Traders blame hypermarkets for decreasing earnings<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When Amisah, 47, and her husband opened their business at Senen
\nMarket in Central Jakarta in 1976, their income steadily
\nincreased until it reached as high as Rp 75,000 (US$8.3) per day
\nin the 1980s.<\/p>\n
Now, however, they are complaining that their earnings have
\nsteadily decreased, with an average income of Rp 35,000 daily due
\nto mushrooming hypermarkets in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"Would you have guessed that I could earn up to Rp 75,000 per
\nday during the 80s? Now I only earn about Rp 35,000,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Amisah and her husband opened their business in 1976, when the
\nSenen Market first opened. They sell mainly vegetables and fruit.
\nAccording to her, she could earn more previously because she had
\nmore power when customers would bargain.<\/p>\n
\"People were willing to pay high prices for fruit and
\nvegetables. Now, they will leave if I do not want to reduce my
\nprice,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Darus, 40, a local resident, has observed a decrease in
\nvisitors since the Atrium Plaza was built.<\/p>\n
\"I think that the situation is due to the existence of Atrium
\nPlaza,\" he said. \"It is just across the road from one of the
\nmarket's blocks.\"<\/p>\n
The Matahari Department Store logo on the Atrium Plaza, only
\n300 meters away, can be seen over the asbestos roof of the
\nvendors' stalls.<\/p>\n
According to City Decree No. 2\/2002, any non-traditional
\nretail store like the Matahari Department Store, which sells food
\namong its products, with a floor size of up to 200 square meters
\nmust be located at least half a kilometer from a traditional
\nmarket, while a hypermarket with a floor size of more than 4,000
\nsquare meters must be at least two-and-a-half kilometers from a
\ntraditional market.<\/p>\n
Many hypermarkets in the capital, however, are located very
\nclose to traditional markets. For example, Slipi Plaza in West
\nJakarta, which also has a Matahari Department Store, is located
\njust a few hundred meters away from the Slipi traditional market.<\/p>\n
The bylaw also requires large shopping centers and commercial
\ncomplexes to allocate between 10 percent and 20 percent of their
\nspace for informal, traditional or small-and-medium-scale
\nenterprises (SMEs).<\/p>\n
Most companies managing shopping centers, however, opt to pay
\na sum of money to the administration as compensation to the SMEs
\nfor the space that should have been allocated for them. While
\nlegal, this practice has long been criticized by councillors and
\nothers, as most of the compensation money does not go to the
\nSMEs.<\/p>\n
Even the commercial complex touted to have been the first to
\nembrace the law, the Jakarta City Center in Waduk Melati, Central
\nJakarta, allocates no more than 6 percent of its space for SMEs.<\/p>\n
Out of the total area of 13.6 hectares, located in Waduk
\nMelati, Central Jakarta, only 7,200 square meters, or no more
\nthan 6 percent, will be dedicated for what it calls an SME
\ncenter.<\/p>\n
Much of the five-story wholesale center will be occupied by
\noffices, a hotel and a convention center.<\/p>\n
This commercial complex is about 400 meters from Kebon Melati
\ntraditional market, 800 meters from Kebon Jati market and one
\nkilometer from Gandaria market.<\/p>\n
The developer, PT Jakarta Realty, asserted last year that the
\ncenter would be fully operational by the end of 2005.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Market Retailers Association (APPSI) alleged
\nlast week that the city administration had ignored the decree by
\nallowing mini-markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets to be built
\ntoo close to traditional markets.<\/p>\n
\"Nine traditional markets have closed so far, due to the
\nviolation of this decree. If this continues, it will be the end
\nof the 151 traditional markets left in Jakarta,\" a member of the
\nAPPSI advocacy group, Ryad Charil, said. (005)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/traders-blame-hypermarkets-for-decreasing-earnings-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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