Shopping centers attack crowds, record low sales

Shopping centers attack crowds, record low sales

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The extreme heat and humidity over the last several days has not
deterred thousands of people from venturing out of their homes to
crowd the city's many shopping centers.

"Big Sale" signs are plastered everywhere, attracting shoppers
preparing to celebrate the long-awaited Idul Fitri holiday.

At Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta, one of the city's oldest
shopping centers and popular with middle to lower-class shoppers,
huge crowds pack the stores lining both sides of the street,
where numerous street vendors have also opened up for business.

Is this an indication of economic recovery?

At a glance, one might think so. But talking with several
shoppers and traders shows that they are still suffering from the
financial crisis that hit the country in 1997.

Roliyah, a mie baso (meatballs and noodle soup) vendor, was
shopping for discount children's clothes while carrying her
youngest child. Her two older boys were running around her,
sharing an ice cream cone.

Life is hard for her family. Roliyah and her husband have to
struggle to make both ends meet, but managed to save a little
money to treat their children during Idul Fitri.

"Hopefully I can find something to fit the boys," she told The
Jakarta Post.

What she meant by "fit" was cheap. The price of the children's
clothes in the market ranged from Rp 10,000 (about US$1.12) to Rp
40,000. For Roliyah, it was still too expensive and she was
likely to go home empty-handed.

Many other visitors were there just to window-shop since they
could not afford to buy anything, even with discounts of up to 70
percent.

Agus, an employee at clothes store Toko 7, said the year-end
business in the market was just as slow as the rest of the year.
Many other vendors, both in Pasar Baru and elsewhere, agreed.

Hendra, who opened a clothing store in the 1980s in Plaza
Aldiron, Blok M, South Jakarta, said turnover for this holiday
season was 50 percent lower than last year, although the number
of visitors to his store during the Ramadhan fasting month was
much higher compared to the rest of the year.

"The increase in the number of visitors is understandable
because it is an annual routine to shop more than usual. But it
doesn't necessarily mean they are buying anything. Moreover,
people tend to buy food for Idul Fitri rather than clothing," he
told the Post.

Experts consider consumer spending to be an indicator of
economic recovery. Unfortunately, many are predicting weak
consumer spending and a continued business slump this year due to
political instability and security worries.

A few people, particularly those in the upper-income levels,
might not feel the pinch, but the data confirms that many people
have lost their jobs, accounting for the rise in the number of
urban poor.

In Greater Jakarta alone, thousands of people have recently
become unemployed due to the closure of dozens of factories.

Back in Pasar Baru, Pandi of Batik Indah expressed his
surprise about how slow business was despite the large number of
people in the market.

"I wonder are we still in a crisis or not? Or could it be, you
know, corruption is still rampant," he wondered.