Furniture Piracy In India

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>