http://www.forbes.com/global/2011/1205/indonesia-billionaires-11-djoko-susanto-alfamart-lestari.html
Indonesia Billionaires 11
Indonesia's Newest Billionaire
Pudji Lestari, 11.23.11, 06:00 PM EST
Forbes Asia Magazine dated December 05, 2011
An early partnership with one of Indonesia's best-known businessmen helped
jump-start Djoko's own path to riches.
At age 17 Djoko Susanto started managing his parents' modest 560-foot stall
inside Pasar Arjuna, a traditional market in Jakarta. The stall, called Sumber
Bahagia ("source of happiness"), sold groceries at the time, but soon Djoko
decided there was a bigger opportunity peddling cigarettes. Business was brisk
as not only smokers but also small wholesalers and retailers became frequent
customers.
His gamble on smokers paid off in a bigger way than the enterprising shopkeeper
could have imagined, attracting notice from Putera Sampoerna (No. 9 on our list
of Indonesia's richest), whose own company was then one of the nation's largest
makers of clove and tobacco cigarettes. The two met in the early 1980s and
agreed in 1985 to build 15 similar stalls in several areas of Jakarta. The
venture was successful and inspired the two to open a discount supermarket
store named Alfa Toko Gudang Rabat. That same year Djoko became the sales and
distribution director at Sampoerna's much bigger and more established firm.
The pair opened their first Alfa Minimart (the name was later changed to
Alfamart) in 1994 to appeal to Indonesia's lower- to middle-class customers in
search of cheap prices and convenience. "I thought about naming it Sampoerna
Mart, but I used Alfa, a known and tested brand," says Djoko.
The partnership lasted until 2005, when Sampoerna sold his tobacco business,
along with its subsidiaries (including his firm's 70% stake in Alfamart), to
Philip Morris International for slightly more than $5 billion.
With no interest in retail, Philip Morris gladly sold the Alfamart stake to
Djoko and private equity investor Northstar. Last year Djoko bought out
Northstar, leaving him with 65% of the company. It was a smart move: Shares of
the thinly traded retailer have doubled in the past 12 months (and quadrupled
over the past two years), catapulting him into the ranks of the world's
billionaires. He makes his debut at No. 25 among Indonesia's richest, with a
net worth of $1.04 billion.
Djoko, who sold the supermarket business a few years ago, is still bullish on
his convenient and affordable minimarts. The sector is growing an average 15%
to 20% a year in terms of sales. Alfamart, whose 5,500 stores serve more than 2
million customers daily and employ more than 57,000, is leading the transition
from roadside wooden shacks selling dubious goods to modern minimarts with
reliable items at prices that are the same or better. It is looking to open
another 800 outlets in 2012.
"The minimarket is always accused of hampering the traditional markets. What
they do is encourage the traditional market to improve their services," says
Djoko.
Adapted from FORBES INDONESIA.
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