India to be Ikea’s largest market for children’s products

According to Kavitha Rao, Country Commercial Manager, Ikea India, India is likely to become Ikea’s largest market for children’s products with a 12 per cent share. Around 80 per cemt of the households live with children in India, In other markets, the number is significantly lower, added Rao The Swedish furniture retailer, however, stopped selling toys in the domestic market from January 1 due to the government’s ‘toy quality control’ order which requires all toy manufacturers to comply with the new Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

With the order coming into effect from September, all toys and materials designed or intended for use in play by children below 14 years of age need to be certified by BIS. Later, the compliance deadline was extended to January 2021.

Ikea said its products are also compliant with the BIS standards but its suppliers do not have the BIS marking yet. The retailer requested the government to give all retailers an extension until the authorities find a way to approve all the applications which have been submitted at this point in time.