Furniture retailer Ikea is set to discontinue operations at its store in Mumbai’s R City mall by the middle of the year and consolidate its Mumbai operations at the Worli store, citing concerns around the viability of its small-format store.
The store at R City mall, spread across 70,000 square feet, opened in June 2022 and offers a limited selection of Ikea goods. “In the R City store, we have not been able to provide customers the full Ikea experience due to limitations of the layout, design and location. All our other units in India remain unaffected and will continue to deliver the best experience to our customers,” the company said on Thursday.
Ikea, which operates a big-format store in Navi Mumbai apart from the small-format store at Worli, will continue to expand in Mumbai. The Navi Mumbai store is spread across 5 lakh sq ft.
“Ikea R City was launched as one of the new-format small stores two years ago. As these are new concepts, there have been a lot of learnings in terms of attracting customers and how they experience our stores and products,” the retailer said. Mumbai is a key market for Ikea in India and the company said it would continue to invest there and in other parts of Maharashtra.
“The focus on growing Mumbai remains robust as we explore newer omni-channel formats for the city, further develop the existing Ikea Navi Mumbai site into a retail destination, expand our physical presence in Pune, and become even more accessible through our online presence across Maharashtra. India is a long-term priority for Ikea, and we will continue to invest in more growth avenues and job opportunities,” the company added.
Ikea currently operates three big-format stores in India — in Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru – apart from two small stores in Mumbai. It is also set to open stores in Delhi-NCR, and an Ikea-anchored shopping centre in Gurugram.
The company said workers affected by the R City store closure would be offered “equal opportunities” for their next assignments in Mumbai and other markets, ensuring a seamless transition.
“Our hope is that they will continue their journey with us at Ikea. This strategic decision aligns with our goal to have a leaner and faster retail business, maintaining our commitment to our vision, values, and culture. We welcomed nearly 50 million people from the region to our stores and online platforms over the past three years,” it added. Courtesy: https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/ikea-to-shut-down-store-at-mumbais-r-city-mall-by-mid2024-11708588761506.html