Does Indonesian fashion have a foot in the grave

By Dini S. Djalal

JAKARTA (JP): Imagine yourself a newcomer to Jakarta looking to buy some Indonesian-designed fashions.

You enter Plaza Indonesia or Plaza Senayan with great expectations of ethnic chic, but all you see are the same expensive boutiques you find in New York, London, or Paris. Finally, hidden in a vast department store, you find a few racks of clothes exclaiming "Made in Indonesia".

Unfortunately, however, none of the styles you want come in your size. Feeling defeated yet still hungry for a purchase, you finally settle for a sweatshirt made in Taiwan.

Will the Indonesian fashion industry survive the upcoming "free trade era"? At a seminar held last week by the Association of Indonesian Fashion Designers, retailers and designers discussed the troubles facing the local retail industry.

Poor quality standards, uncompetitive prices, inefficient management, and lackadaisical marketing, as well as the dismal cooperation between the textile industry, retailers, and designers, were listed as the main sources of the industry's woes.

The discussion panel, which included general manager of Metro Department Store Christine Barki, manager of Country Fiesta stores Kenny Wiria, and retailing expert Suwandi Suparlan from Bandung's Padjajaran University, stressed the urgency for Indonesia's fashion industry to improve its competitiveness, or else prepare for bankruptcy once free trade is enacted in 2003.

"With globalization, we will face stiff competition," said retailer Kenny Wiria. "We need cooperation and input from both the government and designers," he said.

At a separate press conference, leading Indonesian designer Biyan also urged Indonesian designers to get serious about grabbing a slice of the retailing pie. "If we don't start now, it's going to be too late and more difficult in the future," Biyan said. Biyan is one of a handful of Indonesian designers who have opened boutiques in shopping malls.

Retailing may not be as glamorous as fashion shows, Biyan admits, but with foreign franchises inundating the market, it is increasingly necessary. "Developing my outlets requires more energy than producing a collection," said Biyan. "But everyone overseas always asks me where to buy Indonesian fashion, because there are few stores showcasing Indonesian designers," he said.

Biyan is fortunate to be able to finance his venture. Many designers struggle merely to stay afloat, taking on uniform orders and ball gown commissions to cover their losses in retailing. Most department stores in Indonesia, such as Metro, operate on a consignment system, in which designers rent counter space at a high price, and then get paid later by the store for every product sold.

"It's an unfair system," complains designer Jadin Djamaludin. "The big always win, and the small lose. Why do these big stores insist on the consignment system but pay us months later?," he said.

Metro representative Christine Barki answers that the consignment system is necessary because often the goods don't leave the store. "If a designer can produce what the consumers want to wear, then we can negotiate new terms," said Barki. Metro currently pays its vendors 30 days after a sale.

Barki explained that Indonesian goods are harder to sell because of their substandard quality, and of the tendency of Indonesian designers to copy other designers.

"From the point of view of competition, this copying is not healthy," said Barki. "Foreign clothes win on cut, style and material. They may be produced here, but then they're sent for export," said Barki. Indonesia's status as a major center of subcontracted manufacturing for European and American designers, and the strength of its export-oriented textile industry. Add to the equation Indonesia's cultural diversity, which may serve as inspiration for local designers, and the future of Indonesian fashion should look brighter than it is.

What Indonesia lacks, says manufacturer Kenny Wiria, is efficiency and economies of scale. He says that multinational manufacturers survive by reducing production costs through subcontracting and sourcing the cheapest possible materials.

Within the context of the rapidly-moving global economy, efficiency and economies of scale are no longer enough to survive the markets, says Suwandi Suparlan. More important for ambitious players is access to the market, which means grabbing opportunities as they appear.

Finally, success requires adaptability. "We have to adjust to customers' needs," he said.

Yet Kenny Wiria adds that the problems facing designers and retailers are tied to the larger economy. He points to high rents, in dollars, and the 20 percent down payment which shopping malls demand. "In China and Hong Kong, they pay rent in local currency, and the down payment is paid in three months," said Wiria.

What may save local designers, Wiria and Suparlan point out, is branching overseas. "If suppliers target only the local market, it's too expensive and too high a risk," said Wiria.

"We should see 2003 as an opportunity to position ourselves in Asia," adds Suparlan. Suparlan counts the many overseas designers manufacturing in Indonesia as proof that local manufacturing is good enough for export.

But before designers invest in manufacturing, they should concentrate on producing goods with long-term commercial value. "In fashion, if the goods do not move in three months, it won't move. Fashion is fickle. Unlike land, its value does not appreciate with time," said Wiria.

Wiria suggests that Indonesian designers follow the examples of other Southeast Asian countries and establish a twice-yearly trade show. Designers produces design samples for the shows, and the industry then places its orders.

Yet a revised marketing strategy still requires increased commitment from the designers to a greater role in the industry. "Whether the orders are completed is the designers' own responsibility," said Wiria.