National flags bring luck to seasonal street vendors

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The upcoming commemoration of Independence Day on Aug. 17 has created an attractive business for some seasonal vendors who sell the national flags.

Adi, 32, a flag vendor selling under the Mampang flyover in Mampang, South Jakarta, said recently that with the seasonal business he could earn much more money than he usually did working as a mechanic at a motorcycle workshop in Cirebon, West Java.

"It's more lucrative compared to my normal job," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

From Aug. 3 when he started selling flags, he boasted that his daily turnover could reach as much as Rp 1.5 million, of which about 20 percent was net profit.

Adi said that he had made preparations back in May with a total investment of Rp 15 million.

He added that he had sold flags at this time of the year for the last four years.

Jumari, 47, a vendor in Matraman, East Jakarta, said that he had sold flags since 1968. Despite a lack of capital, he boasted that his daily sales reached at least Rp 7 million.

The vendors said that the smallest flags made of plastic cost Rp 5,000 per package containing 100 sheets. The price of the cloth flags depended on their size, ranging from Rp 7,500 per piece for a 60 centimeter by 90 centimeter flag to Rp 50,000 for the 1.2 meter by 1.8 meter size.

Adi said that the vendors usually got their cloth from Tanah Abang, in Central Jakarta, the bamboo flag poles from Cirebon, plastics and thread from Klaten, Central Java.

Jumari said that he had a good relationship with a wholesaler so that he does not need to pay in advance for all the materials.

"With that trust I don't need much capital to do business," Jumari told the Post.

He admitted that he did not have much money for the seasonal business now as his usual business, as a fruit seller in Jl. Jend. Urip Sumoharjo in East Jakarta, was not running well.

Muhammad Yusup, 40, who resides in Depok with his four children said that he enjoyed the seasonal work compared to his normal job at a small scale garment industry in Karet Kuningan, South Jakarta.

Yusup, who claimed that he earned a good income said that he and his boss would stay all day long at their stand from Aug. 1 until Aug. 18 so that they were always ready to serve their buyers.

"I enjoy this seasonal job because I don't have to think about my daily meals and cigarettes," he said. "I wish that every day was like this."