Swedish home furnishings major IKEA opened its first store in India, kicking off its retail journey five years after it received approval to invest in the country's single-brand retail sector. After Hyderabad, Ikea's second store would be in Mumbai next year, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR.

The company, which has employed 950 people directly and another 1,500 indirectly at its store in Hyderabad plans to hire 15,000 in the coming years as it expands operations in India. The opening of the first store in India marks a milestone in the company's journey here which began over three decades ago through sourcing of products.

As IKEA forays into the Indian market, it has plans for engaging with the Indian startup sector such as -

1. IKEA tied up with Urban Clap to offer assembly services for our furniture at Hyderabad store. This model is helping them to connect with carpenter community and integrate their service offer with affordability and choice. Here customer can choose to take their service offer or Urban Clap (where 100 plus carpenters are trained by IKEA to assemble IKEA furniture. In next phase they are trying to mobilize women carpenter to work with diversity agenda) This is an excellent example of IKEA partnership with a start-up – it’s a win-win situation where IKEA can give a locally relevant service that customers want, and it builds on external partner and their expertise to keep the skill up to date.
2. IKEA is now exploring collaboration in the area of analytics and big data. They are evaluating different vendors, including (but not only) start-ups as potential partners.

They also have a partnership with Gati for delivery services for the Hyderabad store. Again, this is a model for integration on services to match customer expectation and its sustainability agenda. They are working on Electric Vehicles as last mile connectivity to make a difference to the people and planet.