The helpful place is back

Thanks to retailing conglomerate Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (MAP), Ace Hardware’s new partner in the market of 288 million people, the Ace logo has reappeared in Indonesia 16 months after it vanished from the country’s horizon in March 2025. The first two Ace Hardware stores under MAP recently welcomed Indonesian shoppers back – the first one, located at Sunter Mall in Jakarta, opened its doors on 29 July, while the second one, at Aeon Mall BSD in Tangerang, was launched on 13 August.

Ace Hardware conducted business in Indonesia under the Kawan Lama group for 29 years. On 31 December 2024, the local partner allowed the franchise agreement of close to three decades to lapse. It then rebranded as Azko on 1 January 2025.

"After a thorough evaluation process, we decided to partner with Ace Hardware," MAP officials are quoted as saying in the transcript of a recent earnings call organized by the company to announce its second quarter results.

As the new franchise holders of Ace Indonesia, MAP plans to initially open five to seven Ace stores to evaluate the new portfolio’s financial performance and stability. As this is a new business for the retailing conglomerate – which manages lifestyle, food and beverage, toy, sports, and tech brands and operates department stores – MAP would "exercise caution" with the expansion of Ace, officials said.

"We recognize that this is a new segment for us and still requires a learning curve. Therefore, we will not expand aggressively," they stated. "Once we better understand the business and ensure it is viable and profitable, we will consider accelerating our expansion."

Company officials also said that the new Ace Indonesia will follow the American concept of Ace Hardware, but did not elaborate.  Angus Mackintosh, ASEAN specialist at Aletheia Capital and founder of CrossASEAN Research, told DIY International that this means the new Ace Hardware will operate differently from the old one. He noted that when Ace Hardware was still under the Kawan Lama group, its business model was heavy on private labels, which accounted for around 70-80 per cent of its products. Ace Hardware products only made up around 1 per cent of its sales back then, he noted.

On the other hand, Ace Hardware under MAP has a product mix that is more focused on home improvement, he added.  This version of The Helpful Place, he added, will have "more Ace Hardware branded products, more akin to the other Ace Hardware store operators in countries such as Malaysia and the…