Pasaraya Manggarai expanded to 10 stories
JAKARTA (JP): Retail company ALatieF Corp has targeted a sales growth of 50 percent at its newly renovated Pasaraya Manggarai shopping center in South Jakarta next year, company president Usman Ja'far said Saturday.
Usman said the number of floors of the shopping center, formerly known as Pasaraya Young and Trendy, had been expanded from five to 10 with an investment of Rp 160 billion (US$32 million).
He said in terms of size, the building's space grew from 17,000 square meters -- when it was built in 1986 -- to 48,000 square meters.
"With the wider space we are confident we can reach our target next year despite the current economic crisis," Usman said at a soft opening ceremony of the shopping center.
He also said that his shopping center was surrounded by newly built apartments in the Casablanca area of South Jakarta and Menteng in Central Jakarta
A survey, conducted by Survey Research Indonesia, shows that 40 percent of Pasaraya's customers are foreign tourists and expatriates.
"Therefore, despite the monetary crisis, foreigners will still spend their dollars because our merchandise has become cheaper," Usman said.
The company had cooperated with the Hilton to give free-of- charge taxi rides to tourists to the shopping center. The cooperation agreement would later be extended to other hotels in the city, he added.
In the future, the shopping center was expected to take advantage of the city's plan to build an integrated terminal in the area, which would be called Terminal Terpadu Manggarai, he said.
Usman said the shopping center provided a wide variety of products needed by customers, including household utensils, domestic and international foods, national and international brand garments, handicrafts, sports equipment and electronic goods, in line with its motto "One Stop Shopping".
He said the shopping center was also equipped with a fitness center and a large parking lot.
ALatief Corp was founded by Abdul Latief, who is also the minister of manpower. (jun)