Dagadu products flourish amid fake threat<\/p>\n
By Tjahjono Ep<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Yogyakarta is popularly known as gudeg city
\nafter the popular food, student city for its numerous schools and
\ncultural city for its rich cultural life. One day, it may also be
\nknown as Dagadu city.<\/p>\n
Dagadu is a new but familiar word in Yogyakarta's
\ntourist industry. When you stroll along Malioboro street, don't
\nbe surprised if a pedicab driver greets you with, \"Where do you
\nwant to go, bakpia Pathuk, Dagadu or batik Ngasem?\" Pathuk is
\npopular for its traditional snacks, bakpia, while Ngasem is known
\nfor its batik.<\/p>\n
Foreigners, however, may not be familiar with Dagadu, but
\ndomestic tourists have long known it as the producer of various
\nproducts, ranging from souvenirs, T-shirts, hats, bags and
\naccessories, all with the flavor of Yogyakarta. Dagadu calls its
\nproducts alternative souvenirs.<\/p>\n
Although the products are colored by Yogyakarta, they can by
\nno means be considered ethnic. Rather, the products feature the
\nsocial interaction of Yogyakartans, including how they view their
\nsocial reality, the dynamics of the community and humor based on
\nthe lives of locals.<\/p>\n
Dagadu's public relations officer, Pratita, said Dagadu was
\ntrying to create a new image of Yogyakarta based on day-to-day
\nlife in the city.<\/p>\n
\"Everything from Yogyakarta, from its jokes and plesetan
\n(slip-of-the-tongues) to its artifacts are translated into our
\ndesigns,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Dagadu does not look at Yogyakarta as a mere object, but as a
\nsubject and source of inspiration for Dagadu's designs, she said.<\/p>\n
She said everything about Yogyakarta, its romanticism, traffic
\njams and even the crowd of traders along Malioboro, was a source
\nof inspiration.<\/p>\n
Dagadu uses the older Djokdja when referring to the city to
\naccentuate Yogyakarta's deep history.<\/p>\n
Through its business, Dagadu -- which literally means \"your
\nf**ing eyes\" in Javanese -- shifts the meaning and connotation of
\nthe profanity into a friendly welcome.<\/p>\n
Dagadu, through its products, is also trying to show that
\nYogyakarta is not merely a city of romance or culture, but has
\nanother, more complicated side.<\/p>\n
Some people also see Dagadu as criticizing Yogyakarta, but in
\na backhanded way.<\/p>\n
\"So, the impression is (our products) are cute but fresh,\"
\nPratita said.<\/p>\n
Dagadu may remind people about Bali's Joger, whose products
\nare also known for their creativity.<\/p>\n
The difference is that Dagadu uses a mixture of languages,
\nincluding Javanese, Indonesian, English and Dutch. And Dagadu's
\nproducts are specifically targeted toward certain markets, namely
\nthose Indonesians who understand the humor of Yogyakarta. For
\nthis reason, foreign tourists are not a priority in Dagadu's
\nmarketing.<\/p>\n
\"Maybe for foreign tourists the jokes will be understood
\ndifferently,\" Pratita said.<\/p>\n
A sampling of Dagadu's humor includes: United Colors of
\nKeraton (instead of United Colors of Benetton), Toilet Orchestra
\n(a play on Twilite Orchestra) and Everyday is Sunday in Djokdja.
\nWhen people are splashed while passing ponds in the Kewek area
\nalong Malioboro, the company comes up with: Kewek, Bridge of
\nTroubled Water. Alon-Alon Waton On Time (Slow but on Time) is
\ninspired by the Javanese saying, Alon-Alon Waton Kelakon (Slow
\nbut Sure).<\/p>\n
\"Our point is, to make something funny and smart, there's no
\nneed to use violent, vulgar words. Those (products) with violent
\nor vulgar words are not Dagadu's products,\" the head of Dagadu's
\ndesign studio, Arba'i, said.<\/p>\n
Students<\/p>\n
Dagadu was founded in 1994 by 25 students from Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity. Twenty-three of the students came from the
\nArchitecture Department, one from the Psychology Department and
\nanother from the Natural Sciences Department.<\/p>\n
Before setting up their business, the students designed T-
\nshirts for campus activities. Deciding to strike out into the
\nworld of business, they came up with an initial investment of Rp
\n4 million and opened Dagadu. Only eight of the 23 founders are
\nstill active in the business, while others have left to pursue
\ncareers in architecture.<\/p>\n
Wondoamiseno, one of the architects of the Malioboro Mall,
\ngave the students their start by offering them a counter at the
\nmall. Dagadu rented 20 square-meters of space for Rp 13,000 per
\nsquare-meter. They were told they would not have to pay for the
\nspace if their business failed to break even. But from the
\nbeginning, the company was reaping profits.<\/p>\n
They business continued to grow, and beyond all their
\nexpectations Dagadu won the MTV-ANteve Youth Award in October
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
Dagadu has 10 employees manning the counter in the mall, all
\nof them university students. They work for four and a half hours
\na day earning Rp 200,000 a month. After working for the company
\nfor eight months, counter employees are replaced by new students.
\nAnd there are a lot of students eager to work at Dagadu's
\ncounter. The company once received 500 applications for the 10
\npositions open. This means Dagadu can be more selective in hiring
\nits employees. Requirements for counter employees included: a
\nknowledge of tourism in Yogyakarta, the ability to speak Javanese
\nand English and a minimum grade point average of 2.75 for Gadjah
\nMada students and 3.0 for students from other universities.
\nDagadu also maintains a close relationship with its former
\nemployees, including inviting them to Dagadu-sponsored events.<\/p>\n
Dagadu's turnover is currently about Rp 5.5 million (about
\nUS$700) per day. Everyday, Dagadu sells around 200 T-shirts for
\nRp 27,500 each, along with other products, including hats, mugs,
\nkeychains and stickers.<\/p>\n
Dagadu's profit margin is around 20 percent to 30 percent,
\ndepending on the item sold. Most of its customers are younger
\npeople, such as students and tourists.<\/p>\n
The company's success has made it a prime target for
\ncounterfeiting, with these fake products being sold openly.<\/p>\n
Pratita said counterfeiting did not have a great affect on
\nDagadu's turnover, but the company was concerned the fake
\nproducts could damage its image.<\/p>\n
Apart from poor quality of the counterfeit products, traders
\nsell their goods unethically, forcing consumers into making
\npurchases. Also, some of the counterfeit products tend to be
\nanarchist and improper.<\/p>\n
According to Kedaulatan Rakyat daily, potential damage to the
\ncompany from the counterfeit products is around Rp 1.98 billion a
\nyear.<\/p>\n
A seller of counterfeit Dagadu T-shirts, Nanang, not his real
\nname, said they were not counterfeiters because Dagadu's
\ntrademark was not yet patented. He even thanked the architecture
\nstudents for providing them with a new opportunity to earn a
\nliving.<\/p>\n
Faced with this situation, Dagadu decided not to open any new
\noutlets. Its products are only available at two locations in
\nYogyakarta: on the lower ground floor of the Malioboro Mall and
\non Jl. Pakuningratan, as well as over the Internet.<\/p>",
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