Hero to open eight more stores this year
JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Hero Supermarket plans to open eight more retail outlets this year with a total investment of Rp 25 billion (US$10.41 million) as part of its expansion plan.
Hero's president Ipung Kurnia said yesterday that seven outlets would be opened in Greater Jakarta and one in Semarang, Central Java.
He said building an outlet cost between Rp 3 billion and Rp 4 billion, but if mall space was rented it could cost about Rp 1.5 billion a year.
One of the Greater Jakarta outlets will be in Bogor, one on Jalan Casablanca, in South Jakarta and one in Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta. Ipung did not say where the others would be.
Hero now has 67 outlets.
After the company's annual shareholders meeting, Ipung said the firm had secured a syndicated loan worth US$40 million in Singapore last week to partly support its expansion project.
He said the loan, to mature in five years, was arranged by Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP).
Ipung said the company expected sales to increase 10 percent to Rp 1 trillion this year from Rp 904 billion in 1996, while net profit was projected to increase 15 percent to Rp 29 billion from Rp 25.1 billion.
"We are optimistic about Hero achieving this year's target," he said. He said that during the first quarter of 1997, the company booked a net profit of Rp 7.1 billion.
"The achievement is still within the range of our initial projection," he said.
Yesterday's meeting was marked by questions from the press about a rumor that the Lippo group's PT Multipolar Corporation would take over the company.
"No. We do not have any plan to form a strategic alliance with another company," Ipung said.
Anton Lukmanto, a director of the company, said Hero would gain no advantage by forming a strategic alliance with another company.
"If a strategic alliance will not advantage Hero, why would we," he asked.
He said Hero might benefit with financing and networks if it was bought by Multipolar, "but what about retail expertise?," he asked. (09)