Mrs. Fields close outlets

JAKARTA (JP): Baked food franchise Mrs. Fields plans to close its last two outlets in Indonesia in the next few weeks, as the severe economic crisis has made doing business here financially untenable.

An advisor to the local franchisee of the U.S.-based Mrs. Fields, Patrick Holland, said on Wednesday the rupiah's 65 percent drop had boosted costs of imported materials while the purchasing power of its customers had diminished sharply.

"Prices have skyrocketed in rupiah terms, even of local costs for things like distribution," Holland said.

"Mrs. Fields is a premium product. We couldn't duplicate the product with local ingredients... We could make a cheaper cookie, but we would lose our loyal customers, he said.

Holland said one of the two outlets, both of which are located in Jakarta malls, would be closed this week, while the shutters would come down on the final one in mid November.

By September, the 11 outlets in several major cities in the country had shrunk to two. Local company, PT Intria Schakti is Mrs. Fields' sole franchisee in Indonesia. (das)