Hypermarkets everywhere

Hypermarkets everywhere

From Koran Tempo

A media report stated that Carrefour Hypermarket in Kuningan
must be closed down and that a member of the House of
Representatives has said Carrefour can operate in Indonesia only
in 2020.

Something must have gone wrong in this case or perhaps there
is a backstreet deal. What has the Commission on Supervision over
Business Competition (KPPU) done in this regard? The commission
should have shown an early response in defense of the
economically weak. In fact, there are other supermarkets and
hypermarkets besides Carrefour that lure customers from the
lowest income brackets to the highest. These include Giant, Alfa,
Indomaret, Hero, Matahari and many others. They operate even in
the suburban areas.

As hypermarkets and supermarkets have sprung up virtually
everywhere, small-scale vendors in the traditional markets or at
sidewalks and roadsides suffer a big blow. These small-scale
vendors have lost their customers. It is also worthy of note that
these giant supermarkets and hypermarkets have their own
distributors and importers.

It is now time that everybody in the government concerned over
this matter should take action. Do not let the small-scale
vendors wind up their businesses and join the bandwagon of
unemployed people.

TAUFIK KARMADI, Jakarta