A warm welcome to Ikea’s debut in India

Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer opened its first store in India in the city of Hyderabad. The store was launched on Thursday and it created waves in media for the reception it received from the public. Thousands of visitors stormed inside the newly opened shop in Hyderabad, Telangana at 10 a.m. and the crowd kept on coming inside the 400,000 sq.ft store.  So why is this Ikea a craze among people? Most of its customers believe Ikea has affordability, variety and quality. Ikea is a furniture retail shop started by Swedish native Ingvar Kamprad of Elmtaryd , Agunnaryd in 1943 in Sweden. (A fun fact is the company’s name  IKEA is derived from the  first letters of the founder’s name and his hometown).  The company manufactures ready to assemble furniture that are like Do-It-Yourself products. It has a worldwide operation base and is one of the most successful companies in the world. Ikea sells all sort of furniture for all utilities. Apart from furniture, products relevant to home/office atmosphere are also sold by Ikea. It has 75 years of experience in the said field and now it has come to India. On Thursday 30,000 visitors took their first look at the shop and this shook the city. The traffic it created was unprecedented. Ikea has said that it would expand its operation in India. Patrik Antoni, Deputy CEO, IKEA India, said “We find India is more positive now. There are a lot of youngsters. Economy is strong and it will be booming,” he said. Peter Betzel, CEO, IKEA India, said IKEA has eyed Bengaluru and Delhi as its next base. He said “Hyderabad is just a starting point. We have long term commitment to India”