Pasaraya Manggarai expanded to 10 stories

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)