People do a lot of things in malls<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It's like there is no getting enough of them. There are a
\ncouple of them five minutes away from where we're standing now
\nand another one seven minutes away, a friend said when I asked
\nabout the idea of banning the building of any more malls,
\nparticularly in the \"swamped\" capital of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
No, my friend was not complaining.<\/p>\n
He said it was just fascinating to see the abundance of
\noptions, even if only to taste the different atmospheres in
\nbranches of Starbucks, McDonald's, Sport Station or the 21 cinema
\nin each mall.<\/p>\n
\"Gee, I probably only shop, like for clothes or shoes, once in
\nfour or five months. Malls are for relaxation, hanging out with
\nfun folks like you, playing games or simply watching out for
\ndiscounts on sneakers or sport shirts,\" he told me.<\/p>\n
Indeed, such needs have apparently became primary and mall
\ndevelopers are more than ready to anticipate this by planning
\nmore malls.<\/p>\n
\"I've just started the construction of Central Park, sited
\nnext to Mall Taman Anggrek, and Mall of Indonesia in Kelapa
\nGading,\" said Veri Y. Setiady, director of property developer PT
\nPrimatama Nusa Indah.<\/p>\n
He argued that -- in comparison with other metropolitan cities
\nin Southeast Asia, such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Manila --
\nthere was still ample room for more malls in Jakarta with its
\nsurging number of residents.<\/p>\n
\"There are over 100 hypermarkets in just the city of Bangkok.
\nAs a developer, we always conduct research in other markets, and
\nbelieve me, a city like Jakarta remains available for more malls,
\nespecially if it is promoted as a shopping destination,\" said
\nVeri.<\/p>\n
\"If all malls we have now are still swamped (with people), it
\nmeans that the demand, either from visitors or tenants, is still
\nheavy.<\/p>\n
\"Local and foreign retailers are storming in, and they need
\nspace. The number of residents is also fast moving up with their
\nextensive needs. So they meet here in malls,\" said Veri, whose
\nprojects include Plaza Semanggi and Senayan City.<\/p>\n
In the future, most new malls would probably target middle-
\nclass people due to their dominance in the population structure.<\/p>\n
\"This class of people account to some 60 percent of the
\npopulation. I mean, how many people can regularly buy the stuff
\nin Plaza Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia, or Pondok Indah Mall? So,
\nproviding things that meet their standard and capacity will be
\nthe theme,\" said Veri.<\/p>\n
Rather than shopping for just basic needs, people indeed have
\ndifferent lifestyles than, say, five years ago.<\/p>\n
Malls are nowadays equipped with restaurants, cinemas,
\nsupermarkets, fitness centers, concert rooms, runways for fashion
\nshows, and other new features designed to keep visitors coming
\nand stop them from leaving.<\/p>\n
\"The target market is no longer just the young or the mothers,
\nbut the whole family. So when they come visiting, everyone can
\nget what they want and like, or something that the whole family
\ncan enjoy altogether,\" said Veri.<\/p>\n
So even if they're not shopping, he added, they can relax in
\nthe games arcade, restaurants, or watch music or fashion shows.<\/p>\n
\"The more features on offer, the more attractive your mall
\nis,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Veri's account was shared by Martias Jojo, the marketing
\nexecutive of Poins Square, a newly launched super mall in Lebak
\nBulus, South Jakarta, which is located only 30-minutes away from
\nthe plush and still crowded Pondok Indah Mall.<\/p>\n
Martias said people were always curious by the presence of a
\nnew mall.<\/p>\n
People are even flocking malls that are located next to one
\nanother, he said.<\/p>\n
\"People do a lot of things in malls. They seal business deals,
\nbrowse, meet, play, and many other things. It's still a place for
\neveryone, even when your pockets are empty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Parking lots are already constantly packed at Poins Square,
\nsaid Martias, saying it proved that there was an overwhelming
\nneed within society for new malls.<\/p>\n
\"... especially during weekends because I think that people no
\nlonger feel that they have to go outside the city to relax. They
\ncan just go to malls and find many things to help them relax,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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