December, another big shopping season
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After being crowded by shoppers purchasing goods for the Idul Fitri celebration, stores in shopping malls are now gearing up for another big shopping season.
Although there are still several more weeks to go until the Christmas and New Year holidays, the atmosphere of Christmas is beginning to be felt, with Christmas trees and colorful ornaments decorating the interiors of several modern shopping malls.
Numerous stores, in particular those in malls, have even started to provide Christmas-related goods, such as artificial Christmas trees of various sizes, accessories, ornaments, cards, souvenirs and gifts.
As part of Christmas celebration, some Christian families have a tradition of placing a decorated Christmas tree in their living rooms, and of giving gifts to relatives and friends.
Christmas goods are not the only items being sought out by those celebrating Christmas and New Year holidays. Fashion- related items such as clothes, shirts, shoes, bags, cosmetics and perfumes are also on the rise, said Metro Department Store's advertising and promotion manager, Anskarina Christin.
When December comes, department stores and retail outlets take advantage of the Christmas/New Year spending spree.
Metro, Sogo, Matahari and Ramayana - to name but few - are among the department store chains that are offering special promotional programs to welcome the holidays.
Holiday sales with theme 'Metro Christmas Magic' at Metro department store in Mall Pondok Indah on Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, started on Dec. 3, 2004 and will last until Dec. 25, 2004.
With this promotional program, 'Gift-with-purchase', buyers at Metro dept. store are entitled to a 'Metro Personal Mug' provided that they buy items at the store using their Metro Yours Card (MYC), with a minimum Rp 400,000 of purchases.
She said that to welcome in the festive season, the store is offering new collections with competitive prices in its bid to meet customer needs.
For example, visitors can get a shirt and shoe combination for prices starting at Rp 200,000. Other new collections include children clothes, toys and household items.
The store also provides a wide range of wrapped gifts, such as perfumes, fragrances and body lotions, for those who like to give gifts at Christmas.
As a part of its special sales campaign, the Matahari department store, in cooperation with Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), is offering a lucky draw to its customers, with a grand prize of a Kijang Innova.
Matahari's promotion head Fetty Rahmita said that the lucky draw, which began Oct. 15 and will go through to Dec. 26, was targeted at all buyers who purchased items with minimum value Rp 100,000. Buyers will get one point for every purchase of Rp 100,000, she said.
Aside from the lucky draw, the store is also offering discounts of 20 percent to 50 percent on a wide range of products.
At the Sogo department store, shoppers can also join a lucky draw program, with prize of a overseas tour package, including a round trip ticket, four-nights stay in a hotel and US$500 pocket money.
The promotional program with theme 'Holiday With Us' started on November 2004 and will run through till Jan. 2, 2005. The winners will be announced on Jan. 10, 2005.
Country destinations include in the package tour include Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Hongkong, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom (UK), said Sogo promotion supervisor Enrico Samuel at Mall Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta.
He said that buyers at Sogo could join the lucky draw provided that they purchased at least 10 items. "The purchase of 10 items can be exchanged for one tour package coupon. The coupon should be submitted before Jan. 2, 2004," he said.
Organizers of lucky draws are not confined to stores but also operators of shopping malls.
Mall Taman Anggrek (MTA), for instance, is offering a lucky draw, with grand prize sedan AUDI A6 and New Ford Escape. The Lucky Draw program started on Oct. 22, 2004 and will last until Feb. 13, 2005.
"We want to liven up the shopping season so that more visitors will shop here," said MTA's PR and Communication Coordinator Dessy Tanumihardjo.
She said that a visitor to MTA would get one lucky draw number provided that he or she shopped at the mall with minimum purchase of Rp 350,000.
"But holders of Citibank credit cards will get two numbers for the lucky draw," she said.
She said that in cooperation with US-movie studio giant Warner Bros and the Metro department store, MTA will also present a Batman Show in the mall's atrium. A stage at the atrium will be transformed into Gotham City, the setting for the Batman movie.
The unprecedented show will start Dec. 14 and will run through Dec. 26, 2004.
"Batman will demonstrate his skill in leaping from one building to another," she said.
December provides blessings not only for retailers at modern shopping malls but also for small-scale businesspeople engaged in home industry and sellers of decorated plants at sidewalks.
When December is looming, demand for cookies associated with Christmas, such as dried gingerbread, is on the rise.
Cookie maker, Budiarti, for instance, had to work until late at night, making cookies to meet the increasing demand.
His dried gingerbread are uniquely designed, taking the form of bells, Santa Clause, Christmas trees and candles.
"Thousands of pieces of dried gingerbread have been made to meet the rising demand since early November of this year," said Budiarti.
She said that prices of dried gingerbread vary depending on size, ranging from Rp 10,000 to Rp 250,000 per piece.
The Christmas holiday also bring luck to sellers of Christmas accessories and ornaments and those who sell fir trees.
PD Victory, a distributor of artificial Christmas trees and accessories, in Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua, Central Jakarta, has seen saw an increasing demand for their goods, not only from customers in Jakarta but also those from outside the city, such as Surabaya, East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi and Papua in West Irian Jaya.
December is also a blessing for sellers of fir trees who operate at a sidewalk on Jl Pemuda, in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
The demand for fir trees are on the rise in December because many Christians use the tree as 'Christmas Tree' or 'Bright Tree', said a fir tree seller.