The IKEA India Thread

[raksrules]

We all know Ikea has opened its stores in India. One in Hyderabad and 2 in Mumbai. In Mumbai (technically Navi Mumbai), one is a full fledged store and another is a smaller profile store in Worli. Additionally, they have online operations too wherein they ship their products to certain parts of India and are expanding their reach.
I know many people including myself were excited that it has opened in India and those who had previous exposure of the store was through their visits / stays outside India.

I also know people who either love the store or loathe because they sell supposedly substandard furniture making it appear cool but it won't stand the test of time. To add to it, Indians are not really DIY and may not want to invest time in assembling their furniture.

This thread is opened to get options and opinions from people who have bought IKEA stuff and really like it and would recommend it to others if they think they found it worth. People can also post link to an Ikea product and ask for cheaper alternatives as sometimes we too feel that something is actually not worth at Ikea.

To get things started, I own the following products..

Kallax - 2x4 shelving unit (it was 6K when I bought) -> https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/kallax-shelving-unit-black-brown-70351891/#content
Drona - Box that fits the above unit -> https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/droena-box-dark-grey-20443978/
LACK - Shelf (999 when I bought in Jan 2021) -> https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/lack-wall-shelf-white-70282181/

I have used 2x2 Kallax in US before and it was great there. I bought the 2x4 unit here back in Nov 2019 and initially we used it horizontally below wall mounted TV and now using vertically in drawing room. Till now it has been reliable and we have had no issues with it. The boxes offcourse have taking a beating as my kids store toys in them.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

i have visited the mumbai store multiple times and it is HUGE. Secondly i feel the ready made furniture(NON IKEA) sold in india is way more substandard,contains toxic chemical's and breaks down quick plus the designs are garbage. Ikea brings some very much needed competition to the indian market, the designs are great something new atleast as per Indian standards,very low voc and toxicity. I have bought multiple items Kallax,lixhult,couple of office desks,the skadis pegboard, plus a lot of small nick nacks(these small things from ikea are great the marketplace section). Lol even the photoframes,lamps etc sold here have better designs and options than what is sold outside. +1 for ikea. Protip For skadis pegboard you can use the cheap dronjons small size container with hooks (75 mrp) instead of the skadis specific holders that sell for 700 bucks+ . Additionally urbanclap does assembly for very cheap. I had kallax assembled for 250 bucks from urban clap. Also cinnamon buns and ginger thins.

i did have trouble with return process for lennart unit but that was only due to bluedart, ikea contact person was always in touch with me for the pickup every day they used to call.

My only disappointment are the bed frames(non metal ones only) as the design they use the wood slats forming the bed base may break.

I also think some of their compact designs are great for Mumbai homes.which are very compact. The billy bookcase example fitting well in small corners.Do register for ikea family or ikea business family,some very good deals through that.Pay 2500 for lixhult instead of 3500. Their home planning/design team is good as well, you bring the civil contractor etc, they just suggest you design's colors etc for 2k per room what goes where and design the whole aesthetic.I know someone who has had their office designed by ikea India. Worked out great for them. Looks very european.

 

[raksrules]

@fastapifastdisks

Any pro tips on visiting IKEA Navi Mumbai? Myself along with wife and kids are planning a visit next weekend or may be on Good Friday. I know we will be spending several hours and how are lunch options (veg) there and any special recommendation?

Btw Kallax we assembled ourselves as it was fun doing so. Also kept my kid occupied during that time.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

@fastapifastdisks

Any pro tips on visiting IKEA Navi Mumbai? Myself along with wife and kids are planning a visit next weekend or may be on Good Friday. I know we will be spending several hours and how are lunch options (veg) there and any special recommendation?

Btw Kallax we assembled ourselves as it was fun doing so. Also kept my kid occupied during that time.

yes kallax was much fun, i too assembled it myself but then realized it requires fixing to the wall and i did not have a power tool so got the urbanclap person to do it. I would have suggested free unlimited breakfast but that is only on weekdays and non public holidays for ikea family members. Restaurant is going to be packed, i haven't got chance to visit because every time i went there restaurant was full no tables to sit. This was evening time though after 3 pm. On weekdays there wasn't much line but the second & third time i visited it was a Saturday and lines to enter were quite long.

