Owners Of Giant And IKEA Loss Of IDR 339.46 Billion Due To The Pandemic, But Want To Open 2 Stores In Bandung And East Jakarta

Illustration. (Fikri Rashid / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The leading retailer in the country, PT Hero Supermarket Tbk, is one of the companies that is under pressure due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit the country. However, this did not prevent this Giant and IKEA supermarket franchise owner from expanding by opening two new outlets.

HERO Director Erwantho Siregar in a virtual public expose, Monday, December 7 said that companies must make various adjustments amid the policies made by the government in a pandemic situation. As a result, he implemented a strategy so as not to get more and more immersed in terms of company performance.

"We are depressed in terms of performance, due to the pandemic with the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB). This situation requires us to set limits on outlet operating hours. As a result, there is a decrease in shop capacity and a reduction in the number of visitors who come to company-owned shops, namely Giant, Hero, Guardian and IKEA, to changes in people's shopping behavior, "said Erwantho.

Erwantho further explained that this condition was coupled with the weakening purchasing power of the people. According to him, people still tend to be careful and spend basic needs.

On the other hand, his party continues to carry out strategies to increase revenue and reduce expenses.

"We are increasing online sales because people's shopping patterns have shifted from coming to places to buying through official company-owned websites," he said.

Based on HERO's financial statements in the third quarter of 2020, they experienced a 27.65 percent decline in revenue on an annual basis to Rp.6.86 trillion from Rp9.48 trillion in the same period the previous year.

This made HERO's loss soar to Rp. 339.46 billion in the third quarter of 2020. This skyrocketed from the loss of only Rp.6.68 billion in the same period last year.

Open Two Stores

Some time ago HERO stated its intention to open two new outlets by the end of 2020. Each of these outlets are located in Bandung and East Jakarta

President Director of Hero Supermarket Ingemar Patrick Lindvall hopes that the opening of new outlets will increase its contribution to the company in 2021. According to him, the opening of this outlet will also be followed by strong e-commerce growth.

"Online sales performance from IKEA shows a significant growth when compared to the first semester in early 2020," he explained.

With the opening of new outlets, in 2021 HERO will have four IKEA outlets. Previously they already had IKEA in Alam Sutera, Tangerang and Sentul City, Bogor, West Java.