Indonesian shoppers look at shirts on sale at a shopping mall in Jakarta. (EPA Photo/Mast Irham)
June is an exciting month for Jakartans, with the city that many both love and loathe is celebrating its anniversary. This year, Jakarta is turning 487 years old, and as every year, a series of fun competitions and festivities are held to celebrate this happy occasion.
One of the most-awaited events for the city’s shopaholics is the Festival Jakarta Great Sale (FJGS).
FJGS, which has been held annually since 2008, is the initiative of the city administration, working with more than a dozen retail associations, including the Association of Shopping Mall Managements in Indonesia (APPBI) and the Association of Indonesian Retailers (APRINDO).
“We aim to establish Jakarta as an international shopping destination through the FJGS event,” says Arie Budiman, head of the Jakarta Tourism Office.
The festival was officially opened by Acting Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu at the Emporium Pluit mall in North Jakarta last Saturday.
The opening ceremony was followed by a performance of Betawi, or traditional Jakarta, songs and dances in the main atrium of the mall that evening. Thousands of guests got a chance to visit the Kampung Betawi Tempo Doeloe (Old-Time Betawi Old Village), a food bazaar at the mall that featured many of the unique dishes from the capital.
While the festival usually lasts for one month, this year FJGS will run for six weeks, through July 19.
“It’s such a perfect time for the FJGS this year,” says Ellen Hidayat, chairwoman of the Jakarta chapter of the APPBI. “It coincides perfectly with Jakarta’s anniversary, the school holidays, and [the start of] the fasting month.”
The latter, Ramadan, is expected to start on June 28 this year.
“By mid-July, most people will have received their THR [holiday bonus],” Ellen adds. “So they can definitely spend more money at the malls.”
Seventy-five shopping centers and 9,100 stand-alone stores throughout Jakarta are taking part in the FJGS this year, offering discounts of up to 70 percent.
“We guarantee that all the discounts are genuine,” says Satria Hamid Ahmadi, deputy secretary general of APRINDO. “No participants will cheat by hiking the prices first [before the FJGS] and then discounting them [during the event]. Nor will they sell any damaged goods on discount.”
Last year, retailers raked in Rp 11.8 trillion ($1 billion) in during the FJGS. This year, the organizers target a 15 percent increase.
To achieve this goal, the organizers are collaborating with travel agencies and airlines to promote the event outside Jakarta through flyers and in-flight magazines.
“We’re very optimistic that we can achieve the target within six weeks,” Ellen says.
All the malls participating in the FJGS have decked out their interiors with typical Betawi decorations.
“There will be a competition for the most attractive mall decorations and programs during FJGS 2014,” Ellen says. “This competition will urge the malls to be smart and creative in their efforts to draw more visitors to their malls.”
Luxury labels are also getting into the spirit, with a 30 percent increase in the number of high-end brands taking part this year, also offering price cuts of up to 70 percent.
“So now you don’t have to go abroad for luxury branded items,” Ellen says.
The FJGS will also highlight handmade products by small and medium local businesses, or SMEs at the festival.
The Jakarta chapter of the National Handicraft Council, or Dekranasda, has carefully handpicked a number of SMEs to showcase their merchandise at the participating malls during the event.
“We want to introduce products [made by SMEs] to the customers and make the customers realize that their products are as excellent as the imported ones,” Ellen says.
The products to be highlighted during the FJGS include, among others, fashion accessories, batik clothing, handicrafts, and Islamic fashion.
Another highlight of the six-week shopping extravaganza is the Grand Midnight Sale that will be held concurrently at 15 shopping malls in Jakarta, including Central Park, Kota Kasablanka and Plaza Semanggi on June 21 and 22.
The Grand Midnight Sale will open with fireworks and a musical performance at Senayan City, South Jakarta, on June 21.
“There will be more interesting discounts and offers at the malls during the Grand Midnight Sale,” Ellen says.
Arie from the tourism office says he believes the presidential election, which will be held on July 9, will not have a negative impact on the shopping festival.
“On the contrary, [the election day] will be such a positive promotion for the city,” he says. “It will show that in spite of the presidential election, the city is safe and peaceful and the people can continue to shop and enjoy themselves.”
Ellen agrees.
“I believe that the election day will be an even greater benefit for FJGS 2014,” she says.
“[The election day] will be a one-day holiday. And where can people go on a one-day vacation in Jakarta, except to the malls?”
The FJGS 2014 closing ceremony will be held at Lotte Shopping Avenue in Ciputra World, South Jakarta, on July 19. During the closing ceremony, the city administration will announce the winners of the most exciting mall decorations and programs.
“Even though the FJGS closes on July 19, I believe most of the malls will continue their discount programs through to the Idul Fitri holiday,” Ellen says.
The holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, is expected to fall on July 28 and 29 this year.
For future Jakarta anniversary events, the APPBI and APRINDO plan to organize a much bigger shopping festival, which will extend to other cities in Java, such as Semarang and Surabaya.
“We’re thinking to combine them all and start with the Java Great Sale in a year or two,” says Satria of APRINDO.
Until then, Jakarta offers plenty of retail therapy.
By Sylviana Hamdani on 02:51 pm Jun 10, 2014
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