'No meatballs' as IKEA hits hurdles and imposed curbs in India
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Swedish retailer IKEA said on Friday that it was reviewing sweeping curbs imposed on what it can sell at its planned new stores in India that will reportedly prevent it from offering its famed meatballs.
India's foreign investment panel has rejected 15 of IKEA's 30 product lines, a report said on Friday, underscoring the regulatory hurdles faced by foreign stores who are eyeing the Indian market with renewed interest.
"We are now internally reviewing the details (of the investment board's decision)," an IKEA spokesman said, adding that she could not confirm the curbs as reported by The Economic Times on Friday.
Among the lines IKEA has been told by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board that it cannot sell are gift items, fabrics, books, toys, consumer electronics and food, the newspaper reported.
