Swedish home furnishing brand IKEA has drawn up a long-term plan to open 25 stores in the country. The company had been sourcing products from India for 28 years but it is yet to open its first store in the country. At Rs 500 crore for each store, IKEA’s investment in 25 stores could be Rs 12,500 crore. In July 2015, the company had bought 13 acres of land in Hyderabad for its maiden store. On September 24, IKEA signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government for three stores in Lucknow, Agra and Noida. Similar agreements have been signed with the state governments of Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Now, signage players must make their foot forward to tap this new opportunity surfacing in the retail domain in the realm of in-shop branding, designs, displays and related activities.
