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Portable generators, emergency lamps sell like hotcakes after Jakarta blackout
Erick Halim, a visitor to the Ace Hardware outlet in Mall Artha Gading, North Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post that he went to the store during lunchtime and it was more crowded than usual.
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Jakarta residents flock to buy electric generator engines in Glodok, North Jakarta, on Monday. Sales of portable generators, emergency lamps, flashlights and portable fans have reportedly gone up following the citywide blackout on Sunday. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
F
ollowing a major blackout in West Java, Banten and Greater Jakarta on Sunday, crowds reportedly flocked to home-improvement and lifestyle product retailer Ace Hardware outlets on Monday.
Erick Halim, a visitor to the Ace Hardware outlet in Mall Artha Gading, North Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post that he went to the store during lunchtime and it was more crowded than usual.
“The customers purchased portable generators, emergency lamps, flashlights and portable fans,” said Erick, adding that he went to Ace Hardware to purchase portable fans in anticipation of another blackout.
Twitter user @MayaAncela said she looked for a portable fan at Ace Hardware.
“Today, Ace Hardware is so crowded, like a [traditional] market, and I did not get anything [as] the items were sold out,” she tweeted.
Nyari fan yg portable di ace hardware, yoolo, ace hardware hari ini ude kayak pasar rame bgt dan gak dapet apa2 karena ud pada ludes :( #semogamatilampunyagalama2 #bayizamannowgabstidurtanpaac
— Maya (@MayaAncela) August 5, 2019
@maialt1 also tweeted that Ace Hardware was really packed and the sales of emergency lamps had drastically increased.
Ace Hardware penuh sesak. Penjualan lampu darurat meningkat drastis.
— Applejack (@maialt1) August 5, 2019
Meanwhile, @benakribo posted a tweet saying Rp 6 million (US$420.94) portable generators were selling like hotcakes at Ace Hardware.
Genset 6 jutaan laku keras cuy rebutan pic.twitter.com/NMAodeEleK
— BENAZIO (Benakribo) 🔥 (@benakribo) August 5, 2019
Read also: Transportation, communications return to normal after blackout, but glitches remain: Ministers
Kawan Lama Group marketing director Nana Puspa Dewi said in an email that sales in Ace Hardware had increased since the blackout on Sunday.
“Currently, the amount of stock continues to move along with the relatively high demand,” said Nana, saying that the company always aimed to fulfill its customers' demands, including during emergency situations.
“Besides the retail stores, Ace Hardware also offers online stores with same-day delivery services on acehardware.co.id/shop or ruparupa.com,” she explained.
Nana said that in addition to portable generators and emergency lamps, Ace Hardware offered other items for blackouts, including cooler boxes to keep perishable products like breast milk, power banks, rechargeable air coolers and more.
In addition to Ace Hardware, kompas.com reported that other electronics shops also sold a lot of portable generators after the blackout.
Ajun, one of the electronics shop owners at Pasar Proyek in East Bekasi, shared that he had sold 57 portable generators since Sunday afternoon for prices ranging from Rp 1.8 to Rp 11 million.
“Thank God, the items are sold out now,” he said, adding that he had placed orders for more portable generators from Surabaya and Jakarta. (asw)
