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.