Online)

Date: August 5, 2018

With increasing environment and health concerns over plastic usage from governments and consumers, Swedish furniture retailer Ikea said it is in the process of identifying all in-scope plastic items and is developing a roadmap for replacing them with more sustainable options.

Publication: ET Retail (Online)

Date: August 3, 2018

Anna-Carin Månsson is IKEA’s Country HR Manager for India. She has been with the company in different HR manager positions for about 23 years. Anna-Carin spent the last four years in India setting up IKEA, with the first retail store launching in Hyderabad in 2018. She is passionate about people’s development and propagates for gender equality, diversity, and inclusive work environments. In this interview with HBR Ascend, Anna-Carin talks about what she looks for when interviewing people to work at IKEA, the qualities of a good candidate, and what she values.

Publication: YourStory (Online)

Date: August 3, 2018

Pantone colour of the year : With 2018 seeing a shift from the lively and enigmatic green pantone to a dramatically provocative and thoughtful ultraviolet shade, it couldn’t get any better as the colour is associated with inspiration, meditation, mindfulness, experimentation, tranquillity and royalty.

Publication: News 18 (Online)

Date: August 2, 2018

Want to redo your dining room but dont know where to start? Lighting, wallpaper, artwork, and a new dining table are a good place to start, say experts.

Publication: The Times of India (Online)

Date: August 1, 2018

How will a 75-year-old retailer of flatpack, DIY furniture from the land of Scandinavian minimalism change how we buy furniture in loud, maximalist India? Significantly—going by Ikea’s first India store, which launches in Hyderabad on August 9. Spread over 4,00,000sqft, the store houses everything we know and love about Ikea—from the ‘Forsa’ work lamps and ‘Poang’ chairs to ‘Lack’ side table to the ‘Karmsund’ mirror.

Publication: Vogue India (Online)

Date: July 31, 2018

The global “Shoe Cabinets market” research report encloses a deep analysis of the global Shoe Cabinets market. It highlights important players in the global Shoe Cabinets market such as IKEA, Urban Ladder, Tupper Cabinet, Prado, Furniturerun, MF Design, DeHauz Furni.

Publication: TruthWeek (Online)

Date: August 1, 2018

ZappFresh and Licious, like other vertical-specific players (Urban Ladder in furniture or Paper Boat in juices), can be popular in the top 20 urban centres of India and continue to bleed. They are yet to scale up to many cities. The question is whether, with the current unit economics, they are be able to raise more money and continue to create a market.

Publication: Yourstory (Online)

Date: August 1, 2018

Over the next year, Myntra plans to bring 50 top brands that it already works with on the omni-channel platform. Mint had reported in July that brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Future Group, Shoppers Stop and Chai Point, as well as online platforms, including Myntra, Urban Ladder and Pepperfry, are all betting bigon their omni-channel strategies.

Publication: Mint (Print)

Date: August 1, 2018

IKEA, world’s largest furniture brand is opening its first store in India in Hyderabad. After 6 years of planning and policy approval, they’ve finally gotten to the stage where their success in India now depends on the Indian customer and not the business and policy officials. But this too will not be an easy feat.

Publication: WTD News (Online)

Date: July 31, 2018

Swedish furnishing giant IKEA, that is setting shop in Hyderabad, has decided to purchase 35 per cent of its products from local artisans. Also, if local artisans make products with specifications that match international standards, IKEA will purchase them and make them available in the international market through its 420 showrooms spread across the world.

Publication: The New Indian Express (Online)

Date: July 31, 2018