Indonesian shopkeepers lack innovation

Indonesian shopkeepers lack innovation

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When you walk inside Plaza Senayan in Central Jakarta you are
welcomed by a gigantic picture of a sweating, half-naked model in
the window of the Christian Dior store.

Step inside the store and other shops that sell international
brands and take a good look around, you are likely to notice
certain patterns.

More expensive products are arranged at eye level. Products
that sell well are placed on the right of the store. In the case
of clothes, the majority of the items are folded rather than
hung.

These days, retailing is not as simple as it used to be. The
world has changed and shopping trends have shifted, so it is no
longer enough just to pile up goods inside your store.

You need to have a strategy, know your customers' profile and
understand the politics of store display.

According to research, since most people are right-handed
their attention is more to their right side. Which is important
in displaying products in a store. Research also shows that
clothes that are folded sell better, as do products that are
displayed at eye level.

Most international brands are very aware of the psychology of
store displays. They realize that today's customers need a
shopping experience that involves all of their senses.

The companies constantly renew their products and recreate
experiences that influence the customers' senses. They make a
great effort to ensure consumers spend as much time in their
stores as possible, which increases the possibility the customers
will buy something.

"A good example is Nike Town in the United States. Shopping
there is no longer a simple experience, but more like a
pilgrimage. Consumer interaction is no longer limited to the
beauty of the products, the music or the lighting but also the
virtual experience with the history of the heroes, that is the
athletes. Browsing through the store is like being in a theater,
and it's very inspiring," said Kafi Kurnia, a marketing expert,
at a recent discussion.

The key, he added, is innovation.

"Nokia, for example, has continued to innovate with their
products, launching new products all the time. And the result is
that their revenue keeps growing. That's because today's
customers love to be surprised."

Innovation, unfortunately, is something that is missing from
many Indonesians, he said.

According to Kafi, Indonesians are very reluctant to innovate
in selling their products.

"They (retailers) are still competing based on who's cheaper
and which stuff has better quality," he said.

PT Jay Gee Enterprise, distributors of Omega and Rado
Switzerland watches, confirmed Kafi's statement, saying that
their agents in Indonesia still used traditional methods to sell
the products.

"Traditional in terms of displaying the products or marketing
them. So far, it's still effective. But for the long run, we
don't find it compatible," said Renaldi Hutasoit, the company's
watches division manager.

Kafi said the lack of innovation had become so severe
that many local brands had been taken over by foreign companies,
such as Cap Bango soy sauce which has been bought by British-
Dutch Unilever and Aqua mineral water which is now owned by
French Danone.

For other local products this lack of innovation is the reason
they are not developed.

"Producers of jamu (herbal medicine) are not innovative. They
should create more glamor and a more modern image instead of a
traditional one," Kafi said.

"It's different in Singapore, for example. There is this gold
jewelry manufacturer that has been selling its products for ages.
The brand used to come from Chinese words. Recently, they
recreated their image, changing the name into English and
modernizing their style. The business is now bigger than ever."

This lack of innovation and development is a pity, he added,
because Indonesia has so many resources. A simple example is
agricultural products like fruits. We have abundant and varied
kinds of fruits, but our agricultural sector is way behind
neighboring countries like Thailand and Malaysia.

"Maybe you're familiar with the story of kopi luak, coffee
whose beans are collected from luak's (civet) dung. The coffee is
said to taste heavenly. People say that it's only a myth, but in
Hong Kong there is a brand called kopi luak, owned by an English
company. If you check www.edible.com you can also find it.

"However, later I found out that this coffee really does exist
in the small town of Sidikalang, North Sumatra, and only costs Rp
20,000 (US$2.20) a kilogram," Kafi said.

Innovation, he added, is simple and easy as long as you use
your imagination.

Even fruit vendors on the street can innovate by painting
their carts, for instance, or arranging their fruit in a way that
is eye-catching.

"And then don't say that my store is only visited by certain
customers. If the display is interesting and the service is
excellent, any kind of customer will come regardless of their
economic condition. Maybe some will just buy small products but
they buy anyway," Kafi said.

"The display has to be informed, entertaining, inspired,
persuasive, amazing and constantly evolving. If that's done,
customers will come to your store like bees to a flower," he
said.