Swedish furniture retailer IKEA on February 22 said it will close down its store in the Mumbai R City Mall by the mid of this year due to limitation of layout, design and location.
“Spread across 70,000 square feet, the store was opened in June 2022 and offers a limited selection of IKEA goods,” the statement said.
“IKEA has taken a strategic business decision to discontinue its IKEA R-city operations by mid this year and consolidate its Mumbai operations to IKEA Worli, IKEA Navi Mumbai and online presence,” it said. The IKEA R-city store was launched as one of the new-format small store.
“We have not been able to provide customers the full IKEA experience due to limitation of the layout, design, and location,” it said.
“However, Mumbai is a key market for the company in india and IKEA will continue to invest in the market to reach the many customers across the city and various other parts of Maharashtra,” the statement said.
“This strategic decision aligns with our goal to have a leaner and faster IKEA Retail business, maintaining our commitment to our vision, values, and culture,” it said.
IKEA currently operates three big-format stores in India at Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru, besides two small stores in Mumbai. It also has plans to open stores in Delhi-NCR, and a shopping centre in Gurugram.
On the people working at IKEA R City Mall, the company said: “We deeply value our co-workers, and it is our top priority to support them during this transition. All IKEA co-workers will be offered equal opportunities for their next assignments in Mumbai and our other Units, ensuring their seamless transition.” “Our hope is that they will continue their journey with us at IKEA,” it said.