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Plaza Indonesia grants one-month free space to SMEs
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A group of entertainers perform during the launch of the Pasar Kreasi Indonesia section at Plaza Indonesia shopping mall in Central Jakarta on Aug. 30. The section is allocated for small and medium enterprise (SMEs) tenants (JP/Stefani Ribka)
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laza Indonesia, a shopping mall in Jakarta, which targets shoppers from middle and upper class economic brackets, in cooperation with the Trade Ministry, has granted free spaces for one month to 31 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to sell products ranging from fashion to furniture.
The free spaces on the third and fourth floors, in a section known as "Pasar Kreasi Indonesia," were granted until Sept. 24 in response to the government's request for malls to allocate 20 percent of their space at discounted rates for SMEs.
"SME products displayed on the third floor target upper class consumers while those on the fourth floor are targeted toward more of a youth market," mall marketing communication manager Astri A Permatasuri told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the launch of the new mall section attended by Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita on Wednesday.
SMEs operating in the section include CV Aksen, CV Putra Prima Begawan, CV Global Edukreativa, CV Sebutret Indonesia, CV Ciputra Jaya and House of Rattan, all of which joined a training session organized by the ministry.
Enggartiasto said his ministry’s request was not yet mandatory. "We, however, hope that all malls take similar steps to Plaza Indonesia," he said.
Indonesian Shopping Centers Association (Appbi) chairman Stefanus Ridwan said such a request was not achievable for most of the 313 malls in Indonesia because 93 percent of them were targeted at middle and lower class buyers.
“If we have to give (free or lower cost) leases to SMEs, it means we need to charge higher prices on other tenants," he said. (bbn)
