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Clarks, Kickers closing stores in Indonesia
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Customers shop for shoes at a Clarks outlet in Jakarta on Jan. 31, taking advantage of discount of 50 to 80 percent. The UK band plans to close all of its 25 outlets in Jakarta at the end of this month. (JP/Adeline Sunarjo)
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larks and Kickers are among numerous shoe manufacturers falling prey to online shopping, as their Indonesian distributors have announced plans to close stores in Indonesia.
The new shopping habit is hurting all shoe retailers, but none as badly as those selling imported brands, says the chairman of the Indonesian Footwear Association (Aprisindo), Eddy Widjanarko.
Clarks is closing all of its 25 outlets in Indonesia at the end of the month. The UK brand is distributed in Indonesia by PT Anglo Distrindo Antara, which opened its first outlet in 2004. The closures mean laying off at least 125 workers.
PT Mahkota Petriedo Indoperkasa, which distributes products of the French brand Kickers, meanwhile, is reportedly closing its store at the Kota Kasablanka mall in South Jakarta.
Eddy said stores selling imported shoes were already struggling with high rents and high import duties, even without the pressure from the online competition.
“Through online shops, people can easily buy imported shoes from all over the globe. That is a threat [to brick-and-mortar retailers], because the buyers do not need to pay excise duty,” he said on Friday, as quoted by kontan.co.id.
Those selling online did not incur the same operational costs, such as rents, so they could sell their products cheaper, he added. (roi/bbn)
