Kudos to enterprise in world of 'Lebaran' gift hampers
Kudos to enterprise in world of 'Lebaran' gift hampers
By Shanti Venkateswaran
JAKARTA (JP): Welcome to the world of gift hampers. Meet Nora
Mediana, 23, student of Informatics Management at Guna Dharma,
Depok, pride of her parents and the envy of her peers. For
someone as young as Nora, what began as a craze for shopping
three years ago, is today serious seasonal business in the highly
competitive retailing of Christmas/Lebaran gift hampers.
As a teenager, she had seen how some of her father's business
friends had trouble finding exclusive gift hampers of their
choice. She quickly sensed a promising business opportunity and
decided to take the plunge. Encouraged by her parents, who helped
her with contacts, she quickly went into business, helped by her
sister and some close friends who welcomed the pin money that
came their way.
She contacted her father's friends to find out their likes and
dislikes; her idea of a market survey. Started with her own
money, today, Nora takes a 50 percent advance on all orders, with
the balance becoming payable on delivery. No payment problems are
encountered as all customers are known to her personally.
Preparation
About six weeks before Idul Fitri, Nora distributes catalogs
to her regular customers. To prepare these, she first takes
photographs of four or five types of hampers that she designs
herself. A little imagination is all that is needed, says Nora.
She also gets ideas from what she sees in shop windows. Copies of
these photographs are made.
Next, with the aid of a computer, she prints as many catalogs
as required and affixes the photographs. These are then hand
delivered by Nora herself. Orders are usually received within a
week of catalog's distribution. Work on the hampers begins
immediately on receipt of orders. Hampers are also custom-made.
Together with friends, Nora works from home during the night
to get the hampers ready in time for delivery before Idul Fitri.
This way, the business does not interfere with studies. Moreover,
the holidays that come with Christmas and Lebaran permit
uninterrupted working. Lebaran is usually a busier time of year
than Christmas. On the whole, the business takes up about 3
months in a year.
Contents for the hampers come from one store which gives her
discounts, while the baskets are bought from the pavement basket
sellers that abound in places like Cikini. Food hampers are not
her style. She deals only in silver-plated wares and crystal
items. This, she says, is to ensure the exclusivity that her
clients want.
Priced between Rp 200,000 and Rp 450,000, her customers, she
says with a grin, are very rich Indonesians who like to give gift
hampers like other people would greeting cards. She wonders if
some of her creations are slightly more expensive than even those
at department stores. However, she is confident of client loyalty
because of what she has to offer: personalized service and
exclusivity.
With about five loyal customers who own business concerns,
about 50 hamper orders per season, and a 25 percent profit
margin, Nora nets a cool Rp 5,000,000 in profits at the end of a
single Lebaran season.
Competition is keen and Nora has at times lost some of her
customers to other student-competitors. At other times, she has
had to turn down orders for lack of time. She has also considered
quitting. When asked what her future plans were, Nora was not
quite sure whether she wants to continue. She has her hands full
at the moment and couldn't be more pleased with herself. She is
content to make hay while the sun shines.