Harvey Nichols, Domino's Pizza to hit Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 06/30/2008 10:50 AM

The country's leading retail-marketer for lifestyle brands, PT Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP), will bring London's premier fashion store Harvey Nichols and U.S.-based Domino's Pizza to Jakarta.

Company vice president Virendra Prakash Sharma said the two new stores were part of the company's plan to expand by 122 stores by the end of the year.

MAP opened 23 new stores in the January to May period, and had 692 stores in operation as of the end of last month. They include stores for fashion, lifestyle, sports, children, Starbucks coffee, Kinokuniya bookstore and high-end department stores Sogo, Debenhams and Seibu.

The company has allocated Rp 275 billion for the expansion, of which 40 to 50 percent will be spent on Harvey Nichols and Domino's Pizza, according to group head of investor relations Ratih D. Gianda.

The company has allocated Rp 60 billion for Harvey Nichols, which will open in Grand Indonesia shopping center in September, she said.

"Harvey Nichols is going to be the most luxurious department store in Indonesia," Sharma said.

The company will open five Domino's Pizza restaurants, the first of which will be opened on Aug. 15 in Pondok Indah, she said.

In line with its American counterpart, Domino's Pizza in Indonesia will focus on delivery, she said.

"Our biggest consideration for Domino's Pizza is to find locations without traffic, as delivery service is our main concept," Sharma said.

To take advantage of holiday sales, the company will also bring forward the openings of 99 other new stores to before the Ramadhan period, he said.

MAP booked Rp 1.03 trillion (US$112.3 million) in sales in the first quarter of this year, up 22 percent from Rp 844 billion in the same period last year. It recorded Rp 3.9 trillion in sales last year, an increase from Rp 3.3 trillion in 2006.

The company booked Rp 115 billion in net profit last year, a slight increase from Rp 109 billion in the previous year.

MAP will pay out Rp 19 billion from its 2007 net profit in dividends, or Rp 11.5 per share, as approved during a shareholders meeting Friday.

The company's department store unit contributed 44 percent to the company's 2007 net profit, while its specialty store unit also contributed 44 percent, Sharma said.

The company's food and beverage unit contributed 7 percent, while units including bookstores contributed 5 percent to the company's net profit.

The company targets revenue growth this year to increase by between 20 and 25 percent.

Ratih said the company also planned to relocate its Debenhams store in Plaza Indonesia to Supermal Karawaci in Tangerang, Banten, in August.

She said Karawaci's Debenhams would offer more varied products at more affordable prices.

"It's not that we would lower our market segment. In fact, the Supermal Karawaci management was the one who invited us to help upgrade the mall's status level," she said.

"We have our own concepts targeting middle-income customers, like Java Department Store and Sports Depot," she said, adding that the two stores had succeeded in attracting middle-income customers, in line with the company's business strategy to broaden its consumer base.

Sharma said the company was also working to expand its drive-through system for Starbucks. Currently, the company already has 64 Starbucks coffee shops; three of which incorporate the drive-through system.

"The drive-through concept is very profitable, and we're looking forward to opening more Starbucks stores in petrol stations," he said.

Sharma said the company would continue to expand its brand portfolio, and has also this year introduced two new apparel brands: MaxMara and Pull and Bear.

MAP's brand portfolio includes Calvin Klein, Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani, Loewe, Massimo Dutti, Zarra, Marks and Spencer, Lacoste, Kipling, Swatch, Reebok, Adidas, Topshop, Topman, Nine West, Pizza Marzano, Burger King and Cold Stone Creamery. (dia)