Susanne Pulverer, CEO IKEA India, has said that it is planning to increase local sourcing of products which will not only help in staying affordable, but will also create more jobs and enhance skills.
The Sweden-based IKEA is world’s largest furniture retailer and also offers a large variety of home furnishing products.
Its local sourcing is currently around 25 per cent, which in long term will be 50 per cent.
As of now, the company has two big physical stores in India, while a third one is coming up in Bengaluru. It also has a few city stores.
“We have been steadily increasing our local sourcing footprint in India and our ambition is to reach about 50 per cent in the long term. So our ambition is to increase the local sourcing step by step,” IKEA India CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer Susanne Pulverer told news agency PTI.
She further added that the local sourcing through partnerships will make a positive impact on the economy and society not just in retail, but also in all allied sectors and services. This will enable lower prices for IKEA’s customers, help create more jobs, enhance skills and keep costs low while reducing environmental impact as well.
On the issue of price rise impacting the company, she said, the hike in transport and raw material cost has also impacted IKEA like everyone else.
“We have tried to absorb a lot of the cost, and have done some price adjustments as well. And we try to stay affordable in every segment,” she said.
