The store in the southern city of Hyderabad is the first of 25 outlets the Swedish furniture giant hopes to open by 2025 across the country of 1.25 billion people.
"I've come all the way from Bangalore. I am excited to see what's there," garment factory employee Krishna Mohan Dixit, 39, who began lining up 90 minutes before the 10 am opening, told AFP.
IKEA, which is spending $1.5 billion in India has a global presence in 49 countries.
Furniture giant IKEA opens its first India store in Hyderabad
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Read here: Bookcases and biryani collide as IKEA tackles India
"We are looking forward to it. Actually it's my wife who got me here. Her sister sends a lot Ikea stuff from Dubai. So here we are," said IT manager Nasrullah Khan, 34, another early bird.
When the doors opened the customers rushed in through the lobby onto the escalator leading to the first floor.
They were greeted by Ikea staff members in blue-and-yellow company polo shirts who had packed themselves at the stairway, waving India and Sweden flags.
The occasion was graced by number of dignitaries including Sweden's ambassador to India, Klas Molin, and KT Rama Rao, the IT minister of the local state of Telangana.
Read here: IKEA’s first India store opens on Thursday: 5 things to know
IKEA, famous for its self-assembly products, faces a tough challenge in India where people are not used to having to put together assemble furniture themselves, analysts say.
IKEA has tweaked its offerings to suit Indian tastes, starting with the restaurant where its famous meatballs will be chicken or vegetarian instead of the usual beef and pork.
Alongside standard IKEA furniture like Billy bookshelves and Klippan "loveseats", the chain will offer "locally relevant products" like masala boxes, Indian frying pans called tawas, rice cake makers and mattresses with a coconut-fibre centre.
There are also more than 1,000 products under Rs 200 to satisfy consumers whom John Achillea, store manager, says have "big aspirations for their homes and small wallets". A six-piece bowl set with cutlery for kids costs Rs 131, for example.
Also read: IKEA in India: The challenges it may face
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2noGKhZ
