Ike a brings Hyderabad to stand still

In Hyderabad -- to borrow a cliché -- all roads on Friday led to the Swedish furniture giant Ikea’s retail outlet. It was a ‘Me Too’ syndrome as people began lining up an hour before the 10 am opening and jostled cheek by jowl outside.

As the company opened its doors, thousands of furniture buffs scrambled to enter the 400,000 square feet store. Normally, Indians swarm to temples with such fervour, almost creating a stampede like situation for the Ikea organisers.

Already operating in 49 countries, it took Ikea 12 years to find a toehold in India. The company had initially rolled out plans to purchase land in Mumbai and open stores in Delhi and Bengaluru. However, Hyderabad took the lead and is the first of the 25 stores the company proposes to open in the country.

But the frenzy wasn't just limited to the store. The traffic outside went for a toss and the police blamed it on lack of adequate parking space at Ikea.

A visit to an Ikea store is all about the feel-good factor because homemakers get an opportunity to assemble their own furniture.

Though the concept of assembled furniture is no longer new, with Fab India and Pepper Fry making good money out if it, but what makes Ikea stand out is the ‘Do it yourself’ USP. So, while adults drool and gush over chunks of wood, kids take a trip to Smaland – a play zone. It is a family picnic of sorts.

‘‘I've come all the way from Bangalore (575 kilometres, 357 miles away). I am excited to see what's there," garment factor y employee Krishna Mohan Dixit, 39, who began lining up 90 minutes before the 10 am opening, told AFP.

The footfall, at the end of the day, was put at 6,000. And that is a conservative estimate.