Hero to open 36 outlets next year<\/p>\n
Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Consumer spending continues to drive the Indonesian economy and
\nretailers are positioning themselves to take advantage of the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
Despite fears that people's purchasing power could begin to
\ndecline amid high inflation and interest rates, retailer PT Hero
\nSupermarket is so confident in the market that it plans to open
\n36 new outlets next year.<\/p>\n
Among the 36 planned outlets are six new hypermarkets under
\nthe Giant name and 10 Hero supermarkets.<\/p>\n
According to a study by AC Nielsen, the country's retailers
\nshared a profit of about Rp 660 billion (about US$66 million)
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
\"We are still focusing mainly on Java because the market here
\nis still open,\" Hero corporate secretary Vivien Goh said on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Hero president director Ipung Kurnia said the expansion would
\nrequire about Rp 260 billion in capital expenditures, half of
\nwhich would come from bank loans, with the rest coming from the
\ncompany's internal reserves.<\/p>\n
In addition to opening new hypermarkets and supermarkets, the
\ncompany, established in 1971, will also open 20 additional
\nStarmart minimarkets.<\/p>\n
The company reported that in the first nine months of 2005,
\nsales grew by 13.6 percent to Rp 3 trillion, compared to Rp 2.6
\ntrillion in the same period last year.<\/p>\n
PT Hero currently has a total of 260 outlets across the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Aside from its major expansion plan, the company has also
\nreportedly accepted a tender offer from Pan-Asian retail group
\nDairy Farm, through its subsidiary Nalacca BV.<\/p>\n
The tender offer resulted in a change in Hero's ownership
\ncomposition.<\/p>\n
PT Hero Pusaka Sejati now owns 50.10 percent of the company's
\nshares, while the Mulgrave Corporation BV -- another subsidiary
\nof Dairy Farm -- holds 12.23 percent, Nallaca BV holds 32.31
\npercent and retail investors the remaining 5.36 percent.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hero-to-open-36-outlets-next-year-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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