IKEA plans first India shopping mall in Noida, to invest Rs 5,500 crore

Stockholm, February 19

IKEA plans to open its first shopping centre in India after the furniture giant’s shopping centres’ business — one of the world’s largest — said it had bought a 48,000-square-metre plot in the city of Noida on the outskirts of Delhi.

IKEA, which opened its first store in India in 2018 in Hyderabad followed by one in Mumbai in 2020, said it would develop the new site into a mall anchored by an IKEA store.

Ingka Centres, which has 45 IKEA store-anchored malls across Europe, Russia and China and plans to enter the US in 2021, said it planned to invest nearly Rs 5,500 crore ($759 million) in the Noida project.

Expansion plans

• The 48,000 sq. m plot in Noida will be developed into an IKEA-anchored retail destination, adding to Ingka Centres' 45 existing Meeting Places around the globe
• The acquisition reinforces the Ingka Group's long-term expansion plans in India
• Ingka Centres’ move to India is part of its global vision to expand into new markets
• Its IKEA-anchored destinations deliver a powerful retail attraction and new experiences reflecting the needs of the local communities

It will announce more detailed plans for the project in the near future, it said in an emailed statement. Ingka Centres plans to enter around 45 large cities across its existing markets and the United States in coming years.

It is expected to create more job opportunities, support infrastructure development, and growth of the organised retail and home furnishings sector in the region.

It said in October visitors had returned quickly to its malls after the lifting of Covid-related curbs that had forced stores and malls to close. Ingka Centres is owned by Ingka Group which also owns most IKEA stores worldwide. — Reuters

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