Spar Indonesia launched in March with just three stores – but the local partner expects to end 2015 with 15 operating.

Another 40 stores will join the network by 2018 according to the Dutch retailer’s master franchisee PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa.

The partnership agreement between Ramayana and Spar was signed in September 2014 and the two companies wasted little time bringing the brand to the Southeast Asian nation.

Besides rolling out the Spar supermarkets, RLS plans to open several new department stores under the Ramayana brand in Jakarta and East Java next year. It has budgeted US$29.41 million for store openings.

RLS will also open Spars in Makassar town in South Sulawesi, Padang in West Sumatera, Balikpapan and Samarinda in East Kalimantan.

Part of the rollout involves rebranding and reconfiguring existing Robinson department stores into Spars.

Spar Asia has already established a network of more than 250 large format stores in China and is in the early stages of a new foray into India.