Publicly-listed Matahari to open 15 new outlets

Publicly-listed Matahari to open 15 new outlets

JAKARTA (JP): PT Matahari Putra Prima, a publicly-listed
retail company, plans to open 15 new outlets throughout Indonesia
this year.

Matahari's spokesman Rudy R.J. Sumampouw told reporters here
yesterday that his company would open four of the outlets this
month.

"By the end of this month, Matahari will manage a total of 75
outlets," he said, adding that the company will manage 86 outlets
in some 30 cities throughout the country by the end of 1996.

He said that the four new department stores are located
separately at the Mal Permata Cimone in Tangerang of West Java,
the Tunjungan Plasa III in Surabaya of East Java, Tanah Mas in
Semarang of Central Java and the Maricaya Plasa in Ujungpandang
of South Sulawesi.

The store in Cimone is scheduled to open today.

Matahari, which opened 21 outlets in 1995, operates four
brand-names: Matahari Department Store for middle-income
shoppers, Galeria for the middle to upper class, Super Ekonomi
which focuses on lower income groups and Mega M which tries to
offer its goods at the most reasonable prices.

"Through Mega M we'd like to introduce a new concept of retail
business with cheaper prices. The area of the store must total at
least 15,000 square meters," Rudy said.

Matahari opened last month its first Mega M at Mal Lippo in
Karawaci, some 20 kilometers West of Jakarta. The department
store, covering 18,000 square meters of retail space, is
currently the biggest outlet managed by Matahari.

According to Rudy, one outlet to be opened in Surabaya later
this year will be located on a 30,000-square-meter lot.

Rudy also said yesterday that Matahari's total sales reached
Rp 1.4 trillion (US$609 million) last year.

"The company projects total sales for this year at between Rp
2 trillion and Rp 2.5 trillion. Matahari's profit is expected to
increase by 20 percent this year from Rp 37 billion in 1995," he
said. (icn)