Retail giant PT Matahari Department Store (Matahari) has opened a new store at Citimall Baturaja in South Sumatra, while closing others in Jakarta and West Nusa Tenggara.

“Matahari saw an opportunity in Baturaja due to the increasing number of lifestyle customers. We also saw that citizens had to travel great distances to reach the closest Matahari store,” said its corporate secretary and legal director, Miranti Hadisusilo, in a statement issued on Thursday.

Previously, based on a letter sent to suppliers on Nov. 16, Mahatari said it would close the Taman Anggrek store in West Jakarta and another one at Lombok City Center in Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.  

Read also: Two more Matahari outlets to be closed

In September, Matahari also closed two outlets in Mangarai and Blok M, both in South Jakarta, because of declining sales.

But the statement said that in 2017, it opened several stores in other cities including Tegal, Central Java, Madiun and Jember in East Java, Medan in North Jakarta and Cirebon in West Java.

Matahari Citimall Baturaja occupies an area of almost 5,800 square meters and offers a wide selection of fashion products for men, women and children, accessories, cosmetics, household appliances, shoes and bags.

Matahari is the first department store in Indonesia that currently operates 155 stores with a retail space of more than one million square meters in 72 cities. (bbn)