Secondhand clothes business sluggish
Secondhand clothes business sluggish
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Senen market in Central Jakarta is a favorite shopping spot for
low-income people. Here, those with a very limited budget can
find dozens of stalls selling secondhand clothes inside and
outside the market.
"The quality is good, while the prices are affordable for us.
This is the place where we, a low-income family, go to get 'new'
clothes," Ida told The Jakarta Post on Thursday while browsing
for an outfit.
Ida, a resident of Sunter in East Jakarta, was there to buy
her Idul Fitri clothes.
There is no doubt that secondhand clothes are really cheap,
carrying a price tag of as low as Rp 5,000 per piece.
But the vendors complain about poor sales.
"Unlike last year, business is slack during the Ramadhan
fasting month now ... even though Idul Fitri is coming," Robert,
who sells secondhand gowns and dresses in his three-meter-square
stall with plastic sheeting as a roof, said on Thursday.
He said that only a few customers had visited his stall over
the last three weeks. "But they did buy a gown or two, they
weren't just browsing."
The most favorite items, he said, were long-sleeved and ankle-
length gowns that can be altered into Muslim-style gowns.
The dresses he sells range in price from Rp 5,000 (around 56
US cents) to Rp 25,000.
During Ramadhan in past years, Robert said he had to replenish
his stock with a sack of used clothing every two or three days.
Each sack contained 100 articles of clothes. This year, it takes
him two weeks to sell one sack.
The used clothes are imported from other Asian countries, such
as Japan, Singapore and Korea. Many are in poor condition, with
dirt stains or stains caused by saltwater infiltration.
The secondhand clothes business started here in the mid-1990s.
Business was brisk after the economic crisis hit the country in
1997.
Senen market and its surroundings, where used clothes are most
commonly sold, is best known as "Ayola" because the sellers
always shout ayolah, ayolah (come on, come on) at customers.
Doni, another vendor at nearby Jl. Galur, also complained
about the lack of customers. "I don't know whether it is because
their buying power has decreased or because they are shopping
elsewhere," he told the Post.
He said he suspected that it was more likely that people could
not afford the items because of rising prices.
He said the prices of used clothes had increased because of
the limited supply, which he suspected was due to a government
policy halting the importation of used clothing.
A sack of women's clothing is currently priced at Rp 1.6
million, up from Rp 1.2 million early this year. The price of a
sack of men's shirts increased from Rp 1.3 million to Rp 1.8
million, while a sack of pants and jeans now costs up to Rp 1.3
million from only Rp 750,000.
Last year, Doni said, he could sell a pair of used jeans at Rp
20,000, but now he asks for Rp 30,000.
Martinus, who buys and sells used clothing on the sidewalk of
Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta, grumbled that business had
never been as slow as it was this fasting month. He has not sold
any of his merchandise, the prices of which start from as low as
Rp 1,500 each.
"These are bad times. In the first week of the fasting month I
had only three buyers in a day, but I've had none since last
week. Could shoppers all be in the malls? Lots of discounts are
offered there," he said on Thursday.
"Last year was good. But I still remember 1996, my best time
for business," the 67-year-old man said.
It is true that shopping malls are packed these days, but
whether Martinus's customers are there is another question as
people who come to shopping malls are mostly from the middle
income to upper income brackets.
In Central Jakarta's Tanah Abang market, the most popular
place for low-income people, traders had earlier complained about
the sluggish business.
Several retailers even grumbled about their tiny profits as
visitors were bargaining for the lowest prices.