Mentally prepare to walk a lot, I went in at 3 came out at 9:30 10 ish. That too hurried through things in the marketplace section(since you are going with your wife,she may like to spend a lot of time here,women i have seen seem to fill up their carts here a lot and spend time). Have on hand vaccination cert or a medical exemption note.(before December 21 vaccines were not required) Take water with you. At the entrance they have baby carriers somewhere,and make sure to park on l2/l1 near the entrances because even walking from the exit to the parking lot at the end of the day can feel annoying after walking so much thorough the store. Parking lots are quite large.There are ev charging slots as well somewhere nearby. If you are going by ola/uber there are separate entrance/exits. Even the checkout lines although they have 18-19 counters have a long lines so i would suggest use the self checkout section the last two which are practically empty because Indians i feel have these aversion to self things. Another thing is if you see something that you like but they dont have stock but if its a limited addition thing they will give you the display piece.Example 2021 ikea's art event collectibles were these drone's in a large frame with a glass cover.Looked great, sadly the single drone one i wanted was out of stock and being a limited run wont be restocking i talked to the yellow shirt's there and they were happy to bring it down from the wall and pack it up for me. Got it at discount aswell since it was the last one.Large multiple drone one was 3500 the small single one was 1500 but i got it at 1200.

 

[nitin_g3]

I've been waiting for IKEA to open a store in north India or at least start delivering to my area (Jaipur, RJ).
I wanted to get Linnmon with Alex drawers but ended up getting my desk and drawer made locally with laminated MDF.

 

[prime]

Kallax - 2x4 shelving unit (it was 6K when I bought) -> https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/kallax-shelving-unit-black-brown-70351891/#content

Drona - Box that fits the above unit -> https://www.ikea.com/in/en/p/droena-box-dark-grey-20443978/

What a coincidence, I also have Kallax 2x4 (with 2 ikea plastic boxes) which I bought it from a foreigner in my society who was moving back.

Drona is in my wishlist but Ikea has no store in Delhi NCR and not delivering too. It is on Amazon but they are selling it at more than double price.

There are many other products in my Ikea wishlist. Hope it opens soon in NCR.

BTW, can Drona (4 Pcs.) be shipped by a TE member from a city where Ikea is available?

I've been waiting for IKEA to open a store in north India or at least start delivering to my area (Jaipur, RJ).
I wanted to get Linnmon with Alex drawers but ended up getting my desk and drawer made locally with laminated MDF.

Nice table. How many days it took and how much you spent for this?

 

[raksrules]

What a coincidence, I also have Kallax 2x4 (with 2 ikea plastic boxes) which I bought it from a foreigner in my society who was moving back.

Drona is in my wishlist but Ikea has no store in Delhi NCR and not delivering too. It is on Amazon but they are selling it at more than double price.

There are many other products in my Ikea wishlist. Hope it opens soon in NCR.

BTW, can Drona (4 Pcs.) be shipped by a TE member from a city where Ikea is available?

Nice table. How many days it took and how much you spent for this?

I am not sure how much shipping will cost as the shipping from Ikea warehouse to home here happens through Gati as sometimes people order really big stuff. The Drona boxes comes flat and you may see how it is packed by checking some youtube video.

yes kallax was much fun, i too assembled it myself but then realized it requires fixing to the wall and i did not have a power tool so got the urbanclap person to do it. I would have suggested free unlimited breakfast but that is only on weekdays and non public holidays for ikea family members. Restaurant is going to be packed, i haven't got chance to visit because every time i went there restaurant was full no tables to sit. This was evening time though after 3 pm. On weekdays there wasn't much line but the second & third time i visited it was a Saturday and lines to enter were quite long.

