Speaking to BusinessLine, Kavitha Rao, Country Commercial
Manager, IKEA India, said the home furnishing retailer’s efforts to go online
in India are starting to show positive trends. She observed that there was good
traction during Dusshera and Diwali.
Rao explained that for omnichannel retailers globally, about
10-12 per cent of the sales came from online sales prior to Covid. “Currently,
over 20-25 per cent of our overall sales come from our e-commerce portal,” she
said.
This, according to her, is despite the fact that footfalls
at IKEA’s store in Hyderabad are equivalent to the 2019 Diwali period. IKEA has
its second store in Navi Mumbai opened in December 2020.
She said that despite things opening up, and footfalls
coming back to normalcy, the stickiness is still there on the e-commerce
platform. “In fact, sales from our online platform could go up to 30 per cent
in the future,” Rao said.
Currently, IKEA delivers to seven cities in India including
Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, and three cities in Gujarat. It plans to
add Delhi as its next delivery hub.
When asked if IKEA has plans to partner with other
e-commerce portals such as Amazon and Flipkart to increase its online presence,
she said, “We are happy with the growth trajectory on our e-commerce portal.
However, selling on other portals is something we continue to evaluate but
there is no decision on that.”
IKEA recently launched a textile collection inspired by
India and made in India. The consumer response to the collection was “good”,
according to her.
When asked what share of the company’s turnover in India
comes from big-ticket furniture and accessories, she said, “The trend in India
is no different than other markets where we operate in… The share is 50-50
per cent for both segments.”
Rao emphasised that the ambition for IKEA is to enter
prioritised markets in India with an omnichannel approach with beautiful,
affordable, good quality and sustainable home furnishing products.
The company has been sourcing from India for 35
plus years with close to 50 suppliers. It is working with over 45,000 direct
employees and 4 lakh people in the extended supply chain in India to produce
for IKEA stores worldwide. Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com
