Jakarta's boutiques sell second-hand designer goods

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): Used clothes are not only for the poor. Some wealthy people buy second-hand outfits and wear them with pride. The difference is that the clothes worn by the affluent might be more than just used clothes -- they are used designer clothes.

In Jakarta, boutiques selling second-hand brand-name items are rare, but they exist. They offer clothes, shoes and bags produced by Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Gucci, Prada, Versace, Giorgio Armani, and others. Even though they are not new, they cost a lot.

"This Chanel handbag costs about Rp 2.5 million," said Yolanda Janssens, owner of Recycle M. 39, a recycled brand-name item store.

"But it is much lower than the original price. A brand new one costs around Rp 4 million," she added.

The recycled clothes cost between Rp 30,000 for a T-shirt and Rp 1.5 million for a jacket, which originally sold for Rp 5 million.

The prices for shoes range between Rp 75,000 and Rp 500,000, while the handbags are available for between Rp 200,000 and Rp 3 million each.

Amy, a 34-year-old woman who works at a travel agency, visits Yolanda's store once a month to buy handbags.

"If I can buy the recycled ones, why should I buy the new ones?" she said. "In other countries, it is not unusual to buy such items. I did it when I lived in Monterey, California, as a student years ago."

Asked if she would prefer a recycled designer item or a brand new unbranded item, she quickly said: "The first."

The reason behind her choice was because her friends also wore brand-name items. "Lingkungannya begitu, sih (My surrounding is like that)."

Most of Yolanda's customers are housewives and women who work outside the house. Yolanda said she recognized some as actresses who star in sinetron (TV dramas), but they would not reveal who they really were.

"Maybe they are ashamed to let anyone know they wear recycled items," she said.

Some of her clientele are rich people who want to be economical. Others are those who want brand-name items, but can't afford the new ones.

Customers who are not that rich might make a down payment, which is 30 percent of the price, and ask Yolanda to keep a certain item for them. After they get their paycheck, they pay the rest and take the items.

Most of her customers, however, pay with credit cards -- some silver, some gold.

In a month, Yolanda can sell about 20 handbags, but the turnover of clothes and shoes is much smaller.

"It is more difficult to sell shoes or clothes," she said.

But during the just-ended holiday season, business was really good. She sold no less than 40 pieces of clothes last month, which was several times greater than the average.

"You can't tell the type of people who are interested in recycled clothes. Sometimes, I even feel afraid people will feel offended if I offer them used clothes. But you can't tell -- some women who drive Mercedes might buy those clothes," she said.

Yolanda used to live in Los Angeles, where she studied accounting. She has experience in international marketing, including working in Macy's, the biggest department store in the U.S. In Jakarta, she worked for a Gucci supplier.

She opened the store five months ago, as she was aware that there were many people who were boros (wasteful). They did not mind spending a lot of money on designer handbags and other brand-name items. But after awhile, they never used them anymore and just put the expensive items in the closet.

She started her business with 30 handbags. Today, she has more than 100 bags, about 100 pairs of shoes and 200 pieces of clothes.

Most of Yolanda's "suppliers" are her own friends. But she keeps on hunting for new suppliers. Sometimes, if she walks in a shopping mall and sees a woman carrying a nice handbag, she might talk to her right away -- even if she does not know her -- and tell the stranger about her recycling business.

"I tell her to sell the items once she gets bored with them," the thirty-something woman said.

She said some of her things are 100 percent new and unused. In some cases, the people who originally purchased the items might have been disappointed because they realized that they were not the ones they really wanted. They can't return the items to the store, because in Indonesia, customers are not allowed to return the purchased goods unless there is an agreement prior to the business transaction.

In other cases, there are people who get brand-name items as presents, but they decide to sell them because they do not really like them.

"Even though they are still new, the price is marked down by, let's say, between Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000," Yolanda said.

People who want to sell their brand-name items can bring them to Yolanda and receive the money once they are sold.

"Everything is based on commission," she said. She takes between 5 and 10 percent.

If the items are not sold within three months, she usually returns them to the original owners.

Recycled brand-name items are also available in Karen Widjaja's store. Unlike Yolanda, who runs the business at her house in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Karen rents space in an office building in Central Jakarta for about Rp 30 million/year.

She used to sell the used brand-name items in her house, but nine months ago, she moved to the building because she was determined to expand the business.

Her store is bigger than Yolanda's and she has a wider collection, including watches and jewelry. She also sells men's clothes.

Karen, who lived in Sydney for 13 years, started the business with only about 50 pieces of clothes and 30 handbags. Today, the number of clothes has increased threefold, while she has five times the number of handbags she started out with.

"Some Indonesians have strong purchasing power. I have clients who can buy five or six pieces at once," she said.

As a matter of fact, those who like to buy recycled brand-name items are not only Indonesians, but also foreigners.

Karen's clients come from Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, while some Japanese like to shop at Yolanda's store.

She is optimistic about the future of her business.

"In the beginning, people felt uneasy with used items. But people are getting used to them," she said.