After 12 long years of planning and six year after it made an announcement, Ikea is finally opening its first store in India today. The world’s largest furniture retailer is all set to open its Hyderabad store on August 9, the first of 25 it plans to open in India by 2025.

The first Ikea store is a 13-acre complex in Hitec City on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The showroom will display some 7,500 products and nearly 1,000 of which would sell for less than Rs 200 a piece. Ikea expects six million customers in a year.

The Hyderabad store will have a 1,000-seater restaurant, Ikea’s biggest globally. Half of its restaurant menu will consist of vegetarian options, including idli and sambar, samosa and vegetable biryani, sourced from about 25 vendors, mainly women-led social enterprises.

Here are some interesting thoughts people from across the world has on IKEA 🙂

1. It’s basically adult Lego. You build, you have fun, and you get a massive sense of accomplishment when you’re done.

2. Delicious Swedish food – from the delectable meatballs to the mouth watering Daim cake, Ikea food is so good, it will make you want to move to Sweden.

3. Simplistic, Swedish style. Enough said.

4. Those big blue bags that come in so so useful. From laundry to storage to whatever else you need, those sturdy Ikea bags are nearly as useful as the items you’ve bought home in them.

5. Affordability. While we all end up leaving Ikea with more than we intended, the very reasonable prices mean it’s likely you’re still leaving with a sense of joy, rather than guilt at over-spending. Ikea purchases may be heavy in the car home, but they’re rarely too heavy on the pocket.

6. They have a giant catalogue (twice as widely distributed as the actual bible!), which you can browse all day and never get bored.

7.You can pretend you live in the showrooms. Unlike some places, you’re free to touch the displays and even relax on the sofas or beds.

8. The little free pencils. Because they’re just so darn cute. And who doesn’t love free stuff?

Fun Fact: Ikea is actually (well, in Swedish) meant to be pronounced ‘ee-kay-uh’, not, ‘eye-key-ah’. Who knew!