`People still need traditional markets'

`People still need traditional markets'

Traditional markets are being marginalized as the number of
supermarkets and hypermarkets in the city expand; but they still
lure shoppers from the low- to middle-income brackets, who are
attracted by the cheaper prices and the variety of fresh goods
available, such as vegetables and fish. The Jakarta Post asked
some urban residents about this issue:

Widyanarti, 31, is an employee at a private company in Central
Jakarta. She resides in Kayu Jati, East Jakarta with her husband
and daughter:

Personally, I prefer the traditional market because I can
afford to buy all my daily needs there. Better still, I can
bargain for much cheaper prices.

But I haven't needed to bargain much, because I'm a regular
customer of a few traders there. I feel that personal
relationships are important in the traditional market.

I think that we go to traditional markets when we really need
to go shopping, but we go to supermarkets or hypermarkets for
other purposes. Many people go to shopping malls for fun and
recreation, and shopping is not their top priority sometimes.

Besides, going to the traditional markets is much simpler and
more practical. I mean that I don't need to think of my
appearance. I feel free and comfortable at traditional markets.

If I want to buy vegetables, I prefer to go to the traditional
markets. Their supplies are fresh and cheap. I once had a bad
experience at a supermarket -- I bought fresh vegetables but when
I got home, they turned out to be rotten. Ever since, I prefer
buying vegetables at traditional markets.

If what I need is not available, such as nursing goods for my
baby, then I'll go to the supermarket.

Sultan, 21, is a vendor who has been selling children's
clothes at a traditional market in Jatinegara, East Jakarta, for
four years. He lives in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta:

I don't think supermarkets, hypermarkets and shopping malls
are really competitors of a vendor at a traditional market.

I know that supermarkets and hypermarkets sell the same goods
as vendors at a traditional market. But of course, they sell far
more expensive goods and at a fixed price.

They already have their own customer group, who are usually
from the middle- to high class.

I feel comfortable in being a vendor, even though there are
many shopping centers all around.

The real competitors in my life are fellow vendors, who fight
to lure people to come and buy our goods. It's no wonder, because
there are more vendors than customers in the market. They like to
shop here rather than at supermarkets, because our prices are
negotiable.

I still have my own regulars who come here and buy something
from me, and I make more or less Rp 300,000 a day. So why should
I think that the shopping centers are my competitors?

Eddy, 46, is a civil servant at the National Library in
Central Jakarta. He lives in Cileungsi, West Java, with his wife
and three children:

I think that the traditional market is very important to
provide relatively cheaper goods for low-income people.

My wife regularly goes to traditional markets to shop for our
daily needs. She said she could buy them at prices much cheaper
than those in supermarkets. Besides, the vegetables are fresh and
healthier for us.

I'd guess the existence of supermarkets, hypermarkets and huge
shopping centers here will not necessarily threaten the
traditional markets, since each have their own market groups.

In addition, shopping centers are not for shopping only. Many
people go there for fun or for recreational reasons, while they
go to traditional markets for their daily needs.

I think we should leave it to people to choose between the
traditional and modern markets. They can use them according to
their respective needs. And I think many people still need the
traditional markets for their shopping.

-- Leo Wahyudi S.