Makro establishes its tenth RI store in Medan

JAKARTA (JP): Holland-based wholesale chain Makro opened its tenth outlet on Saturday in the North Sumatra capital of Medan, and said it was confident about the future of the country's economy.

"We are bullish on Indonesia and we plan to build two or three more stores every year over the next five years," PT Makro Indonesia's president Matthijs van der Lely said during the store's opening ceremony.

Matthijs said Indonesia was showing signs of economic recovery at present but could experience another short crisis before it fully recovered in the near future.

"The current drop in the rupiah's value might hint at an upcoming new crisis. But Makro believe the new crisis will be only brief and will be followed by a long economic rebound," ven der Lely said.

Governor T Rizal Nurdin said the opening of the store marked the return of foreign investor confidence in the country and, particularly, in the province.

"The existence of the Makro store ... indicates that Medan is a safe place to do business," Rizal said in a speech read by his deputy Lundu Pandjaitan.

The governor said the store was expected to help rejuvenate trading activities in the province, create new jobs and support local small-scale traders.

Those present at the opening ceremony included Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Baron van Heemstra.

The opening of the store was greeted by local people with great enthusiasm. Thousands of them queued long hours to enter.

Popular items included mineral water, electronic goods and washing machines.

"Visitors numbers hit between 10,000 and 20,000, way beyond our expectations. I think it was the largest first-day turnout for Makro in the country," company human resource director Imam U. Ismojo said.

The Medan store, which occupies about 3.5-hectares in the Kampung Lalang area of town, has total sales floor space of 8,000 square meters and parking spaces for 600 cars.

The Rp 60 billion (around US$6.3 million) store employs 250 workers, who are all local residents, except for store general manager I Wayan Gde Suci, who is from Bali.

Matthijs said the company had signed cooperation agreements with 28 cooperatives in the province allowing them to become Makro's suppliers or customers.

Makro Indonesia, which is 83 percent owned by the Duth retail chain operator SHV Holdings, started operations in Indonesia in 1992, when it opened a store in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta. It now has six outlets in Jakarta and four others in Medan, Surabaya, Bandung and Bali.

The company sells low price goods to registered retailers, traders, caterers and professionals. (jsk)