Ministop closing up shop in Indonesia for now

Japanese convenience store operator Ministop is pulling out of the Indonesian market, at least for the time being.

The company announced Friday that it is terminating a franchise agreement with local retailer Bahagia Niaga Lestari, which wants to concentrate resources in other areas.

The retailer is Ministop’s sole franchisee in Indonesia. So when the six franchise stores it operates there are closed, the country will have no Ministops.

Ministop said it will search for a new partner and plan a return to Indonesia, since the convenience store market there has growth potential.

Ministop had inked the franchise agreement with Bahagia Niaga Lestari in 2012 because Indonesia bars foreign companies from investing in retail stores with less than 400 sq. meters of floor space. The first Ministop in that country opened in June 2013.