IKEA Group, the Swedish home furnishings company, today announced the purchase of its first land parcel to build retail stores in India.

The company is also evaluating suitable sites in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR (National Capital Region) to open 25 stores in the long term.

The IKEA Group is the first major single brand retailer to get FDI approval in India and plans to open several stores in these cities.

The 13-acre site is close to the IT hub in Hyderabad’s HITEC city. A typical IKEA store will see an investment of ₹500-₹600 crore, according to a company press release here today.

According to sources in the State industry department, the Telangana Government had offered the Swedish major land at ₹19 crore per acre along with several incentives and support.

Hyderabad already hosts global retailers such as Walmart, Metro Cash & Carry.

IKEA has been sourcing from India for the 28 years for its global stores. In India, it has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in the extended supply chain.

The Chief Minister of Telangana State, K Chandrasekhara Rao, said: “We believe that IKEA will bring best business practices, great employment opportunities and contribute to the overall development of the city. It’s a priority for the state government to attract global brands which can bring modern processes, global know-how and innovation.”

Juvencio Maeztu, Chief Executive Officer, IKEA India, said: “India is a very promising market for IKEA as it offers us the opportunity to source, retail, conduct CSR initiatives through IKEA Foundation and empower social entrepreneurs through Next Generation projects.

“Our focus now is to bring all of it together in Hyderabad as we have bought our first land to build an IKEA store.

“We will bring a unique shopping experience through our inspiring stores offering affordable home furnishing products.”