Trade Ministry sends warning letters to 7 Eleven, Lawson
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, August 24 2012, 6:16 PM
(JP/Nurhayati)
The Trade Ministry has sent warning letters to Japanese convenience store giants, 7 Eleven and Lawson, saying that they have violated business permit regulations.
“We sent letters to 7 Eleven and Lawson last week,” said the ministry’s director general for domestic trade Gunaryo in Jakarta on Friday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.
The stores, he said, only had permits for food and beverage services. However, they also operate as retailers of consumer goods.
In the letters, the ministry asked the chains to operate in accordance with regulations.
The permit dispute sparked two years ago, when 7-Eleven’s local franchisee, PT Modern Putra Indonesia (MPI), launched its third store in Jakarta. Currently, the company has 76 outlets throughout Indonesia, while Lawson, whose sole local franchisee is PT Midi Utama Indonesia, has 63 stores in the country. PT Midi Utama Indonesia also operates minimart chain Alfamidi.
Last March, the Jakarta Tourism Agency also rebuked Lawson over its business permits. The company’s representative denied the allegations, saying that it has obtained all necessary permits. (yps)
