Shops are luring buyers
Shops are luring buyers
JAKARTA (JP): Discounts are drawing Jakartans by the thousands to local shopping centers in anticipation of the Idul Fitri holiday, which marks the end of the Ramadhan fasting month this March 3 and 4.
At Pasar Baru, a sprawling shopping complex in Central Jakarta, people were mainly targeting the stores with the biggest discounts, which reached 50 percent in certain places. Over- capacity crowds pushed eager customers out the doors and into the malls to fight the rest of the holiday-crazed shoppers.
Antara reported yesterday that discounted prices were in all the shopping centers from Blok M Plaza in South Jakarta to CitraLand Mall in West Jakarta. Famous department stores like Robinson, Ramayana, Matahari and Borobudur are also offering discounts of up to 50 percent.
Angela Yulita of Metro Pondok Indah, a shopping mall in the elite Pondok Indah housing estate in South Jakarta, said that Metro has arranged a 32-day Idul Fitri promotion from Feb. 3 to March 5.
"We're offering some brand-name apparels like Jean Paul Gaultier and Chantal Thomas at reduced prices during the promotion," she said.
Angela said that Metro will finish the promotion with a big sale on March 10 until April 2.
Pasar Senen, one of the oldest traditional markets located in Central Jakarta, was also swamped by discount-hungry shoppers looking for clothing and comestibles as well.
The news agency reported that conditions in the Pasar Senen area have been aggravated by the Senen railway station, which is located nearby and packed with people waiting to go home.
A cookies seller said that his daily revenues have substantially increased to Rp 1 million. He did not disclose his income on ordinary days.
Hero Supermarket, however, has been the exception.
Maris Stella, a Public Relation Coordinator at Hero, was quoted by Kompas daily recently as saying that the company is not giving any discounts.
Hero's deputy marketing manager Priyatna Suciono said that the decision was made because its prices are already competitive compared to the other supermarkets.
Priyatna said that Hero will stay open during the Idul Fitri holiday. (mas)