Japanese publisher and financier Wedge Holdings Co. will launch a network of franchise stores in Indonesia later this month to expand its card game business.

The company plans to open six outlets across the country for sales of popular trading card games for youngsters as the local government is gradually easing a social lockdown aimed at containing the spread of the COVID-19 disease, Kotaro Maru, an executive director in charge of overseas business, told NNA on Thursday.

The move follows the opening of four directly run stores in and around Jakarta since last October. The Tokyo-based firm aims to increase outlets in regional cities in the Southeast Asian nation through a franchise formula.

Wedge targets young people in the country for card games such as the Indonesian version of HAIKYU!! Vobaca, a popular volleyball cartoon series, and Pokemon.

The Japanese firm estimates there are about seven to eight million trading card game users in Indonesia, where 70 million, or a quarter of the 264 million total population, are aged under 15, according to Maru.

The company has been receiving franchisee applications every week from local card shops and cafes since inviting candidates in May, he said. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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