Ikea Expands To North India, Online Sales In Delhi-NCR And Nine Cities From March

Ikea has finally entered the National Capital Region. The Swedish furniture giant is set to begin e-commerce commerce in Delhi-NCR and nine other markets in North India — starting March 1 — as it prepares to open full-size stores in Gurugram and Noida over the next 2-3 years.

Apart from Delhi-NCR, Ikea's online delivery service will be available in Agra, Prayagraj, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, and Varanasi. The retailer has also promised same-day delivery within this zone as shoppers now want their orders to be delivered fast and the days of waiting patiently for deliveries are long gone, thanks to quick commerce.

The e-commerce-first strategy marks a shift in Ikea's strategy which has historically prioritised opening physical stores. "Over 30% of our sales currently come from online, making e-commerce a powerful and fast-growing channel for Ikea in India," CEO Susanne Pulverer told NDTV Profit.

This approach allows the brand to reach more customers quickly and will also help make future stores more locally relevant and efficient, she said.

However, the company is still evaluating if 10-minutes delivery is a viable business model for its products, the CEO said.

Ikea will also set up three pop-up stores — one each in Nexus Select CityWalk, DLF Mall of India and DLF CyberHub.

To support its expansion, Ikea has set up a 1.8 lakh sq ft customer distribution centre in Gurugram.

In 2026, Ikea expects to open a store in Gurugram, followed by Noida in 2028. Both these stores will be 2-2.5 lakh square feet, much smaller than its traditional large stores of 4-5 lakh square feet in other cities.

Ikea is expanding into North India after seven years of operating in the country. In India, Ikea welcomes over 30 crore online and offline visitors.

The company sees North India as the largest home furnishings market in the country and aims to tap this opportunity.

"Even before its formal entry into the market, Delhi NCR has already seen close to 1 lakh customers sign up to be part of this community," the company said. The sheer size of the market, the diversity in homes and needs in the region, speedy digital adoption, and the scope to establish an organised category play coupled with the vision to create a better everyday life for the many steers the way for Ikea in this next phase, it added.

Founded in 1943, Ikea has grown to become one of the world's largest furniture retailers. Known for its affordable and stylish home furnishings, Ikea India currently operates stores in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, and offers online delivery in 62 districts across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.

The subsidiary of Netherlands-based Ingka Holdings has been expanding steadily but slowly at a time when its sales remain subpar, hurting profitability. Ikea reported a larger loss of Rs 1,299 crore in FY24 compared to the previous year, as per a filing with the Registrar of Companies. It saw a modest 4.5% increase in revenue to Rs 1,810 crore during the same year, marking the slowest pace of growth since it opened its first store in 2018.

The increase in losses is mainly attributed to investments made for expanding its omnichannel operations, according to the company.

Affordability "remains a priority" for Ikea, which is looking to widen consumer base in the country to aid flagging sales. "Today, we have over 1,000 products priced under Rs 200 to make it possible for most people to buy our products," Pulverer said.