Gift package business drops

Gift package business drops

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Eva Ayunda, the owner of a gift package business in Surabaya, is
worried. She has been in business for five years, but the last
two years have been tough.

Business was slow last year after President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono instructed all governments officials not to give or
accept gift packages, for fear of creating the impression of
conflicts of interest. Her earnings last Ramadhan dropped to Rp
20 million, much less than the Rp 30 million she made the
previous year.

This year, business has been slow since the government raised
fuel prices on Oct. 1 by an average of 126 percent.

She has sold only about six packages a day over the last
couple of days, while last year she was selling close to 20
packages every day.

Another woman in the gift package business, Ita, is also
concerned. Many of her clients, mostly insurance companies and
banks, stopped their orders after fuel prices went up. She
received 150 orders last Ramadhan, but this year her orders are
down by 70 percent.

However, a florist and gift package provider company,
Tiffany's Indonesia, is confident there is money to be made in
the business.

After opening branches in several cities across the country,
the Jakarta-based company just opened a branch in Surabaya.
Darma, a Tiffany's Indonesia employee, said the company planned
to dominate the gift package business in Surabaya.

The company offers high quality items in its gift packages,
such as ceramics and kitchen utensils imported from the Czech
Republic. It also offers gifts made by the renowned wood carvers
of Jepara.