Lippo Karawaci a 'shadow' of its former self
TANGERANG (JP): Lippo Karawaci Supermal, once brimming with visitors, including those who made the trip from Jakarta, is feeling the full brunt of the economic downturn as tenants pack up and move out.
Even on weekends, the two-year-old mall's vacant parking lots could serve as football fields and children could have the run of its polished corridors.
One by one, tenants have closed or temporarily halted their business operations, offering big discounts on goods before packing up their remaining stock and leaving the 210,000-square- meter superstore, which is located 40 kilometers west of Jakarta, far behind.
Several tenants blamed the decline in business on the ongoing fluctuations of the rupiah against the U.S. dollar.
The monetary crisis has also discouraged people from spending their hard-earned money on shopping or entertainment, the tenants said.
Among the businesses that have bid farewell to the supermall are the world famous Toys "R" Us and JC Penny stores, which rented gigantic outlets in one of the few American-style supermalls in the country.
"Business was too bad there," president director of PT Dwibras Darma, which operates Toys "R" Us in Indonesia, Peter Darmawan, told The Jakarta Post.
Some other stores are also getting ready to close their doors once and for all.
"We'll close next week," Aris, the store manager of imported fashion outlet British India, told the Post yesterday.
Sluggish business prompted the outlet to consider closing after monthly sales failed to reach targets, he said.
"Less and less people are visiting the shopping mall since the beginning of the crisis."
The 130-square-meter outlet, located on the building's second floor, is the largest British India outlet in the city, he said.
It now offers a 70 percent discount on certain items as part of its closing-down sale.
Other tenants, such as Mega-M superstore and Citra Elektronik, have cut down on the space they rent.
"We have to be as thrifty as possible in an attempt to cope with the economic crisis," a senior attendant at the electronic goods store said.
He did not say whether the store would close or not.
Other stores, such as Dash Station fashion store, have locked their doors without providing any further notification.
"That one, for instance, has been closed for months," a security officer said, pointing to a toy store.
For the remaining tenants, only a few -- mostly those selling household commodities and meals -- are still packed with visitors.
Shop attendants are forced to spend their working hours just waiting for customers or chatting with colleagues.
Agustynus, the store manager of the Ace Hardware outlet, said the number of customers visiting the store had dropped drastically since the crisis began last year.
He said the company, which sells imported hardware such as gardening and painting tools, had taken several measures in order to survive the crisis, including increasing prices up to 50 percent since July.
"Luckily, our earnings have remained stable because we earlier set the prices according to a fixed exchange rate of Rp 8,000 to one U.S. dollar."
Lippo Supermal executives were unavailable for comment yesterday.
The supermall sets its monthly rental rates for 63-square- meter and 90-square-meter spaces at between US$35 and $40 per square meter with the exchange rate of Rp 2,900 per dollar.
The currency rate will change next month. (09/bsr)