IKEA Hyderabad

Telangana

KT Rama Rao

IKEA

Hyderabad

The much talked aboutstore was finally inaugurated on Tuesday morning by not a VIP or a celebrity, but by an ordinary female customer.A local resident named Rajani Venugopal, who had come to the store to shop soon after the formal inauguration, was asked to open the store by cutting the ribbon. Originally,IT and Industries Ministerwas scheduled to inaugurate the store at the Hitech hub of Hyderabad.Rajani and Rao opened the store together as hundreds of executives cheered for the unexpected arrangement. "I am thrilled," Venugopal said. It is a coincidence asclaims to have a policy to have a composition of 50 per cent female employees in its staff at all levels. Out of the total 950 employees in thestore, 48 per cent are women.Later, while addressing the gathering, Rao said, "IKEA has been sourcing from local manufactures in the country for more than 30 years. Now it will be sourcing from manufacturers from Telangana, also giving an opportunity to local talent to go global. It is said that 20 percent of the products are locally sourced."Thanking IKEA for choosing the city as their first destination as compared to the usual picks of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, he further said that Hyderabad has become a favourite destination for foreign investors. He also asked the brand to set up one more store in the city. The store has a huge 1000-seater restaurant and a play area for kids, named Smaland.