Ratu Plaza to reopen again after five years<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Ratu Plaza shopping center, a popular mall in
\nthe 1980s, is back in business again after being empty for some
\nfive years.<\/p>\n
In the past few weeks carpenters and interior shop designers
\nhave been working busily on newly rented shops in the 20-year-old
\nbuilding.<\/p>\n
Linawati Djohan, marketing manager of PT Ratu Sayang
\nInternational, which owns and manages the shopping center, said
\nthe grand opening of the \"new\" Ratu Plaza has been set for the
\nmiddle of next month.<\/p>\n
\"The current occupancy rate is already 90 percent,\" Linawati
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
Business actually began in July following the soft opening.<\/p>\n
According to Linawati, the location of the four-story Ratu
\nPlaza in one of the city's thriving business locales on Jl.
\nSudirman \"offers a convenient destination for shoppers in South
\nJakarta.\"<\/p>\n
Under the new layout, visitors will find fashion outlets and
\nbeauty saloons at ground level and on the first floor.<\/p>\n
Furniture stores dominate the second floor and computer shops
\nare located on the top floor.<\/p>\n
In the 1980s, Ratu Plaza was very popular among discriminating
\nshoppers as the prestigious mall was one of a few \"modern\"
\nshopping centers with \"super expensive\" merchandise.<\/p>\n
\"You could see many noted figures, from top actresses to
\nministers, shopping at the plaza at the time,\" one patron
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
Its popularity began to fade about 1995 due to the mushrooming
\nnumber of competitors.<\/p>\n
An engineering consultant, T. Meliala, stopped by to find out
\nif the mall had been reopened.<\/p>\n
\"This place was very famous in the 80s,\" Meliala recalled,
\nadding that it had been a popular place for people to hang out,
\nparticularly young ones.<\/p>\n
\"There used to be a food mart in the basement that sold
\ndelicious food. I used to go there a lot,\" Meliala said.<\/p>\n
In its heyday, Ratu Plaza was home to exclusive shops selling
\nbrand-name fashion items, jewelry, electronic goods, furniture,
\nand hobby crafts.<\/p>\n
During the mid 1990s, Ratu Plaza started to lose its tenants,
\none by one, including Matahari department store, Benetton fashion
\nhouse and Gunung Agung bookstore.<\/p>\n
Unfavorable<\/p>\n
According to retail expert, Suryadharma Ali, the unfavorable
\nsituation faced by the tenants in 1995 was mainly due to the
\nfailure of the shopping center's management in anticipating the
\nrapid growth of similar businesses.<\/p>\n
But Linawati said, \"the plaza is now ready to compete with
\nother shopping complexes in the city.\"<\/p>\n
Interviewed by the Post recently, several tenants of the new
\nRatu Plaza disclosed that business was still slow since the soft
\nopening some two months ago.<\/p>\n
Liana, manager of the Bear House toy store, which opened July
\n28, said sales so far had been relatively low compared to her
\noutlets at Ciputra and Taman Anggrek shopping malls in West
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We rented this space because there was no vacancy at any
\nother shopping malls and we think it is unlikely for a new mall
\nto be built in Jakarta in the near future,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Her comment was echoed by manager of CBM Computer and Notebook
\nCenter, Herry Sukanto.<\/p>\n
\"Our outlet at Gajah Mada Plaza has more customers,\" Herry
\nsaid, referring to a shopping center in Kota area that also
\nsuffered depressed business activity a few years ago.<\/p>\n
Several tenants have questioned the motive of the building's
\nowner to isolate the mall's primary tenant, Carrefour, already
\nbusy with customers, from their shops.<\/p>\n
According to them, the separation denies Carrefour customers
\naccess to their shops.<\/p>\n
Some tenants believe their sales will improve after the
\nSeptember grand opening.<\/p>\n
\"We offer prices almost the same as our rivals in Glodok and
\nMangga Dua. So, we're here to serve customers who refuse to deal
\nwith macet (traffic jam) and the crowds of people at those two
\nareas,\" a proprietor of a computer shop said. (jaw\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ratu-plaza-to-reopen-again-after-five-years-1447893297",
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