Furniture retailer Ikea is looking to set up new stores in the range of 50,000-70,000 sq ft in the country, which will sit comfortably between its smaller stores (15,000-20,000 sq ft) and big-box retail outlets (4 lakh sq ft), Adosh Sharma, country commercial manager at Ikea India told FE in an interaction.
Best-known for its ‘blue-box’ destination stores worldwide and in Indian cities such as Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru, Ikea’s tweaks come as the retailer looks to grow its presence in the country using a multi-format retail footprint. It is also placing emphasis on building an omni-channel retail model, where consumers can “shop 24 by 7 or visit a store”, focusing on availability and accessibility.
While smaller stores, say industry sources, has been a focal point for the retailer in recent years as it sought to scale up operations quickly, the limitation has been in terms of offering a bigger range without compromising on convenience. Mid-sized stores are expected to take care of this need.
Bridging the Gap
The move is also timed with Ikea’s broader plan of more than doubling its investments in India to over Rs 20,000 crore ($2.2 billion) in the next five years, expanding physical as well as online retail and improving local sourcing.
Currently, the retailer has six physical stores in India, which it aims to take to 30 by 2030. Online sales account for over 30% of the retailer’s India sales now, which it hopes to take to 40% in five years. Together (online and offline), the retailer reaches 80 cities currently, with six including Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, being focus markets for it.
“Over the last three years, we’ve invested a lot of time understanding what formats work best in India. The answer is multiple formats will work here that will take care of different customer needs. We’re currently developing stores in the 50,000–70,000 sq. ft. range. These will sit between the two extremes of small and large stores and serve specific communities,” Sharma said.
Big-box retail stores, meanwhile, are expected to continue being destinations for families, where they can shop and have a fun day out. The retailer, for instance, is set to open big-box retail stores in Gurugram and Noida each in the future. A 15,000-sq.ft. smaller store, meanwhile, was opened at Pacific Mall in West Delhi in 2025 to cater to the catchment located there.
A fourth format, which are planning and order points, are focused on customers who want to design homes or complex solutions without distraction, Sharma says. “India is not one market; it is many markets in one. We’re taking a measured approach. We’re not racing to open hundreds of stores. Getting the model right is far more important,” he said.
Digital-First Growth
The need to stay disciplined with store expansion, say experts, also comes as Ikea looks to get profitable in India. The retailer saw net loss widen in FY25 to Rs 1,325.2 crore from Rs 1,299.4 crore reported in FY24. Revenue dipped marginally to Rs 1,749.5 crore in FY25 versus Rs 1,809.8 crore seen in FY24.