Jakarta Fair closes on successful note

JAKARTA (JP): The 34th Jakarta Fair was officially closed on Sunday evening, lacking the enthusiastic atmosphere of last year's fair due to security reasons and Jakartans' declining buying power, according to participants and visitors.

"I don't come here to shop, just to take the family out. We're just looking around," Muftar Yono, a father of three and resident of Rawamangun, East Jakarta, said.

The fair participants were even less exuberant, most saying they were here for promotion purposes rather than pursuing retail sales.

They did acknowledge, however, that they could still cover the stall lease and some were even able to make a little profit.

"Last year was more crowded. Maybe it's because of the security situation this year. But at least we could still sell around 20 items a day," said Yuli, who sold various brands of luggage.

Despite complaints of fewer visitors from tenants, the organizer of the Jakarta Fair said they exceeded this year's target of 1.6 million visitors and consider this year's fair more successful than last year.

As of Saturday night, the fair had 1,413,838 visitors, according to ticket sales, not including closing date visitors and those who were granted free entrance, said the organizer's spokesman Rusmin Effendy.

The Jakarta Fair, inaugurated by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, was closed last night by Jakarta deputy governor for economic affairs Fauzi Alvi Yassin.

During the month-long fair, Saturdays and Sundays were usually packed, with people coming in with their families.

The nightly live music performances by popular Indonesian singers and bands also helped in attracting more visitors, according to Maximilianus Yosef, one of the organizer's public relations staff.

"When Jamrud band performed, we had around 18,000 visitors that night ... mostly the band's die-hard fans," he said.

In terms of transaction value, Jakarta Fair this year booked higher sales value, with retail transactions reaching Rp 173 billion (US$15 million), compared to last year's Rp 120 billion.

Nevertheless, 75 percent of this year's transaction value came from automotive sales.

Electronic appliances were also among the best selling items, according to Maximilianus, as most of the electronics vendors offered flexible payment arrangements and credit facilities.

Nevertheless, electronics sellers complained that operational costs during the fair were high and even though they were still able to sell their merchandise, sales were not as high as expected.

"Compared to last year, less people are here to buy. It's caused by the ongoing crisis, I suppose," said Ferry Pernadi of Agis Electronics.

"We do offer credit card payment facilities, but those who finally decided to buy, usually paid in cash," he added.

Meanwhile, participants from numerous provinces said their motive for participating in the fair was mainly to promote handicrafts from their area and to attract large buyers.

"We don't have high expectations for retail sales, but there are even less prospects for finding large buyers. There are some, but not as many as expected," said Dea Kertajagat from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

However, Dea said he was not discouraged, saying he would still participate in next year's fair hoping for better sales. (06)