Ikea, the world's largest furniture company has made its India foray finally with its first store inaugurated in Hyderabad today. The Sweden-based company has invested an amount of over Rs. 1000 crore or Rs. 10 billion for its first-India outlet.

IKEA received the government's approval for 100% FDI in India in single-brand retail nearly five years ago. The company however began its India journey more than three-decades ago when it sourced products from the country.

The massive store is located at IKEA HITEC City in the Raidurg suburb of Rangareddy district in Hyderabad. The first India Ikea store is spread across 13 acres and has a total built-up area of 4 lakh square feet. The store will contain approximately 7,500 products and of this nearly 1,000 items will be sold for less than Rs. 200. Further, the company website specifies that the new store will remain open from 10 am to 11 pm daily.

The company plans to open 25 stores all across India by 2025 with its next stores in Mumbai next year followed by Bengaluru and Gurugram. The company will also expand into other cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata.

IKEA Group CEO Jesper Brodin said that opening of the first store in India marks a milestone in the Ikea's journey in India.

Out of its total investment worth Rs. 10,500 crore for India operations, the company so far has invested a sum of Rs. 4,500 crore towards different projects in India. Through its India foray, the company is aiming to tap new customers in developing nation even as it faces intense competition from Amazon.com founded by Jeff Bezos.

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