Bazaars bring business to office buildings<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The usually quiet mezzanine floor of Metropolitan I, located in
\nthe World Trade Center complex on Jl. Sudirman in Central
\nJakarta, had morphed into a bustling little market.<\/p>\n
Dozens of traders had set up stalls offering their goods,
\nranging from kerupuk tenggiri (mackerel rice crackers) to
\nclothing, jewelry, cosmetics, VCDs and CDs, even the works of
\nwell-known clay designer F. Widayanto, all at bargain prices.<\/p>\n
\"Is it original? Why is it so cheap?\" a young woman, holding a
\nClinique lipstick, asked a cosmetic stall attendant, who quickly
\nspouted off that the cosmetics on display were genunine brands.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the woman was convinced and made the purchase. For
\nthe trader, it was part of a windfall, with numerous transactions
\nlikely during the day. For the office worker, it meant the
\nconvenience of time and energy saved in doing some shopping.<\/p>\n
It's hard enough to sneak out of some office places for lunch,
\nlet alone to do some shopping. Getting home is a chore in itself,
\nand most of us would rather spend time on the weekend with our
\nfamilies than traipse off to the mall.<\/p>\n
That is part of the reason that vendors are bringing their
\nwares to office buildings, a phenomenon that began in the city
\nduring the first years of the crisis in the late 1990s but
\ncontinues today.<\/p>\n
Several office buildings are frequently host to bazaars in
\ntheir compounds -- some inside the buildings and others on the
\ngrounds -- with 20 to 30 traders selling various kinds of
\nmerchandise. The bazaars usually last from three to four days.<\/p>\n
Vendors said it gives them excellent exposure.<\/p>\n
\"Every day at least nine to 10 items of clothing are sold and
\nsome (buyers) promise to visit my boutique,\" said Shianty, who
\nowns Chiantie maternity boutique.<\/p>\n
Her dresses range in price from Rp 130,000 (US$12.5) to Rp
\n250,000, relatively affordable for people working in the high-
\nrises along Jl. Sudirman compared to brand goods sold at the
\nmall.<\/p>\n
Other top sellers were VCDs, priced at Rp 5,000 for pirated
\ndiscs to originals for Rp 57,000, but customers also make savings
\non the taxi fares or parking fees they would shell out if they
\nwent to the mall.<\/p>\n
Perfumes of various brands and different size bottles were
\nalso on sale, starting from Rp 35,000. A stall attendant said the
\nmost popular perfumes were those in small bottles of five
\nmilliliters (ml).<\/p>\n
\"Maybe it's because the buyers are working people who love
\npracticality. The bottles can be put into a small beauty case
\nwith other stuff,\" he said.<\/p>\n
At another stall, there was woven cloth pillowcases, bags,
\ncurtains, tablecloths, napkins, even cellular phone casings.<\/p>\n
\"The price is special for the bazaar but you still can
\nbargain,\" said Dian, an attendant at Roemah Tawon stall whose
\nshop is located in Kemang, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Back at the cosmetics stall, women in their 20s and 30s,
\nlooking stylish in their neat office attire, swarmed around,
\ninspecting eye shadow sticks, mascara, face powder and other
\nmerchandise of two reputable cosmetics manufacturers, Clinique
\nand Yves Saint Laurent.<\/p>\n
Stall owner Istiati Gusti Wahyuni from Adwis Collection said
\nthe price of the merchandise was cheap because they were samples
\nwhich should not be sold over the counter.<\/p>\n
\"The samples are given if we buy the products from the
\nsupplier. At our real store, we don't sell these kinds of
\ncosmetics,\" said Istiati, who owns a cosmetic counter at
\nAmbassador Mall in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Istiati said she regularly took part in the bazaar, held at
\nleast once a month at the Metropolitan building. Her other stall
\nis at Wisma Danamon, also on Jl. Sudirman, where a similar bazaar
\nis also held.<\/p>\n
A private company employee, Meidiana, was thankful for the
\nbazaar, saying that she came upon what she needed while taking a
\nlunchtime stroll.<\/p>\n
\"Here I've found nice, beautiful green pillow cases from woven
\ncloth and I didn't need to go to Kemang (to the store),\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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