Mentally prepare to walk a lot, I went in at 3 came out at 9:30 10 ish. That too hurried through things in the marketplace section(since you are going with your wife,she may like to spend a lot of time here,women i have seen seem to fill up their carts here a lot and spend time). Have on hand vaccination cert or a medical exemption note.(before December 21 vaccines were not required) Take water with you. At the entrance they have baby carriers somewhere,and make sure to park on l2/l1 near the entrances because even walking from the exit to the parking lot at the end of the day can feel annoying after walking so much thorough the store. Parking lots are quite large.There are ev charging slots as well somewhere nearby. If you are going by ola/uber there are separate entrance/exits. Even the checkout lines although they have 18-19 counters have a long lines so i would suggest use the self checkout section the last two which are practically empty because Indians i feel have these aversion to self things. Another thing is if you see something that you like but they dont have stock but if its a limited addition thing they will give you the display piece.Example 2021 ikea's art event collectibles were these drone's in a large frame with a glass cover.Looked great, sadly the single drone one i wanted was out of stock and being a limited run wont be restocking i talked to the yellow shirt's there and they were happy to bring it down from the wall and pack it up for me. Got it at discount aswell since it was the last one.Large multiple drone one was 3500 the small single one was 1500 but i got it at 1200.

Thanks a lot. I will be going in car. In fact it is my first ever long (from my perspective) car ride from Borivali to Ikea. I got my car just 20 days back actually. I will try to take car to park at the I2/I1 slots if I can. Is this like the floor where one enters into the store parking?
About marketplace level, I know because I too love that area the most. There are small small things there which we feeling like we can make use of and put in cart. I have done this in US a lot. I actually just speed through actual furniture and room setups as I anyways have no intention of buying anything there.
Weekend is only option for me as weekdays I have work. But I do intend to leave pretty early on the weekend so I reach as soon as store opens. Also travelling from my home to Ikea it self will take 1.5 Hours.
Self checkout is no problem as I have used that extensively before abroad.

Looking forward to my visit next extended weekend.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

I've been waiting for IKEA to open a store in north India or at least start delivering to my area (Jaipur, RJ).
I wanted to get Linnmon with Alex drawers but ended up getting my desk and drawer made locally with laminated MDF.

View attachment 131021

how much did it cost to do with laminated mdf vs actual plywood.

I am not sure how much shipping will cost as the shipping from Ikea warehouse to home here happens through Gati as sometimes people order really big stuff. The Drona boxes comes flat and you may see how it is packed by checking some youtube video.


Thanks a lot. I will be going in car. In fact it is my first ever long (from my perspective) car ride from Borivali to Ikea. I got my car just 20 days back actually. I will try to take car to park at the I2/I1 slots if I can. Is this like the floor where one enters into the store parking?
About marketplace level, I know because I too love that area the most. There are small small things there which we feeling like we can make use of and put in cart. I have done this in US a lot. I actually just speed through actual furniture and room setups as I anyways have no intention of buying anything there.
Weekend is only option for me as weekdays I have work. But I do intend to leave pretty early on the weekend so I reach as soon as store opens. Also travelling from my home to Ikea it self will take 1.5 Hours.
Self checkout is no problem as I have used that extensively before abroad.

Looking forward to my visit next extended weekend.

l1/l2 both have lifts just park near to them,i forget which level has the escalator. Just park near to that. I love marketplace too.

 

[kalph09]

Ikea is possibly the laziest business to enter this country. I have been hearing about them setting up a shop in Bangalore for the last 4 years. Nothing so far.

I like some of their products like the Pegboard I bought recently. However, they do not have the full ecosystem for the pegboard and most of the time the accessories are never re-stocked.

Edit: This is my incomplete project, still waiting for parts to be re-stocked *insert that skeleton meme of waiting*

 

[buzz88]

Ikea is possible the laziest business to enter this country. I have been hearing about them setting up a shop in Bangalore for the last 4 years. Nothing so far.

I like some of their products like the Pegboard I bought recently. However, they do not have the full ecosystem for the pegboard and most of the time the accessories are never re-stocked.
View attachment 131043

Nice. I have the same pegboard, the same headphones and the powerstrip.

Yeah, I also had to wait quite a lot for them to stock up all accessories of the pegboard I wanted. It does look nice on the wall. I'm at the office currently, or I would have also posted a pic.

 

[Mr.J]

IKEA is going to have a bad time in India considering their business model which needs large amount of space, rising property prices in India, and currently broken global supply chain.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

Ikea is possible the laziest business to enter this country. I have been hearing about them setting up a shop in Bangalore for the last 4 years. Nothing so far.

