International designer boutiques storm the city
International designer boutiques storm the city
By Dini S. Djalal
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's luncheon ladies must be very busy these days.
With at least a dozen new international designer boutiques, including Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, and Issey Miyake opening their gilt-edged doors, the ladies' platinum cards should be going through a lot of wear.
Credit card machines are ringing not only at the boutique- friendly Plaza Senayan, but also at the luxury mini-mall Gallerie Grand Hyatt, and at the renovated Plaza Indonesia.
Fauzi Bowo, head of the Jakarta Tourism Office, welcomes the onslaught of designer boutiques and what they lend to Jakarta's potential to become Southeast Asia's fashion capital.
"We want to promote Jakarta as a shoppers' city," he said at the Trend 1996 Show of the Indonesian Fashion Designers Council.
It may not be long yet before Jakarta fulfills this role. After all, boutiques in Singapore and Hong Kong have long relied on Jakarta's elite as its loyal customers.
"Jakarta has always been known for the big spenders, the buyers, for the fashion industry around Asia," Indonesian designer Biyan told The Jakarta Post.
Now that the economies of Singapore and Hong Kong are experiencing a glut, Indonesia has become the darling of international retailers.
"Indonesia is not in a serious recession like Hong Kong and Singapore," Polly Yeung, Far East manager of Germany-based Escada fashion house, told the Post at the launching of Escada Accessories. "And though sales are still small compared to Europe, the increase in sales is higher here than in any European country," Yeung added.
The confidence of international retailers is evident not only in boutique openings, but also in personal endorsement. From Manolo Blahnik to Oscar de la Renta and Patrick Louis Vuitton, fashion's biggest names are arriving in Jakarta to personally open their boutiques.
Patrick Louis Vuitton, the great-great-grandson of luxury- luggage pioneer Louis Vuitton, said at the opening of the second Louis Vuitton boutique in Plaza Senayan that it's company policy to personally oversee the development of its boutiques.
"We are very particular about every aspect of our business," Vuitton told the Post. Vuitton added that they are proud to be among the first international retailers to recognize Indonesia's market potential.
Louis Vuitton's first boutique opened in Ratu Plaza twelve years ago before moving to Plaza Indonesia.
Louis Vuitton handbags have indeed been a major status symbol in Jakarta as in other major cities, able to elbow out even the ubiquitous gilt-chain Chanel bag. Vuitton himself sees that as a bonus, but not the ultimate goal. "It's good that people appreciate the quality of our goods, but foremost we produce luggage for the modern traveler," he said.
Being a status symbol also comes with a hitch. Vuitton fumed when speaking of counterfeits, which flourish in copyright- ignorant Indonesia. The famous LV logo is a particular favorite of copycats.
"Counterfeiting is a serious disease which must be stopped," said Vuitton sternly.
New for counterfeiters, though ostensibly cheaper to produce, is Prada's nylon knapsack, once the hip purchase among those-in- the-know and now among any aspiring clothes-hanger. President of Prada's Far East Division Giacomo Santucci said that counterfeiting is not a big problem for Prada because their items change every season.
"Once there is too much of one product in the market, we discontinue the design. It's a good way of protecting the label from counterfeits," he told the Post at the opening of Prada's first Indonesian branch at Plaza Indonesia. The second store opens in Plaza Senayan next month.
Prada is a relative newcomer among Indonesians, even with its Indonesian distributor PT Mahagaya Perdana.
"I didn't realize the label was that hot, but everywhere I went, all anybody would talk about was Prada, Prada, Prada," said Mahagaya's director Dewi Moran.
It's only a matter of time before Prada fever swarms Jakarta. Once Mario Prada's old-guard leather-goods manufacturer, his minimalist granddaughter Miuccia Prada has since transformed the company into the most expensive must-have label amongst fashionable types. Ironically, Prada's anti-fashion stance has taken the label to the top of the hip parade.
For example, witness the well-heeled woman stepping out of her luxury car into Jakarta's five-star hotels: Manolo Blahnik stilettos, Chanel suit, Prada bag.
Santucci himself was surprised at the fashion-consciousness of Jakarta's elite.
"Jakarta is so completely different than what I expected. The customers are much more sophisticated than in Malaysia and the Philippines," he said.
As for Prada becoming trendy despite its anti-fashion philosophy, Santucci offers no apologies. "We try to be different. And I guess what was different then is now trendy in a different way," he said.
Those who want to be trendier-than-Prada, however, can rest easy. The Singapore-based Glamourette Group of Shops is opening its flagship store at Plaza Senayan, an 800-square-meter behemoth chock-full of "avant-garde" labels. Belgium's celebrated trend- setters Dries Van Noten and Dirk Bikkemberg are well-represented, as are the U.K.'s Katherine Hamnett and Japan's Comme Des Garcons.
For Glamourette, who have also opened three other boutiques at Galleria Grand Hyatt, the move into Indonesia is timely. "We are opening stores in Jakarta using 70 percent of our Singapore capacity because we think it has come to a critical mass. The market now understands and can accept new fashions," Kim Choong, Director of the Glamourette Group, told the Post.
The arrival of Plaza Senayan and Galleria Grand Hyatt also helped the move. "As far as our business is concerned, what is most important is location, location, and location. Up to now, there were no locations which we wanted to move into," said Choong.
Regardless of location, however, Glamourette needed to act in a hurry. Choong realizes that if the move wasn't done now, another distributor would cash in on the booming consumer demand, and on Glamourette's significant Indonesian clientele. "We had to get here first before others came in," he said.
As for competition in Indonesia, Choong isn't worried. "In market size alone, Indonesia has got a long way to go before it reaches saturation point and becomes a little too competitive," he said.
And for now, Glamourette is enjoying the ample retail space.
"It usually takes about a year for business to reach equilibrium, but at the moment, some of our lines are unable to fill demand," Choong said.