Specialty shops become trendy in big cities
By I. Christianto and Prapti Widinugraheni
JAKARTA (JP): Increasing competition and the desire of retailers to meet the specific needs of customers have given rise to specialty shops selling single-category products that would otherwise be sold in general stores.
Avid shoppers looking for fresh fruit no longer need to plow through the muck and garbage lining the alleys of traditional markets or haggle over prices with scruffy-looking vendors.
Those seeking hardware can do so without waiting half an hour at the counter of a dingy hardware store down the road before getting the listless shopkeeper's attention.
Supermarkets and department stores are bright, clean and airy, but where are those mangosteens, raspberries, toilet plungers and Phillips-head screwdrivers when you need them?
Specialty shops sell rows and rows of products belonging to one category, like fruit or hardware. The goods may be locally produced or imported -- so price is not always a selling point -- but there is a wide range to choose from and a guarantee that the items are of good, standard quality.
Since the stores sell specific types of merchandise, customers tend to be more focused so there is normally the prospect of avoiding crowds and traffic jams. Even parking may be quite easy and bargaining definitely unnecessary.
At Rumahkita, for example, customers can find almost every type of household item and hardware imaginable, from keys and locks, telephones, cleaning tools, electrical appliances and fittings, gardening tools, video games to automobile accessories.
According to Hendrick Casidy, the director of Rumahkita's operator, PT Prima Duaribu Sukses, more people now prefer to make just one stop to get all their hardware needs.
"With Rumahkita, shoppers do not have to go to several shops to purchase, for instance, keys or lock openers, telephone terminals and lamps," he says.
Rumahkita opened its first outlet in Karawaci Supermall, Tangerang, last year. Three more outlets have opened in Bali, Ciputra Mall in West Jakarta, and Bintaro, Tangerang. The fifth shop will be opened in Surabaya next month.
"We plan to operate 10 shops by the end of this year," says Casidy, adding that his company guarantees consumers will get the best quality products.
"Staff at Rumahkita are well-trained. They will assist all shoppers, whether they want to just window-shop, select or buy," he says.
Another specialty shop which claims to have a distinct advantage over its competitors is Total Buah Segar, a fresh fruit store which has outlets in Slipi, West Jakarta, on Jl. Panglima Polim in South Jakarta and at the Ambassador Mall in Central Jakarta.
According to shop director Rudi Tatan, because Total takes a more professional approach to selling fresh fruit, its customers have the advantage of getting better service and better produce.
"We can't claim to be the cheapest, especially because prices on the traditional market fluctuate on a daily basis," he says.
That leaves supermarkets as Total's main competitor. "Our advantage is that we know how to handle fresh fruit properly, which is very important because we are dealing with perishables that can be 'lost'. Supermarkets, on the other hand, may treat fruit the same way they handle vegetables and meat."