I like some of their products like the Pegboard I bought recently. However, they do not have the full ecosystem for the pegboard and most of the time the accessories are never re-stocked.
View attachment 131043

you may want to use the longer hook for the pegboard for the headphones, i had this discussion about the stock the ikea mumbai rep said due to shipping issues they have delay's. In november they got a lot of stock they are now chartering ships i think. Sadly everything got sold out in a month. i was looking for dronjons, i use dronjons isntead of the left side cup you have as dronjons is cheaper and more space. in November they had some 15k peices of it when i visited in december 0 stock. I have seen people buying such small things as wedding gifts, atleast in Maharashtra they give such small items as return gifts in weddings,birthday parties etc so people buy in bulk.Even my mother is planning to give such things from as return gifts in my wedding years from now.

 

[nitin_g3]

Nice table. How many days it took and how much you spent for this?

It's a furniture factory in one of the industrial area of Jaipur. They took 5 days for table and 7 days for the drawer. Table was 6.5k and drawer was 7k. Delivery was extra.

how much did it cost to do with laminated mdf vs actual plywood.

I didn't enquire for plywood, I liked this laminated mdf and went with it. It's pretty solid, manufactured by action tessa, it comes pre laminated and with lots of textures to choose from.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

IKEA is going to have a bad time in India considering their business model which needs large amount of space, rising property prices in India, and currently broken global supply chain.

They actually have pruchased land, so even if stores dont run the land itself is a good potential investment for them.The Navi mumbai land parcel is in the heart of industrial area, worth tens of crores and will only appreciate in price same with the worli store. Dont know about hyderabad though.A lot of small factories in navi mumbai are now selling land and building commercial spaces which sell for crores even a small 400 sq ft office in one of these the office costs 90cr to 1 crore fully furnished.

It's a furniture factory in one of the industrial area of Jaipur. They took 5 days for table and 7 days for the drawer. Table was 6.5k and drawer was 7k. Delivery was extra.

I didn't enquire for plywood, I liked this laminated mdf and went with it. It's pretty solid, manufactured by action tessa, it comes pre laminated and with lots of textures to choose from.

oh, we have some of these here in bhiwandi on the outskirts of mumbai, but for that price i think what you paid is bit too much for mdf. Plywood and carpainter and sunmaica with a lot of choices would have come out to same.

 

[superczar]

I am not sure how much shipping will cost as the shipping from Ikea warehouse to home here happens through Gati as sometimes people order really big stuff. The Drona boxes comes flat and you may see how it is packed by checking some youtube video.


Thanks a lot. I will be going in car. In fact it is my first ever long (from my perspective) car ride from Borivali to Ikea. I got my car just 20 days back actually. I will try to take car to park at the I2/I1 slots if I can. Is this like the floor where one enters into the store parking?
About marketplace level, I know because I too love that area the most. There are small small things there which we feeling like we can make use of and put in cart. I have done this in US a lot. I actually just speed through actual furniture and room setups as I anyways have no intention of buying anything there.
Weekend is only option for me as weekdays I have work. But I do intend to leave pretty early on the weekend so I reach as soon as store opens. Also travelling from my home to Ikea it self will take 1.5 Hours.
Self checkout is no problem as I have used that extensively before abroad.

Looking forward to my visit next extended weekend.

The India stores are setup pretty much the same as the ones in US.
Product breadth is quite similar again although choices in lighting and outdoor furniture in particular are relatively limited in comparison.

I have been to the Navi Mumbai store twice and have ended up wasting 6 hours and burning cash on both occasions ..lol
Also, self checkout is limited to if you only have up to a certain number of items - although on both occasions, I asked someone if its ok to use it even if that limit is breached and they were fine with it '..

 

[Mr.J]

They actually have pruchased land, so even if stores dont run the land itself is a good potential investment for them.The Navi mumbai land parcel is in the heart of industrial area, worth tens of crores and will only appreciate in price same with the worli store. Dont know about hyderabad though.A lot of small factories in navi mumbai are now selling land and building commercial spaces which sell for crores even a small 400 sq ft office in one of these the office costs 90cr to 1 crore fully furnished.

