Swedish furniture retailer IKEA believes the union government’s recent announcement to set up toy clusters across the country will benefit the company. As per CNBC TV18, the government aims to set up eight clusters with an investment of Rs 2,300 crore to boost India’s traditional toy industry.
IKEA India has a very large presence in children’s range which includes furniture, accessories, textiles, toys and various tools. The business contributes around 10-13 percent to the retailer’s total sales. However, IKEA stopped selling toys in India from January 1, 2021 after the government passed the Toy Quality Control order, which requires all toy manufacturers to comply with the new Bureau of Indian standards (BIS).
The retailer now hopes that the India Toy Fair, being organized by the union government, will give the company a chance to engage in dialogue with industry. Kavitha Rao, Commercial Country Manager, IKEA India says, the company also hopes to forge more partnerships with toy suppliers to further grow its toy range. It most recently launched its Navi Mumbai store in December after several delays due to the pandemic. It also plans to expand its presence in Mumbai by opening two small format stores to make IKEA more accessible to residents of Mumbai.
IKEA is also eyeing a foray through e-commerce into other cities which will required back-end services in the form of fulfillment centres and services to assist with IKEA’s do-it-yourself furniture.
