Ace Indonesia notches double-digit sales growth in first half

Ace Hardware Indonesia, the country’s dominant home improvement retailer which is operated by the Kawan Lama group, recorded a 10.2 per cent rise in sales in the first half of the year, thanks to the strong showing of all its categories.

Based on the company’s financial statement, sales for the period hit 3.562 trillion Indonesian rupiah (IDR, 213.244 mio euros), from IDR 3.232 trillion in the same period last year.

The company does not disclose second quarter earnings, but computations based on Ace Indonesia data show that for the period of April to June 2023, the company posted IDR 1.894 trillion in sales, up 15.41 per cent from IDR 1.641 trillion in the same period the previous year. This indicates that the second quarter performance overshot the company’s showing in the first quarter, when sales rose 4.8 per cent.

By category, Ace Indonesia’s home improvement products contributed 54 per cent at IDR 1.925 trillion, while lifestyle products accounted for 41.62 per cent at IDR 1.482 trillion. Toys made up 4.33 per cent of the total sales, at IDR 154.308 bn. Toys were the fastest growing category, rising 13.04 per cent, followed by home improvement, which increased 10.53 per cent. Lifestyle, meanwhile, grew 9.5 per cent.

Ace Indonesia also reportedly got a boost from same store sales growth (SSSG). In a research note dated 24 July 2023 and published on investment research platform SmartKarma, Angus Mackintosh, CrossAsean Research founder and analyst, said that Ace Indonesia’s same store sales went up 4.8 per cent from January to June 2023. For June alone, comparative sales of Ace Indonesia grew a stellar 10.7 per cent overall, he added.

Mackintosh attributed the rise in comparative sales for the first half to Ace Indonesia’s promotions. “Ace Hardware Indonesia saw the foot traffic at its stores increase in June versus May, which has been the case since the company's #BisaKejadian (Can Happen) campaign in late March 2023,” he said, adding that the company’s “BOOM” sale, which ran until 1 August, was also key to boosting June sales.

“These latest numbers confirm a meaningful recovery in SSSG and July should see further recovery with the ongoing BOOM sale", he said.

- By Jennee Grace U Rubrico