Well that's the thing. They can rent that land to multiple different people and have guaranteed income or build a giant store that may not end up being profitable. I think they're weighing their options.

 

[kalph09]

you may want to use the longer hook for the pegboard for the headphones, i had this discussion about the stock the ikea mumbai rep said due to shipping issues they have delay's. In november they got a lot of stock they are now chartering ships i think. Sadly everything got sold out in a month. i was looking for dronjons, i use dronjons isntead of the left side cup you have as dronjons is cheaper and more space. in November they had some 15k peices of it when i visited in december 0 stock. I have seen people buying such small things as wedding gifts, atleast in Maharashtra they give such small items as return gifts in weddings,birthday parties etc so people buy in bulk.Even my mother is planning to give such things from as return gifts in my wedding years from now.

I have one pair of long hooks sitting idle. My OCD kicks in when I separate them and use them as single hooks. lol. That's just me.


What I find misleading are the pictures they use on their website. Below are the good example.

These C shape hooks.

 

[fastapifastdisks]

Well that's the thing. They can rent that land to multiple different people and have guaranteed income or build a giant store that may not end up being profitable. I think they're weighing their options.

whatever it is end of day they are making money. So as a consumer it is a good thing that they bring much required competition.

I have one pair of long hooks sitting idle. My OCD kicks in when I separate them and use them as single hooks. lol. That's just me.


What I find misleading are the pictures they use on their website. Below are the good example.

These C shape hooks.
View attachment 131076

i havent seem these c shaped ones in india, might be a us/eu thing. but they look very useful.

 

[nRiTeCh]

Ikea or similar brands are too. overpriced and offer substandard quality as well. This was quoted by the brand sales person themselves that they use substandard material which may last max 3-5yrs. Thereafter issues will pertain like wood bumps, peeling of sunmica/laminates etc.
Given this crap there is zero point wasting money in such brands. AT least I will never fall for them and would alert others too.

Just last year I bought a new home and was browsing designs online and compared prices (even though I was zero% keen opting for such platform) and I saved lacs locally!
I choose between 2-3 local furniturevallah through references and got my own designed modded furniture that too pure original ply which will last for years to come. Plus they offered free lifetime services though they guaranteed nothing will be required unless we handle roughly or otherwise damages during shifting etc.

People only fall for ikea/pepperfry etc. only for ease of purchases and cosmetic looks couple it with lack of real product knowledge. And also most of this class hardly cares about quality as well.

Buying petty/small stuff on these platforms is fine. but anything major, think twice.

 

[raksrules]

Ikea or similar brands are too. overpriced and offer substandard quality as well. This was quoted by the brand sales person themselves that they use substandard material which may last max 3-5yrs. Thereafter issues will pertain like wood bumps, peeling of sunmica/laminates etc.
Given this crap there is zero point wasting money in such brands. AT least I will never fall for them and would alert others too.

Just last year I bought a new home and was browsing designs online and compared prices (even though I was zero% keen opting for such platform) and I saved lacs locally!
I choose between 2-3 local furniturevallah through references and got my own designed modded furniture that too pure original ply which will last for years to come. Plus they offered free lifetime services though they guaranteed nothing will be required unless we handle roughly or otherwise damages during shifting etc.

People only fall for ikea/pepperfry etc. only for ease of purchases and cosmetic looks couple it with lack of real product knowledge. And also most of this class hardly cares about quality as well.

Buying petty/small stuff on these platforms is fine. but anything major, think twice.

I absolutely agree with everything you said. I have no experience with big furniture from Ikea. I have got small furniture and small items. Their lower floor where they have small small items actually have things that may be pretty useful and look good too. Many will be kind of impulse purchase if one is in the store.

Carpenter made furniture is any day good. I have a sofa-cum-bed at home which was hand made and it was made by carpenters in my home here back in 1995 or so and still it is super duper sturdy. It is actual wood and not MDF or ply or so. I don't recollect cost as dad paid and I was small but I reckon that for 1995 prices, it would have been not cheap.