Ikea to open 25 stores in India
The Ikea group will set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in single-brand retail trading in India if it succeeds in its application with the Foreign Invetment Promotion Board (FIPB)through its adviser Titus and Co Advocates, a Delhi-based law firm.
According to the proposal, IKEA will invest £510m (Rs 4,200 crore) to open 10 stores in major cities in the first stage. The remaining £780 million (Rs 6,300 crore) would be used to open 15 more stores.
The retailer’s application comes after the Indian government set up a 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail in January 2012. The FDI notifications could lead to more global retailers such as Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Gucci have full ownership of their India operations.
The time scales of Ikea’s Indian retail plans were not disclosed.
As of August 2011, Ikea operates stores in more than 38 countries, with 287 stores in 26 countries belonging to the IKEA Group. All IKEA stores are operated under franchise from Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
