Ikea opens store in Bangalore, Gathers Humongous Crowd, Triggers three-hour wait

Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant recently established its fourth store in the country, this time in the tech capital– Bangalore. Nothing uncommon at Ikea’s inception, this time too, the crowd went overboard at the city’s Nagasandra. There was in fact, a three-hour wait, according to the company's Twitter Handle. With this new store, Ikea has employed 1,000 co-workers 72 percent of them, locals.

Bengaluru, we are overwhelmed by your response❣️ Current wait time at Nagasandra store is 3 hours. Please plan accordingly or shop online. For latest wait time updates, visit: https://t.co/XF0WzAZPFE

— IKEAIndia (@IKEAIndia) June 25, 2022

Ikea took to its Twitter handle and wrote, "Bengaluru, we are overwhelmed by your response❣️ Current wait time at the Nagasandra store is 3 hours. Please plan accordingly or shop online.

People took to social media and shared their thoughts on the rush that Ikea witnessed. While some believed that it was as expected, others criticized why do people need to buy Ikea when the country is home to fine carpentry?

On the employment front, however, the store turns out boon, especially for the locals. Taking to its website, Ikea mentioned, “We're a diverse group of down-to-earth, straightforward people with a strong passion for home furnishing. We all share an inspiring vision: “to create a better everyday life for the many people". This brings all of us together and builds our inclusive, open and honest culture". The advertisement further read, “ We are now hiring in Bangalore.”

Crowd waiting to enter new IKEA store in Bangalore, India. Hopefully, not for meat balls! pic.twitter.com/bZSoiUPFjL

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) June 25, 2022