Unfortunately, past organization of the event that offers up to 70 percent price cuts had not been able to raise the number of shoppers, particularly from other regions in this country, let alone tourists from other countries. It is therefore the task of all relevant parties to make this year’s festival a national-scale or even an international event.

Assistant to City Secretary for Economic affairs Hasan Basri said Thursday that 67 shopping centers and 1,200 other outlets across the city will participate in this year’s festival, lasting from June 18 until July 18. He sets a target of Rp 7.2 trillion (US$744 million) turnover or a 20-percent increase from last year’s.

The Jakarta Great Sale Festival is indeed an important event to boost the city’s economy, which is needed to improve the welfare of the 9.6 million city population. Operators of shopping malls and outlets are not the only party responsible for the success of such an event as full support from the Jakarta administration is the key to ensure that this great event is widely known by the public.

The city administration, therefore, needs to conduct intensive and active promotions, including through television and other media.

Such massive and continuous promotion is the answer to the disappointment of operators of shopping centers and outlets in the previous years, who complained that the Jakarta Great Sale Festival immediately turned into a business-as-usual event days after the opening ceremony. Yes, such an event deserves promotion because it will also help Jakartans get needed products at affordable prices.

In addition, a successful Jakarta Great Sale Festival will contribute a lot in making the capital city a shopping hub in this region. Shopping facilities — starting from upscale malls that sell branded items to those which sell affordable items — are available in the city. The Tanah Abang traditional market, for example, has long been known as the largest textile market in Asia and Africa.

Therefore, the great sale event could become an opportunity for the city to introduce all shopping facilities it has to outsiders. The event could also become an important part of the Enjoy Jakarta tourism program in attracting more foreign tourists to come to the city.

Or at least, it can prevent rich Indonesians from flying to Singapore, among others, only to find products and items that are actually available in Jakarta — and perhaps in other big Indonesian cities.

But like other businesses, customer satisfaction is a key for its success. The organization of the Jakarta Great Sale Festival should be real. The offered price cut should be real — as customers would not want to be cheated when receiving goods at discounted prices, only after the shopping mall and outlet operators mark the initial prices up. Such an act often causes people to be reluctant to buy price-cut products. And for sure, it has contributed to the failure of similar events in the past.

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