Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA has revealed plans to close its store in R City Mall, Mumbai, India by mid-2024.
Opened in 2022, the R City Mall store was part of IKEA's strategy to explore smaller format stores in India.
The 70,000ft² store offered a limited selection of IKEA products and employed 100 people.
IKEA India stated: "This strategic decision is at the back of the learnings we have had in terms of customer experience and aligned to our vision of creating a leaner and faster retail business in the country.”
Despite the closure, the company emphasises its commitment to the Mumbai market, with plans to develop new omni-channel formats, expand the Navi Mumbai site and enhance its online presence across the state of Maharashtra.
The decision will “further allow [the company] to consolidate our Mumbai operations to Ikea Worli and Ikea Navi Mumbai and [our] online presence, while exploring newer opportunities for future growth.”
Employees at the R City store will be offered opportunities at other locations.
"Taking care of our dedicated co-workers is our highest priority. We are committed to supporting them with equal growth opportunities and a seamless transition and having them continue to be a part of the IKEA family," stated IKEA India.
IKEA operates three large-format stores in Hyderabad, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru, and has plans to expand further in India with upcoming stores in Delhi-National Capital Region and a shopping centre in Gurugram.
In January 2024, the home furnishing retailer launched its e-commerce deliveries to thousands of pin codes across 62 districts in four Indian states.