IKEA opened its much-awaited first store in Hyderabad on Thursday. The company is famous for selling affordable furniture that people assembled themselves. This strategy works in several foreign countries due to the prevalence of the Do It Yourself (DIY) culture.

But in India, IKEA is turning this strategy on its head. Indians are generally not known for painting their homes or even changing bulbs at home by themselves. So IKEA’s change of strategy should not surprise. And it is betting big on India, given that sales in several other markets are showing signs of sluggishness.

Check out five features that will make the IKEA stores in India different from its stores abroad:

The Hyderabad store will feature the company’s first in-house furniture-assembly team, with 150 full-time employees. This is an optional service after research indicated many Indians would be unlikely to buy bookshelves and tables they had to screw together, said a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The company has also tied up with home services platform UrbanClap for assembly of its furniture. "Skilled professionals will now be made available to IKEA customers for unpacking and assembling furniture in under 90 minutes," according to Varun Khaitan of UrbanClap.

The store will also showcase items tailored for Indians, such as lunchbox sets to carry multiple-course meals, pans to cook chapatis and other Indian breads, and mattresses containing coconut fibres that many Indians prefer, according to the WSJ report.

The Hyderabad restaurant can seat 1,000 people and will be the company’s biggest to date. It will serve samosas and biryani as well as Swedish meatballs made with chicken or vegetables. Beef and pork will not be served.

IKEA furniture is known for its affordable prices. But given that Indians are particularly price conscious, it is taking an extra step. The Hyderabad store will have more than 1,000 products priced below Rs 200.

First Published:Jul 24, 2018 7:10 PM IST