Prices of most electronic goods drop 30 percent
JAKARTA (JP): The increasing value of the rupiah against the greenback has caused the prices of most electronic goods to plunge by between 10 percent and 30 percent after their significant rise over the past year.
Among the goods which have seen their prices lowered by merchants are television sets, cassette players, laser disc players, compact disc players, video compact disk (VCD) players and washing machines.
Slashed prices were seen at a number of popular electronic goods centers in the capital, including ITC Mangga Dua shopping center in North Jakarta, Mangga Dua Mall in West Jakarta, Glodok Harco electronics market in West Jakarta and Pasaraya shopping center in South Jakarta.
The Jakarta Post saw on Thursday crowds of shoppers at these four locations. Many of the shoppers were carrying their newly purchased electronic goods, while others were simply pricing various products.
The rupiah has strengthened to its current level of some Rp 6,700 against the U.S. dollars. The currency experienced a drastic drop from its Rp 2,500 level in July 1997, hitting a low of Rp 17,000 to the dollar in January 1998.
At Pasaraya, for example, the price of a RCA washing machine has been cut to Rp 4.1 million from Rp 5.8 million, or about a 30 percent drop.
"All electronic goods are imported, so their prices totally depend on the dollar-rupiah exchange rate," a store manager at Pasaraya, who asked for anonymity, said.
Foreigners
Since the rupiah began showing signs of life three weeks ago, leading to a significant drop in the prices of electronic goods, the number of foreigners purchasing electronics at the shopping center has fallen, he said.
"The number of foreigners purchasing electronic goods here has dropped by one-third compared to the numbers in early June," the store manager said.
Pasaraya expects to attract more local shoppers in the coming days, he said.
Felicia, the owner of Utama Lancar, a store selling televisions and video compact discs on the ground floor of Glodok Harco, agreed that the prices of most imported electronic goods were falling.
"Only electronic goods produced by local companies such as Polytron are remaining at their old prices," she said while waiting on a customer.
"A Santec model 880-BK VCD player used to cost Rp 700,000. Now the price is only Rp 500,000," she said, adding that Sony products were the only imported electronic goods whose prices were not on the decline.
Ipong, a sales supervisor at PT Graha Electronic, an official distributor for PT Sony Indonesia, the country's sole agent for electronic giant Sony Corporation, said his company had not lowered prices because the goods currently for sale in the stores were imported when the rupiah was much weaker against the dollar.
"Every six months PT Sony Indonesia obtains electronic goods from Sony Corporation, and we determine prices based on the currency exchange rate at that time," Ipong said.
Not all
However, not all store owners selling Sony products refused to lower prices.
A shop attendant at Setia Mandiri on the second floor of ITC Mangga Dua said his boss has reduced the prices of a number of Sony products.
A 14-inch Sony television set which was priced at Rp 1.9 million three weeks ago is now being sold for Rp 1.8 million, he said.
"We need to lower our prices to survive the tough competition here," he said.
Before the rupiah crashed, the same television set sold for Rp 550,000, he added.
Despite the falling prices of most electronic goods, many people are still taking a wait-and-see attitude, hoping the rupiah will continue to gain strength.
A distributor of Aiwa products, Suwandi, said at his store on the ground floor of Mangga Dua Mall: "Since the price of imported electronic goods mainly depends on the rupiah's value against the dollar, many consumers are still waiting for further improvements against the dollar.".(asa)