Ikea is the first major single-brand retailer to get FDI approval with an investment proposal of Rs. 10,500 crore for 25 stores and the company opened its first store in India after a long wait of 12 years after making an announcement about its interest in the Indian market.
Also Read: How Ikea Took 12 Years To Open Its Stores In India
While the Swedish retailer broke records for making profits in a single day after 40,000 visited the store on the first day In Hyderabad’s IKEA store, a lot of are curious to find out the reason why the company chose Hyderabad as the first choice for such a long-awaited launch.
You will be surprised to know that Hyderabad was not even in the favorites list and the company was IKEA was planning to set up stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Pradeep Chandra was the man behind making Ikea to chose Hyderabad. “We came across a newspaper report that IKEA had plans to set up its stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. I then sent a mail personally to Jesper Brodin, CEO of IKEA,” Pradeep said at the opening of the IKEA Hyderabad store.
Juvencio Maeztu had met State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao in June 2014. In July, a MoU was signed with the Government. Brodin had visited India only on the condition that Pradeep should convince him on why IKEA should set up their first store in Hyderabad.
Pradeep provided Brodin with a 10-pointer list on why Hyderabad would be chosen by Ikea to set up its first store. Thanks to Pradeep’s persistence, Brodin agreed to for Hyderabad.
Commissioner of Industries of Telangana, Jayesh R Ranjan also supported this idea and said Ikea would be part of the growth story of Telangana. He committed to supporting Ikea and also offered to create a special industrial zone for future IKEA suppliers as well as extending loans and subsidies.
Also Read: Kishore Biyani’s HomeTown Spoiled Ikea’s Party With Innovative Ads
The Hyderabad store is spread over 4 lakh square feet and has a range of 7,500 products. To attract Indian customers, IKEA has priced over 1,000 products under Rs 200 and the results are already promising.
