Simon Collins This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. ASEAN Update - April 2006

   atn-riae.agr.ca/asean/news-e.h - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/17/2003   Last Visited: 7/11/2004

   Makro Indonesia's President Simon Collins said that the 14th outlet was opened recently in Palembang. Collins said the new outlet in Palembang is expected to chalk up US$ 17.7 million in sales in the first year of its operation. He said curently in Asia, Makro has the largest number of 26 outlets in Thailand and small number in China and Malaysia. (Source : Indonesian Commercial Newsletter 3877, 17 May 2004)

2. 2. Laksamana.Net

   www.laksamana.net/vnews.cfm?nc - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/4/2002   Last Visited: 4/2/2002

   Makro president Simon Collins told The Jakarta Post the retail giant recorded double-digit growth in real terms last year and hoped to further increase its market share in 2002.
   
   Carrefour and The Club Store also expressed optimism that middle-upper class consumers would continue their current spending patterns despite inflationary pressures.
   
   Collins said the ongoing implementation of regional autonomy was of concern to the company, which has stores in six provinces and faces six different tax regimes as a result.
   
   Besides the need for legal certainty in the implementation of regional autonomy, Collins also said he hoped suppliers would react to the changing environment by improving supply, a weakness in the current situation.
   
   Makro plans to open three or four new stores this year, while Carrefour will open two, and The Club Store will add another outlet to its existing two in 2003.
   
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3. 3. Siam Future : Makro to expand its Indonesian retail operations

   www.siamfuture.com/asiannews/a - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/30/2004   Last Visited: 1/1/2005

   The company's president Simon Collins said here on Thursday that three new outlets would be opened this year in Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya.
   
   "We will open our store in Semarang next month, while our second store in Surabaya will be opened in June. By the end of this year, we will open another store somewhere in Jakarta," Collins told reporters in a media briefing.
   
   He said the company would open three more outlets in the country's major cities next year as part of the expansion plan. "We hope we will be able to open two or three stores a year in prospective cities such as Makassar, Yogyakarta, Bogor," Collins said.
   
   Collins declined to reveal the amount of investment allocated for the expansion plan but he said that opening a wholesale outlet in Jakarta would cost about US$10 million to $11 million.
   
   He estimated that opening an outlet outside Jakarta could cost the company up to $7 million.
   
   Makro, which began its operation in Indonesia in 1992, currently operates 10 outlets in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Medan and Bali.
   
   Makro, which is 83 percent owned by the Dutch retail chain operator SHV Holdings, started its operation in 1992 when its first outlet opened in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta.
   
   Collins, who replaced Van der Lely as Makro's president in February of this year, said the opening of the new outlets were long-term investments, given the uncertainty in the country's political and economic situation.
   
   "We're under pressure now. But, we do believe the country's economy will be better soon," he said.
   
   Makro is one of the chain wholesaler companies that maintains a complete database on all its corporate customers, keeping them informed through a fortnightly newsletter which includes any changes in the prices of the goods being sold.
   
   Commenting on accusations from local retailers that the company's expansion plans would threaten major local retailers like Matahari, Hero and Alfa, Collins said Makro did not compete with retailers.
   
   "We don't target end-users and our stores are not located in the heart of the city," he said.
   
   Different from hypermarkets and retailers which target retail market share and are mostly located in the heart of the city, Makro locates its stores only in suburban areas. It also sells 85 percent of its goods to retailers and corporate buyers.
   
   With the opening of the new outlets, Makro expects sales growth to reach 25 percent this year as compared to 20 percent in the previous year.
   
   Collins said sales growth in the first quarter of this year had already reached 25 percent but he refused to reveal any figures.