BUSINESS
Eerste Ikea-vestiging opent in India
August 8, 2018 - Ikea opent zijn eerste winkel in India, en brengt goedkope Scandinavisch-geïnspireerde meubelen en voedsel naar de snelst groeiende middenklasse ter wereld. De Indiase middenklasse is tegen 2030 naar verwachting 560 procent gestegen.
Ikea’s debut comes as India’s homewares and home furnishings sales hit US$12.9 billion in 2017. Ikea has plans eventually to open 25 mega-stores in the country.
The world’s biggest furniture retailer is luring customers with two-seat sofas costing as little as 5,990 rupees ($87.3, €75.3) and 7,990-rupee ($116, €100) double-beds. The Hyderabad store also features a 1,000-seat restaurant serving a mix of Nordic and local dishes, including biryani for 99 rupees ($1.4, €1.2) a portion.
India is poised to overtake the U.S. to become the world’s second-largest middle-class market by 2022. By 2030, India’s middle class consumers will be spending an estimated $10.7 trillion, up from $ 1.9 trillion in 2015.
Homi Kharas of the Brookings Institution says that the trend is clear. In 2015, the top 10 middle-class markets in the world were from the G-7 group (except Canada) and the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. By 2020, Indonesia will enter the top 10, while Italy will drop out. By 2030, Mexico will join, and France will drop out.
($1 = 68.6850 Indian rupees)