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)