India is globally recognised and appreciated for its wide variety and exquisite designs in home textiles & furnishing fabrics. The country is on the verge of a big boom in the affordable housing sector and there is good growth in employment opportunities, especially in the services sector and hence high disposable incomes in the hands of young consumers.
Global Home furnishings company Ikea has announced plans to invest 12,500 crore in India over the next decade and is set to increase its sourcing from India as well. The Swedish company is expanding its supplier base in the country towards the same. JuvencioMaeztu, executive officer of Ikea’s Indian arm recently met Amitabh Kant, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion, and other officials of the commerce ministry and shared with them plans to increase sourcing from India. In December 2014, the company had announced a ‘Make More in India’ initiative aimed at inviting potential partners and to expand Ikea’s supplier base in India.
Ikea also aims at increasing the categories of home products sourced in India. It currently has around 50 suppliers in India and it sources around €315 million worth of goods annually. Now the plan is to double this amount by 2020. The company has also announced plans to set up 25 home furnishings stores, starting with cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.