Ikea in China: turning gawkers into consumers
Ikea’s flagship store in Beijing is among the group’s most heavily trafficked in the world – with more than six million visitors in 2011. But how much time and effort does it take to translate those visits into sales?
It’s an important question given that the Swedish furniture giant has this week announced plans to boost the number of stores in China from 11 to 40 over the next seven years. Continue reading »
Ikea in India: shopping and eating
Coming to India
There will be haggling for every last Daim bar and the meatballs will be doused in chutney. There will be queues of people complaining that their furniture has arrived unassembled. And a whole new professional class will emerge – the DIY-wallas.
After months of discussions, on its second attempt, Ikea has received approval from India’s foreign investment board to open fully-stocked stores in the country. Continue reading »
Ikea in India: No soup for you!
Ikea may have thought its long struggle to enter the Indian market was over. Having waited patiently for the government to push through a series of reforms aimed at opening up the country’s retail sector – to single brand stores at least – victory appeared at hand.
But, having got to the front of the line, the Swedish group appears to have run up against an unexpected foe: the meatball police. Continue reading »
Ikea in India: others on the way?
Photo: Bloomberg
Ikea’s decision to invest €600m in the first stage of a possible €1.5bn investment over the next 15-20 years gave a precious boost to the Indian government on Friday – reinforced by Moody’s on Monday, when it declined to follow Fitch and S&P’s downgrades of India’s outlook and held its own outlook steady.
Anand Sharma, trade and industry minister, made the point talking with reporters in Belgium: “Investors [have shown their] confidence in India, irrespective of the country’s rating… the fundamentals of our economy are strong and will remain strong.” Continue reading »
Chart of the week: the Indian consumer
However much India’s government prevaricates over investment laws for foreign retailers, the country’s consumer story is still a compelling one. Ikea, the Swedish furniture retailer, said on Friday it was still keen on India, even if India isn’t necessarily keen on it (yet).
Despite the on-off reform of FDI in retail, Ikea plans to invest up to €600m in the country. A smart move? Chart of the week takes a look. Continue reading »
TCL gets nod for TVs for Ikea
For those who moan endlessly about unsightly cables running out of the TV or DVD player, help may at last be at hand. Sweden’s Ikea and China’s TCL Multimedia have come up with an answer, furniture with built-in appliances. Continue reading »
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Stefan Wagstyl
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Pan Kwan Yuk
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