IKEA sets up new global office in Bengaluru.

Swedish furniture retail chain IKEA, the flagship brand of Ingka Group, will open a new global office from the Karle Special Economic Zone in Bengaluru, the company said recently.

“The availability of a large talent pool in India is one of the key reasons behind selecting the global office. The office will operate from the Karle Special Economic Zone in Bengaluru," IKEA said in a statement.

IKEA opened its first store in Hyderabad in 2018 and its second offline presence is coming up in Mumbai. It also has an online presence in Pune apart from the other two cities.

“The company will also open smaller format city centre stores and expand its online presence in other Indian cities in the future. Recently, the company launched Click & Collect Services in Hyderabad, which is safe and contactless. The aim is to reach approximately 100 million consumers in India over the next few years through a multichannel approach," the company said.

The Swedish giant said that it has been sourcing from India for over 35 years, has over 60 suppliers with 45,000 direct employees and 400,000 people in the extended supply chain in India producing for IKEA stores worldwide, the company said.

The Global Business Operations (GBO), the company said, is a capability and service organisation, responsible for implementing modern tools to meet growing business demands as well as to increase employee satisfaction.

Bengaluru will be part of a GBO network that operates in Poznan (Poland), Shanghai (China) and Baltimore (US). Digital, which is co-located with GBO in Bengaluru, will be a focal point and centre for digital development, innovation and operations. In addition, The Centres of Expertise (CoE) will provide leadership, best practices, research, support and training, the company said.

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