Swedish home furnishing brand Ikea today opened its first store in India. Some 200 eager shoppers queueing in the underground car park area were welcomed by Indian Army’s Gorkha Rifles band playing “Saare Jahaan Se Achcha Hindustan Hamara”.
The store is located in Hyderabad in Telangana and is first of the 25 outlets the Swedish giant hopes to open by 2025 across the country of 1.25 billion.
“I’ve come all the way from Bangalore (575 kilometres, 357 miles away). I am excited to see what’s there,” garment factory employee Krishna Mohan Dixit, 39, who began lining up 90 minutes before the 10 am opening, told AFP.