All Giant outlets in Indonesia are officially no longer operating in Indonesia starting today, Sunday 1st August.
The decision comes from PT Hero Supermarket Tbk as the manager, which decided to close all Giant outlets in Indonesia by the end of July 2021.
This business move was announced by the President Director of Hero Supermarket, Patrik Lindvall, at the end of May 2021.
In its announcement at the time, it was stated that the closure of Giant was part of Hero’s move to focus more on developing other brand outlets, namely IKEA, Guardian, and Hero Supermarket. The closure of Giant is also a sign of Hero Group’s adaptation to market dynamics and changing customer trends.
The shift of business focus was also a response to the declining popularity of the hypermarket format in recent years in Indonesia.
“A big decision like this isn’t easy, but we believe this decision needs to be taken in the long-term interest of PT Hero Supermarket Tbk,” said Patrik.
Hero will convert at least five Giant outlets into IKEA to expand customer service. Hero Group is also considering changing a number of Giant stores to Hero Supermarket outlets.
The story of Giant begins in 1944 when the Teng Meng Chun family’s first store opened in Sentul Pasar, Malaysia which then expanded with the opening of Teng Minimarket Centre in Bangsar in 1974. Giant was developed not only in Malaysia but also in Singapore and Indonesia.
Launching the Hero Group expansion, Giant in Indonesia was set up by the Hero Group company. Initially, it was a minimarket, then Hero Supermarket spread its wings and turned into Giant to break into the hypermarket segment.
The first Giant Hypermarket opened in Indonesia in 2002, located at Villa Melati Tangerang. In addition to the strength in the retail segment, Hero Group’s shares are even stronger with the presence of Giant as an international hypermarket.