Ikea catalogs are sold in India by street-hawkers and bookstores in major cities of India and because labor is still plenty and cheap - local carpenters can make Ikea knock-offs for a fraction of the cost in the west. According to this article, the changing aesthetic in furniture reflects a shift in lifestyles of middle-class Indians.
The urban job market has enabled young Indians to move out of their parents home into their own apartments. And with the rising rents and expensive real-estate, the space-saving ideology of Ikea furniture is the logical option for them. Even if the designs are pirated and they have to pay much, much less than their Western counterparts!
<via Trivial Matters>
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