Ace Indonesia attributed the tepid results to reduced store visits and restrictions in the operating hours of retail outlets in the country that is one of the worst hit by Covid-19 in Southeast Asia. World Health Organization data show that as of 19 August, 3.93 million people in Indonesia contracted Covid, with 122,633 of them dying. The country of more than 270 million people has fully vaccinated around 11 per cent of its population.
The home improvement chain did not give a quarterly breakdown in its latest financial report, but computations against its first quarter financial statement indicate that sales held for April to June 2021, when it made IDR 1.677 trillion (EUR 100.620 mio) from IDR 1.647 trillion (EUR 98.820 mio) in January to March 2021. During the period, Indonesia broke out of recession, registering a 7.07 per cent expansion in its economy after five successive quarters of contraction.
Ace Indonesia is a member of the Kawan Lama group. Based on its license agreement with the US-American cooperative Ace Hardware which is set to expire in 2024, the company is required to open a minimum of two branches a year. As of May 2021, the company operated 208 Ace Hardware stores with a retail space of 506 400 m² and ten Ace Xpress branches with a retail space of less than 1 000 m². It also operated 57 Toys Kingdom outlets.