IKEA not coming to India, not yet

by Deepak Sharma on Sunday, June 14, 2009

IKEA has scrapped their plans of setting shops in India.  The Sweden-based Furniture giant shelved plans to foray into retail business in India until the Indian government allows 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in single-brand retailing in the country.

From Economic Times:

IKEA, which was hoping to invest $1 billion in India to establish a retail chain including stores in Delhi and Mumbai, was disappointed by what it perceived to be a lack of an early government action in the issue, the officials said. The investment was to flow through the single-brand FDI window and the furniture giant had hired staff for the retail venture and was preparing for a significant foray into the Indian market.
Swedish company was hoping that the government will raise the FDI limit in this segment to 100% from the existing 51%. With the government indicating that it has no immediate plans of raising the FDI limit for single-brand retail, the company has indicated that it did not want to enter the Indian market now. A number of global brands, such as Reebok and Louis Vuitton, French Connection and Jimmy Choo, are present here through the single-brand retail window.