Ace Hardware’s explosive exit from Indonesia

Ace Hardware may have left the Indonesian market, but it did so with a bang. On its final year in the country, the prominent American brand reported a 12.6 per cent increase in sales to 8.58 tn Indonesian rupiah (EUR 450.06 m).

"Net sales …[were] driven by rising product demand, aggressive branding and marketing strategies, as well as the optimization of omnichannel services as the future of retail," PT Aspirasi Hidup Indonesia Tbk (AHI), the successor of the erstwhile PT Ace Hardware Indonesia Tbk, disclosed in a statement.

The company noted comparative sales expanded 8.8 per cent, "exceeding the previous guidance [of 8 per cent] and higher than the 8.1 [per cent]  recorded in the previous year". Comparative sales outside Java grew 11.1 per cent, while areas within Java excluding the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta grew 8.6 per cent, AHI stated. Jakarta, meanwhile, recorded like-for-like sales growth of five per cent.

A corporate restructuring saw Ace Hardware Indonesia changing its 29-year-old name to AHI mid-last year after the company decided it was no longer going to renew its partnership with the American home improvement giant. AHI kept the Ace Hardware branding until 31 December 2024, when the licensing agreement with the American company lapsed.

On the next day, 1 January 2025, AHI immediately started to move forward independent of the American giant by launching its new brand Azko with the opening of a new store. The rebranding of existing outlets followed suit. Before the first quarter of the new year ended, Ace Hardware, which dominated the home improvement scene in Indonesia for almost three decades, disappeared from the country.

In a statement, AHI director Gregory S. Widjaja said the "positive achievement" of the home improvement retailer "reflects the company’s solid performance in line with our strategic initiatives". He is optimistic that Azko will be able to match Ace Indonesia’s showing, given "strong fundamentals".

He also said that the company is focused on strengthening its integrated retail system while expanding its reach. "This year will mark a greater momentum for growth, creating new opportunities, driving broader innovation, and delivering sustainable positive impacts to the community," he said.

As part of the rebranding, the company is changing its store concept to make the retail outlets seamless, inspiring, and customer centric. With the first Azko experience store launched earlier this year as its blueprint, the retail outlets…