Because everyone in Hyderabad was going to the new IKEA India store like it’s a one-day exhibition, I was very curious to find out what’s so amazing about it. So finally, last week, I visited the Swedish furniture store located at Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
Gachibowli is a good location for such a big store being away from the city in a neat wide road area for a big crowd to easily be able to commute – a comfortable one-hour cab ride for me.
Even from a kilometre away, you get to know you’re about to reach due to that long pole with the IKEA mast on top.
How Big Is It?
The IKEA India store is spread around in 40,000 square feet, near Hitech City, Gachibowli. Just walking the whole area would leave you panting.
Most of the store is filled with colourful furniture, as the name says – IKEA Home Furnishing.
Every single furnishing product from table lamps to sofa sets, and curtains to bed-sheets, all of them have been arranged in a homely manner, showing you directly how it would all look like in your own house.
Also Read: How Will We Benefit If Vodafone and Idea Merge?
IKEA Bets To Bring Unreal Affordability
Their speciality lies in home décor, furniture for children, computer tables and study tables. There are almost a thousand products of daily use under Rs. 200.
Glass sets in Rs. 29 – Rs. 159, microwave bowls in Rs. 129 – Rs. 189, plastic cutlery in Rs. 29 – Rs. 59, and my favorite part, decorative and study table lamps in Rs. 99 – Rs. 200.
Fluffy cushions will cost you Rs. 79, with various designs, picture frames and mirrors are not more than Rs. 59 – Rs. 99. Want a bigger mirror? The maximum you pay is Rs. 559.
All girls went “Awww” looking at cute stuff toys in just Rs. 99! My brother’s personal favorite was the artificial plant pot, which he has on his table now, bought it only for Rs. 29.
IKEA is famous for its customizability, which is the best part. You can actually give measurements of the furniture you would want to get done, and the IKEA Business Department will make it for you.
Little things like table lamps, shelves, and other decorative stuff for personal rooms are another attraction. If you’re living alone and want to decorate the place you live in, in a budget, IKEA is the place.
Everything was neatly displayed in blue, yellow and white colour schemes with 500 employees guiding you whenever and wherever you need.
For you to find your way around the gigantic store, there are arrows which are projected from lights placed above you, unlike conventional guiding arrows painted on the flood.
It’s been ages since I saw Indians not disturbing any items on display! The atmosphere was very lively, where seemingly most of the people had come just to see the store.
The Food In IKEA Is A Must
Honestly, I cannot resist drinking coffee at least two times a day, and IKEA gives you unlimited refills of coffee, with the first cup at Rs. 59. Now you can guess how long I stayed there and how much caffeine I gulped!
Being a Swedish brand, the food is primarily European, focusing on Swedish food. The dining area is called “Smaklig Maltid” which literally means tasty food and it indeed was tasty.
From a plate of Samosa, to corn salad, meatballs, cinnamon buns, ice cream and a lot more, you have it all here in Smaklig Maltid.
You get trolleys in the food section to put your trays in, in which you can put around 4 trays. Pick up food as you like, and you will be billed at the end of the counter according to what you have on your plate.
The dining area is very neat and has sufficient seating arrangements. The best part for the Hyderabadis is that Biryani is Rs. 99! My friend, a fan of meat chicken balls bought a serving for Rs. 129. A great Swedish Salmon dish called the Salmon Fillet will cost you Rs. 399.
My Experience Overall
As a whole, IKEA’s first Indian store is a wonderful place. I bought a few things which costed me far less than what I expected they would. The food was delicious and the coffee obviously had my attraction.
With over a thousand products below Rs. 200, and wonderful food, the attractive partnership with UrbanClap for carpentry work, and the huge store space, IKEA is sure to be famous very soon when it has more stores around the country.
The only thing which got on some peoples’ nerves was that the billing counter for both the food and the furniture was placed at the end, so that everyone could see everything and then get it billed.
But, the walk to the billing counter is too long even if I have only one small lamp to be bought.
IKEA aims to bring 25 stores across India in various cities and I’m really happy about it. The Indian public, majority being middle class, could use such beautiful furniture and accessories at such affordable rates!
Sources: Economic Times, Indian Express
Image Credits: Author and Google Images
You’d Also Like To Read:
Parakram Parv To Celebrate Surgical Strikes And Indian Army’s Valour
