IKEA Launches ‘Make More in India’ Initiative To Increase Its Supplier Base

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ agenda, Ikea, which is one of the world’s largest furniture retailer, on Wednesday announced a new ‘Make More in India’ initiative. With this initiative, the leading Swedish furniture brand wants to expand its supplier base in the sub-continent. The company is also planning to come up with new categories of home furnishing products in the country.

IKEA today has 48 suppliers in India with 45,000 direct employees and about 400,000 people in its extended supply chain.

Speaking about the new initiative, 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 will come from other segments who are looking to diversify their business.”

As part of the ‘Make More in India’ initiative, IKEA India will be organising two seminars on Jan 16, 2015 and Jan 23, 2015 in Mumbai and Bangalore respectively. The company expects a participation of more than 100 new potential suppliers.

These seminars will focus on enrolling new suppliers in existing categories like textiles and rugs along with new home furnishing categories like furniture, mattresses, and sustainable materials( like bamboo and acacia). During that period, IKEA will also work to grow the number of suppliers for categories like metal, plastics and lighting.