- Tuesday, March 11, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer, has been accused of racist treatment of one of its customers from north-east India in Hyderabad in the south Indian state of Telangana and even a top minister from the state has slammed the European company over its alleged misconduct.
The furniture seller has reacted after facing a massive backlash saying it “regrets inconvenience” faced by the complainants over a “mandatory billing protocol”, NDTV reported.
It all happened when journalist Nitin Sethi alleged that his wife, who hails from the north-east Indian state of Manipur, was frisked for goods that she had bought at the IKEA store in Hyderabad.
“Racist treatment at @IKEAIndia store in Hyderabad. Only my wife, from Manipur got frisked for goods she bought. No one else before us. And then all supervisory staff came to defend the racism. Great show from an ‘international store’. Cheers to another usual day. #racism,” Sethi tweeted on Sunday (28) night targeting the seller of ready-to-assemble furniture and home appliances.
Racist treatment at @IKEAIndia store in Hyderabad. Only my wife, from Manipur got frisked for goods she bought. No one else before us. And then all supervisory staff came to defend the racism. Great show from an 'international store'. Cheers to another usual day. #racism.
— Nitin Sethi (@nit_set) August 28, 2022
Soon after, there was an uproar. KT Rama Rao, a top minister of Telangana and the son of the state’s chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, reacted against the incident tweeting, “This is appalling and absolutely unacceptable IKEA India. Please ensure a proper apology is issued and more importantly educate, sensitise & train your staff to respect all your customers graciously Hope you will make amends asap.”
This is appalling and absolutely unacceptable @IKEAIndia
Please ensure a proper apology is issued & more importantly educate, sensitise & train your staff to respect all your customers graciously
Hope you will make amends asap https://t.co/l84GimoIrM
— KTR (@KTRTRS) August 29, 2022
Sethi said when they objected to the store staff members’ alleged racist behaviour, they asked them to call the police if they wanted and they would deal with it.
Akoijam Sunita, Sethi’s wife, tweeted, “I was one of the many who bought stuffs at @IKEAIndia Hyderabad today. but i was the only one whose purchased items were checked one by one. if this is not #racism then what is it? the senior staffs there were far from helpful. does @IKEA endorse such behaviour?”
I was one of the many who bought stuffs at @IKEAIndia Hyderabad today. but i was the only one whose purchased items were checked one by one. if this is not #racism then what is it? the senior staffs there were far from helpful. does @IKEA endorse such behavior? https://t.co/DAeYW6hP2E
— akoijam sunita (@akoi_Jam) August 28, 2022
IKEA India responded in a series of tweets saying it condemns racism and prejudice in all forms.
“As a process, customers who self-checkout are requested for a final check before leaving the store to ensure the billing is correct and customers do not face any problems regarding double charging, repeat scanning of products etc,” IKEA India tweeted. “We remain committed to creating a better everyday life for the many people,” it said.
Hej, at IKEA, we believe that equality is a human right, and we condemn all forms of racism and prejudice. We regret the inconvenience caused to you while following the mandatory billing protocol. (1/3)
— IKEAIndia (@IKEAIndia) August 28, 2022
Responding to that, Sethi tweeted, “So @IKEAIndia staff singled out to check only @akoi_Jam for her purchases, passed sarcastic comments and then its supervisors (muscle, security officials) told us off and dealt on side with the police only to ensure we do not face problems of double charging! Slow clap.”
Sunita said she would not have flagged the matter if it was just one limited to checking.
“kindly refrain from responding without reading properly. makes your company look more irresponsible and insensitive,” she wrote.
if it was just a simple matter of final checking i won't be tweeting here. kindly refrain from responding without reading properly. makes your company look more irresponsible and insensitive. https://t.co/AuB46mhULa
— akoijam sunita (@akoi_Jam) August 28, 2022
