McDonald's closes 30 outlets

McDonald's closes 30 outlets

JAKARTA (JP): McDonald's Indonesia closed 30 of its 101
outlets nationwide in 1998 due to the economic crisis and
widespread rioting.

Company president Bambang H. Rachmadi said over the weekend
the crisis had resulted in the declining purchasing power of
local consumers, and the rupiah's sharp depreciation had tripled
prices of its imported raw materials.

Six of its outlets were destroyed in massive riots which hit
the country in May.

"We have had to temporarily close those outlets otherwise we
will suffer a greater losses. We will reopen them if the economic
condition recovers," Bambang said at a launching for the
company's newest burger product called McSatay.

He said that in 1999, instead of closing existing outlets, his
company planned to open 10 new outlets, five of which would be
located in Bali.

"We have pledged not to close any of our outlets this year.
This year, we will open 10 new outlets in several locations which
have good prospect in sales, such as Bali. We currently operate
six outlets in Bali and all of them recorded good growth in
profits in the past years. So five of our new outlets will be
opened in Bali, " he said. (gis)