Post Office launches `Shop by Mail' service

Post Office launches `Shop by Mail' service

By Lenah Susianty

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Indonesia will officially partake
of its mail order service for the first time tomorrow.

Belanja lewat pos, or shopping by mail, will be one of the
most recent programs of the state-owned postal service Perusahaan
Umum Pos dan Giro (PPG). The new service will include the
operation of leased aircraft to cater to hard-to-reach areas,
particularly those in the eastern provinces.

"As an initial step our mail order target will be middle to
lower class buyers outside Jakarta," PPG's president Marsoedi
told The Jakarta Post recently.

He said there are potential markets outside Jakarta which need
quality goods but find them unavailable there.

"We do not cater to those who live in Jakarta because they are
usually shopping-minded and in Jakarta they can easily go to
malls and supermarkets," said Lies Kurniasih, president of PT
Surya Jati Hutama.

PT Surya Jati Hutama is a subsidiary of Panutan group which
has been appointed by PPG to operate the service and supply the
goods.

She said that basically most Jakartans are not interested in
the service. "For example, every time I myself receive a catalog
of goods offered as a supplement service by my credit card
agency, I tear it up without first reading it."

However she is optimistic that people outside Jakarta will
welcome the service. Lies added that as a first step the company
has offered such merchandise as office stationery and bags, as
well as other consumer goods.

"We have issued two kinds of catalogs and sent them to around
30,000 potential buyers. We obtained their addresses from local
post offices' databases," she explained.

"Since all the data is produced by local post offices there is
very little chance that we will overlook any potential buyers
even though they live in isolated areas," said Lies.

The data groups the potential buyers under several categories
such as students, professionals, house wives, etc.

The service, which unofficially started late last month, is
currently offering 50 kinds of goods with prices ranging from Rp
10,000 (US$4.59) to Rp 200,000 ($91.99).

Most of the merchandise costs below Rp 100,000. Lies pointed
out, "the only item costing Rp 200,000 that we are selling now
are genuine leather bags. Actually our prices are 10 to 20
percent lower than normal market prices."

In the future, the company will issue new catalogs every four
months. The prospective market will be extended to the higher
class group and some Jakartans.

"To cater to well-to-do buyers we will cooperate with
companies which hold licenses to produce such famous brand names
as Calvin Klein," Lies explained.

"As for Jakartans, we will focus on providing them with
handicrafts," she said.

For the time being, PT Surya Jati Hutama is acting as a
supplier instead of as a producer which directly markets its
products by mail, a system used in the United States, one of the
countries which pioneered the service.

"There is the possibility for us to cooperate with a company
to produce certain goods," she stressed.

Incentives

To build an effective selling network system, the service will
involve 3,821 post offices in small and big towns and
subdistricts all over the country. The 3,821 post offices have
access to around 5,179 other existing post office units,
consisting of 868 village post offices, 221 extension post office
units, 458 city mobile post offices, 2,463 village mobile post
offices, 442 cashier post units and 609 village post units.

"Buyers who have chosen goods they want can go to the nearest
post office, pay there and the post office will send the order to
our company on the same day. Within three days the merchandise
will be delivered to buyers who live in Java. Those living
outside Java will have to wait one week," Lies said.

Small outlets of the mail-order service will be established in
most post offices which will act as marketing and quality control
agents. Goods to be channeled by the nearest post offices should
pass the control units. Should anything happen to the goods --
such as damage -- they will be returned to PT Surya Jati Hutama.

"Therefore, we will also provide incentives for post offices
which sell the most in terms of quantity and in terms of the most
expensive goods," she said.

Cooperating with post offices is a very efficient gesture or,
as stated by Lies, "a mutual advantage." The company has a
channel to market their goods even to the most remote areas, and
post offices will create a better image by safely delivering all
merchandise to the buyers' doors. This is quite a tall order
because even though the postal service is considered one of the
most well-managed state-owned firms in the country, there are
still complaints of lost or damaged goods.

"This is a new thing for us, so please inform me if there are
any problems or complaints. We are willing to improve it,"
Marsoedi said.