Business still slow in Tanah Abang

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, the largest textile market in Southeast Asia, was crowded on Wednesday on the first day of the Ramadhan with customers shopping for Muslim clothing and the attire worn during prayer.

But that does not mean that business was as good as last year, said Oki, owner of Batik Lestari outlet located on the second floor of the market building.

Last year, he said, customers had began making orders three months before Ramadhan. Those buyers were from other cities, mostly in West Java, Central Java and East Java provinces, who asked him to send the merchandise immediately.

"We were constantly out of stock. This year, customers came just days before the fasting month," Oki told The Jakarta Post.

He added that most of the customers ordered baju koko, long- sleeved shirts for Muslim males.

He said he still could not predict whether his overall profits would decrease in comparison to last year's.

But Eri, a retailer who runs several stalls on the market's ground floor, complained of economic losses.

Last year he raked in some Rp 200,000 (some US$21) per day selling mukenah (cloak covering women's head and body worn for prayers), sajadah (prayer rugs), and Muslim gowns for women.

Now, however, he only sells on average, four mukenah a day, less than half compared to last year.

"I thank God when I am able to profit just Rp 5,000 from the price margin of each piece. Like today, I have made almost no profit. The customers bargained for the lowest price," Eri grumbled to the Post.

Visitors to Tanah Abang market are mostly from lower income brackets.

Surya Irzam echoed Eri's complaints: "I have yet to sell anything today. People want to pay prices that afford me no profit."

The situation may worsen, Eri speculated, because usually the price of the merchandise normally goes up by Rp 1,000 to Rp 2,000 per piece every week during the fasting month.

In previous years more and more customers bought Muslim clothing to be worn at Idul Fitri celebrations in the last two weeks of the fasting month.

E'en, a housewife from Krawang, West Java, bought several mukenah and baju koko to be sold again to neighbors back in her village.

"I come here every year... the price is reasonable and I think the price is still the same," she told the Post.

The merchants have their own theories on what has led to the slow business.

Eri speculated that it was due to the prolonged financial crisis, which caused fewer buyers to come. While Oki considered it to be a situation where customers chose not to spend much during uncertain political and security conditions, instead preferred to save for the worst to come by the year's end.

But Oki still has hope for brighter days ahead.

"It is common that the business is slow during the first three days of the fasting month, but the sales will hopefully jump after two weeks. So let's see," Oki said.