Who doesn’t know about the minimarket brand named Alfamart. Alfamart was founded by a successful Indonesian businessman named Djoko Susanto.
Djoko Susanto was born into a large family that is ordinary or, he is the sixth child of ten siblings. Djoko Susanto even had to leave school. At the age of 17, he had worked at a simple food stall owned by his parents at Arjuna Market, Jakarta.
When managed by Djoko, Djoko added cigarettes as merchandise at his kiosk. Djoko’s efforts were successful. In an instant he got many new customers, whether smokers, retailers, or wholesale entrepreneurs. Djoko’s things turned out to be of interest to Putera Sampoerna, the biggest tobacco and clove cigarette company in Indonesia at that time, to make 15 kiosks in several locations in Jakarta. Putera Sampoerna first met Djoko in 1980 and finally made a deal five years later.
On August 27, 1989, Alfa Toko Gudang Rabat was born which has a concept like a supermarket. The use of the name Alfa is deliberately chosen because of its neutral nature, does not contain any of the names of the two founders. This Alfa Rabat Warehouse store will later become the forerunner of the Alfa brand, a business that makes Djoko Susanto’s name soar and gives him wealth. In 1994, Alfa Toko Gudang Rabat changed its name to Alfa Minimart.
Djoko Susanto’s collaboration with Putera Sampoerna only lasted until 2005. At that time Sampoerna decided to sell the tobacco business and all of its subsidiaries to Philip Morris International for more than USD 5 billion. That means that 70% of the Sampoerna company in Alfa Minim is also sold to Philip Morris International.
Philip Morris was apparently not interested in the retail business, they sold Alfa Minimart shares to Djoko Susanto and Northstar, a private equity investor. After that, Djoko began to build a retail business for Alfa Supermarket under the auspices of PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya Tbk. In 2007, Djoko Susanto built Alfa Midi under the auspices of PT Midimart Utama. As it turns out, the businesses continue to develop and generate huge profits.
After enjoying his success, Djoko had to sigh a little because he had to give up Alfa Supermarket to change hands to the Carrefour because his turnover was not satisfactory. Even so, Djoko still actively builds Alfa Midi and Alfa Minimart (Alfamart). His hard work paid off. He was able to establish a goal of cooperation between Alfa Midi and Lawson, one of the convenience store franchises from Japan.
At present, Djoko Susanto’s business is growing. PT Sumber Alfaria Trijaya Tbk runs more than 5500 stores consisting of various brands, namely Alfamart, Alfa Midi, Alfa Express, and Lawson. Even the Alfamart business has expanded to the Philippines. Alfa Group also began to be active in real estate development. For reasons of age, Djoko Susanto handed over his business baton to his children.
