Taru Martani uses Sultan's legacy to sell products<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Cigars are associated with high-class society through films, art
\nand advertising. They comprise a particular taste, which is not
\nfor everyone, but for connoisseurs a fine cigar is second to
\nnothing. Marketing cigars could be compared to selling fashion.<\/p>\n
Cigar company PD Taru Martani, which is owned by the
\nYogyakarta local administration, is of that belief. The company's
\npresident director Bimo N. Wartono said that it was not the
\nquantity of cigars sold but the image and prestige of the company
\nthat mattered.<\/p>\n
Luckily, the company is aware of its most valuable assets: the
\nhistory of its cigars and the city in which it operates.<\/p>\n
According to Bimo, producing a product while keeping in mind
\ntradition and the product's heritage would ensure that consumers
\nwarmed to it.<\/p>\n
The company is currently working on a new line: Cigars of the
\nSultan's taste.<\/p>\n
"We will borrow the prestige and charisma of the palace. This
\nwill be no ordinary cigar. It will bear a taste and quality like
\nno other," said Bimo.<\/p>\n
Located in Baciro, the country's first cigar company was
\nestablished in Bulu, near Jl. Magelang in 1918 by Dutch
\nbusinessman Eugun Migude. It is now named Taru Martani 1918 Cigar
\nVan Java.<\/p>\n
In 1921, the factory moved to Jl. Argolobang
\n2A and was named N.V. Negresco. During the Japanese occupation of
\n1942, the company was renamed Jawa Tobacco Kojo. Later, in 1945,
\nthe company was handed back to the government and the late Sultan
\nHamengkubuwono IX called it Taru Martani, which in Javanese
\nrefers to the natural process of leaves growing.<\/p>\n
"To earn more, we don't need to produce more. That is our new
\nparadigm of management. We no longer depend on the quantity but
\non quality," Bimo told a recent panel discussion on heritage
\nconservation and economic development here.<\/p>\n
Last year, for example, with a production volume of some one
\nmillion rolls of cigars -- which was 80 percent higher than that
\nof the previous year -- the company earned a net profit of over
\nRp 2.4 billion. The previous year's net profit was some Rp 2.2
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
In the future, Taru Martani has pledged to become a living
\nmuseum, a boutique cigar manufacturer and a landmark heritage
\nsite in Baciro region.<\/p>\n
"The older a cigar manufacture is, the higher the value of its
\nintangible assets," Bimo said, explaining why he considered
\nheritage factors so important for the company's future.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taru-martani-uses-sultans-legacy-to-sell-products-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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