NEW DELHI : Ingka Group, the parent of Swedish furniture major IKEA, said on Tuesday that it was open to more investment opportunities in India, especially in the renewable energy, environment, manufacturing, and sustainability space.
In May, Ingka had backed online home design startup Livspace through Ingka Investments, its first technology investment in India.
When asked whether the company would invest in startups or bigger businesses here, Peter Betzel, IKEA’s India chief executive officer, said: “We have many plans in different countries, but in India, we are now looking at renewable energy. Everything connected to sustainability. Then we are also looking at manufacturing. We are looking at new raw material, and in new ways how we can produce our products.”
“In principle, we would like to continue to invest and fund these kinds of opportunities when it is closer to our business and our strategy,” he said on the sidelines of an event organised by Business Sweden in New Delhi. However, Betzel refused to divulge more details.
“It depends on whether we buy a stake or at the moment we buy something that is closer to what we like to develop ourselves, that is very wide and very open,” he said.
IKEA’s parent has been investing globally in sustainable solutions, such as solar and wind farms, as part of its plans to become climate-positive by 2030. In September, it had said that since 2009, Ingka Group has invested close to €2.5 billion in renewable energy, including investments in two solar parks in the US and a wind farm in Romania. IKEA had opened its maiden store in India in 2018 in Hyderabad and plans to open more such stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi-NCR.
The world’s largest furniture retailer, known for its do-it-yourself furniture and affordable range, hopes to capitalize on India’s large and aspirational middle-class population.
[“source=livemint”]
