Local yuppies bid sad goodbye to free spending ways

Local yuppies bid sad goodbye to free spending ways

By Reiner Simanjuntak

JAKARTA (JP): In its destructive wake, the monetary crisis has
also ripped asunder the material lifestyles of many young urban
professionals here.

Those who make it their business to follow trends and fashions
say the sharp fall of the local currency against the U.S. dollar
has eaten away at yuppies' disposable income in the now-ravaged
rupiah.

"The crisis has made them more careful in spending their
money," confirmed Lenni Tedja, advertising and promotion manager
of PT Mahagaya Perdana, a local distributor of imported fashion
and accessories for men and women, like Aigner, BOSS Hugo Boss,
Prada, Escada, Alfred Dunhill, Laurel, and Omega.

Hugo Boss local brand manager F.X. Khrisna Moran said the 40
percent to 50 percent average increase in the prices of the
products had cut into customers' spending on suits -- the most
popular selling item -- neckties, shirts and other accessories.

"We used to sell one or two suits a day, and now it's probably
only one a month," he said. Suits range in price from Rp 5
million (about US$625) to Rp 10 million.

A far cry from pre-crisis days, he said, when those with cash
thought little about spending on their favorite attire.

He said his brand suits were especially favored by bankers and
lawyers because of the company's image and cut of the clothes.

When the economy was still booming, the yuppies could easily
part with their money after having lunch in one of the luxurious
malls in Jakarta where Hugo Boss outlets are located, store
manager Golda Pradeksa said.

The downward trend is also shared by Italian-brand Prada,
favorite attire of the wealthy, especially for their distinctive
shoes and bags.

"Local yuppies come to our stores just for window shopping
nowadays," said Prada local brand manager Williarty Aliwarga.

Only Japanese tourists and expatriates are reaching into their
pocketbooks, she added, because foreign exchange could offset
Prada's average 35 percent to 50 percent local price increase.

The story is a bit different with Aigner devotees. While
purchases by locals dropped sharply in January, they started to
climb up in the following month, local brand manager Lucie
Palilingan said.

"Perhaps this buying is from yuppies who have made huge
profits either from foreign exchange speculation or their dollar-
based income."

She conceded there were differences from the boom days of free
spending, before the economy went bust.

"They are buying more sales products rather than full-price
ones."

Sales volume of on-sale products jumped by 70 percent, while
sales of other products dropped by 40 percent.

Another trend is for purchases of fashion products rather than
accessories like leather belts or wallets.

In the days before carte blanche spending became blanching at
prices, consumers would snap up four or five kinds of leather
belts to match their pants and shirts.

"Perhaps, they can now live with only one belt," she said. The
sales of Aigner belts have dropped by 40 percent, but sales on
fashion products like suits and shirts jumped from 5 percent to
15 percent.

Cafe

The crisis has also affected spending for nighttime
entertainment.

Paulus Panggabean, general manager of Fashion Cafe, said many
people still flocked to the nightspot, but they were more choosy
in their spending. "Some have even turned from imported beer to a
local one."

The number of visitors dropped by about 10 percent, especially
in February and March. "But they are now coming again," he said.

On a weekday, there are about 400 visitors to Fashion Cafe,
and the number reaches between 600 and 800 on the weekend.

While visitors formerly spent an average of Rp 60,000 on each
visit, it is now between Rp 45,000 and Rp 50,000.

Shanti Shamdasani, marketing manager of News Cafe, said
average spending per person per visit has dropped from Rp 100,000
to about Rp 50,000.

"They would formerly order drinks every 30 minutes during the
pre-crisis period, but now they try to hold onto their first
glass for one to two hours."

Formerly, Shanti said, the yuppies, after a hard day at the
office, would linger over dinner at the cafe until 10 p.m., and
then order drinks to sip as they listened to the live band until
the early hours of the morning.

This was the trend on weeknights through Thursday, and the
cafe would be particularly crowded on Fridays and Saturdays.

"But now they tend to come here just for a drink and the
music," she said, pointing out people would have their dinner at
the office or home to save money.

She said that although costs of basic raw materials had
increased by an average of 40 percent, the cafe only raised its
price by an average of 20 percent to keep its local customers
whose purchasing power had been slashed.

"We also want to compromise for our steady customers," she
said, adding that the cafe's market target was young executives
with monthly income above Rp 2 million.

Despite the crisis, Shanti said more local customers were
coming in.

She observed that many of them came to the cafe in the evening
to escape a stressful day of trying to clinch a business deal or
land a job.

"Even during a crisis, people need entertainment."

Shanti said most foreign expatriates were spending more on
drinks as their purchasing power had soared due to the rising
value of U.S. dollar-based incomes.

"(Before) they would usually have five bottles of beer, and
now it has doubled," she said.