Bid to expand home furnishings supplier base
Taking forward its commitment to the Indian market, IKEA, the global home furnishings leader, has announced a new initiative, ‘Make More in India’, aimed at potential suppliers and to expand its supplier base as well as the categories of home furnishing products sourced in India. The company today sources for EUR 315 million and plans to double the sourcing by 2020.
Speaking about the new initiative, Mr. Sandeep Sanan, Head of Sourcing, IKEA South Asia, said: “We believe there is tremendous potential in India. We are looking for new suppliers who share our vision and values, are willing to grow with us and become world-class suppliers. We believe that many suppliers from other segments will come forward to diversify their business.”
IKEA today has 48 suppliers in India with 45,000 direct employees and about four lakh persons in its extended supply chain.
As part of its ‘Make More in India’ initiative, IKEA India will conduct two seminars, one in Mumbai on January 16 and the other in Bangalore on January 23, in which more than 100 new potential suppliers are likely to participate. The seminars will focus on enrolling new suppliers in the existing categories like textiles and rugs as well as for new home furnishing categories like furniture, mattresses and sustainable materials like bamboo and acacia, and also growing suppliers for categories such as metal, plastics and lighting.
Mr. Sandeep further observed: “IKEA is committed to responsible sourcing, and our history of developing successful supplier relationships in India means that IKEA is well positioned, not just to ‘Make in India’ for India, but to ‘Make More in India’ for IKEA worldwide. This gives the current and future new suppliers in India a much bigger market to aspire for. Our suppliers are our strategic long-term partners, and we are happy to share knowledge and technologies as we want them to grow with us.”
IKEA’s ‘Make More in India’ is a major initiative to speed up the process of finding the right suppliers who will partner IKEA to grow business in India. IKEA sourcing plans resonate with the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ agenda. “The IKEA Group is positive to all government initiatives that simplify and make it easier to produce in, and export products from India.”
To identify potential Indian industry groups interested to join it in the ‘Make More in India’ initiative, IKEA is in contact with various government export associations and industry organizations. “These groups could already be active in the existing categories we sell or are willing to diversify into new categories and even set up greenfield factories to supply both in India and globally for IKEA”, he added.
IKEA works closely with suppliers in setting up efficient and sustainable production processes to create affordable home furnishing products with good design and quality. Together with its suppliers, it supports innovation and entrepreneurship and invests in modern manufacturing technology that helps create globally competitive capacities and set up greenfield factories.
The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Its business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. There are currently 361 IKEA stores in 45 countries.
Founded in Sweden in 1943, IKEA employs 164,000 co-workers and had 821 million visitors during FY13 with a €30.1 billion sales turnover.
Companies interested to enroll in the seminars can reach IKEA directly by email at makemoreinindia@ikea.com