Ikea’s parent Ingka to invest Rs 5,500 crore in retail space brand Lykli in Noida

New Delhi: Ingka Centres, a part of Ingka Group that operates Ikea retail, has announced its first-of-a-kind retail concept for India, Lykli.

This project marks Ingka's second such venture, following the inaugural Lykli development in Gurugram, which is also anchored by an Ikea store and slated for a 2026 opening.

With an investment of euro 607 million (approximately Rs 5,500 crore) for the Noida centre alone, its total investment in India is set to exceed euro one billion (around Rs 9,500 crore). 

Sebastian Hylving, Global Expansion & Development Director at Ingka Centres, shared the vision behind Lykli. “Traditional centres are often transactional by nature. Our approach with Lykli is different; we aim to establish a ‘meet and face’ process, integrating deeply with the local community. We invite the community to co-create this space, which will be a place where people can meet, relax, and socialise—essentially, a second home. The design and location are crafted to foster positive interactions and community engagement.”

Ingka Centres offers shopping places, office space, food and beverage outlets and social activities collaborating with the local community. It works with over 3,000 brands across its portfolio of 35 meeting places in 13 markets globally.

Hylving addressed the challenges of entering a new market like India. “Every market presents its challenges, and India is no exception. However, we are fortunate to have strong local partners to guide us. The concept of Lykli is not about merely opening a new mall; it’s about creating a community-centric space that goes beyond transactional interactions. We are adapting our approach to respond to changes in consumer behaviour, especially post-pandemic, where the need for connection and belonging has become even more pronounced.”

Susanne Pulverer, CEO & CSO of IKEA India, highlighted the strategic importance of the Indian market. “With India’s 1.4 billion people and a rapidly developing economy, it’s an incredibly important market for us. We are starting with Gurugram and Noida, with plans to assess further opportunities for expansion based on our learnings and the evolving needs of the market.”

Pulverer also announced that by early 2025, Ikea will launch its online platform and set up a Customer Pick-Up Centre (CPC) outside the Delhi NCR region. “This will be our initial market entry, complemented by smaller formats around the city to offer a real IKEA experience even before our full-sized stores open.”

Currently, Ikea has large format stores in India at Hyderabad (4.8 lakh sq ft), Navi Mumbai (5.3 lakh sq ft) and Bengaluru (4.6 lakh sq ft). It had also opened two small city centres in Mumbai, of which one was later closed.

In 2013, the government approved a Rs 10,500 crore FDI proposal by Ikea to set up 10 stores with allied infrastructure in 10 years.

Ikea has plans to expand its operations to other parts of the country in a phased manner.

Pulverer said Ikea has decided to focus on six markets - Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and Pune.

"We are planning to penetrate the adjacent cities. We cannot spread all over India in one go, because you need to have the logistics set-up behind it. We are taking step by step," she added.

In the second phase, Ikea's next big market will be Delhi, where it will also look at the adjacent areas with smaller formats.

"Of course, we are looking at in the vicinity of Delhi-NCR and cities like Chandigarh as to how could we reach there...a bit smaller formats, which is easier to invest in," she said.

Delhi will be the next big market to open in the beginning of 2025. It's coming closer with the CDC (customer distribution centre) first, and then the company is looking at smaller store formats, she added.