New Delhi: Swedish furniture giant, Ikea , today announced the acquisition of its first land parcel in Bengaluru , where the company will built its third store in India after Hyderabad and Mumbai.The 14 acres site in Bengaluru is located in Nagasandra on Tumkur road and has been acquired from the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation. The Bengaluru store is planned to be around 4.5 lakh square feet and is expected to have more than 5 million visitors per year, the company said.“We are very happy that we will soon see an Ikea store in Bengaluru. Ikea will bring best business practices, many employment opportunities, infrastructure development and contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the state. We believe that Ikea will work as a catalyst in our development plans. The government is committed to provide the necessary support to Ikea for its future expansion plans in the state,” said chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah The company in parallel is evaluating suitable sites in the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, Chennai and Pune and plans to open 25 stores in India by 2025.“This is a special day. Karnataka is a highly strategic and important market for Ikea. Along with retail stores, Ikea’s purchasing team will also grow local sourcing and engage with local artisan and communities in many projects. Our first Indian sofa supplier is from Karnataka supplying to our global stores. Each Ikea store will employ 500-700 coworkers directly and another 1500 people indirectly in different services. We are committed to inclusion and diversity and having 50% women in our organization at all levels is non-negotiable,” said Juvencio Maeztu , chief executive officer of Ikea India.Ikea has been sourcing from India for 30 years for its global stores. In India, it currently has 50 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in the extended supply chain.