IKEA is likely to commence offline operations in Delhi-NCR with the Gurugram store first, which will have a floor space of 4 lakh square feet and a 1,000-seater restaurant serving Indian and Swedish delicacies. (Reuters)In a highly anticipated move, Swedish furniture giant IKEA will launch e-commerce services in Delhi-NCR and nine other cities across north India, including in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, starting March 1. The launch comes after the inauguration of the retail major’s distribution centre in Gurugram earlier this week, which will fulfill same-day deliveries in Delhi-NCR.Seven years after its India entry, IKEA is set deliver products ordered online to its customers in north India, which, in addition to Delhi-NCR, include Agra, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Prayagraj, and Varanasi.So far, IKEA had onboarded 1 lakh members from Delhi-NCR to its loyalty programme, roughly 4 per cent of its 27 lakh loyalty members in India. The company expects a surge in loyalty members from Delhi-NCR and north India in the coming days.The north Indian market is set to become IKEA’s largest yet and its online business, which accounts for 30 per cent of its revenue, will help with better market penetration, Adosh Sharma, IKEA India’s country commercial manager told The Indian Express.Till now, IKEA has been delivering in five states only – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Gujarat – with an offline presence in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Navi Mumbai.Also Read | Seven years after India entry, IKEA to start online delivery in Delhi-NCRUnlike the Mumbai market, for example, where multifunctional products are preferred due to space constraints, Delhi has larger living rooms, kitchens, and gardens, a nuance that will be reflected in IKEA’s range curation.“Outdoors are big in Delhi. Celebrations are big in Delhi. Multi-generational families are big in Delhi. Housing sizes are big in Delhi. So if people have balconies and gardens, then how do you curate the range accordingly? That’s what we’re really focusing on,” Sharma said.Story continues below this adIn line with its other markets in India, IKEA will also provide third-party services for products that require assembly. “We realize that when you come into any market in India, service is key and so much more in the north,” he added.IKEA is also exploring smaller format stores in Delhi, where large parcels of land are either unavailable or expensive, to complement its upcoming stores in Gurugram and Noida. “We need to have smaller stores that are able to address the customer needs better. Our ambition is ‘one click, 30 minutes away’. One click, which means we’re always available online, and 30 minutes from any physical touch point that is available to a customer,” Sharma said.In June 2024, IKEA had partnered with Germany-headquartered Rhenus Logistics to support its e-commerce expansion into Delhi-NCR with a 1.5 lakh square feet warehousing facility in Gurugram, which opened on Monday. All deliveries in Delhi-NCR will be made using electric vehicles (EVs).IKEA will commence offline operations in Delhi-NCR with the Gurugram store first, likely in 2026, which will have a floor space of over 2 lakh square feet and a 1,000-seater restaurant serving Indian and Swedish delicacies. Construction for the Noida store started in September last year, when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone, and is expected to be completed by 2028.Story continues below this adThe upcoming stores will be a part of Ingka Centres, under IKEA’s parent Ingka Group, which will invest Rs 9,000 crore in the two projects. In addition to IKEA stores, the Ingka Centres will also house other retail stores, offices, and a hotel.Aggam Walia is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, reporting on power, renewables, and mining. His work unpacks intricate ties between corporations, government, and policy, often relying on documents sourced via the RTI Act. Off the beat, he enjoys running through Delhi's parks and forests, walking to places, and cooking pasta. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:IKEA