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Food, beverage vendors benefit from passenger crowds at MRT stations
Business seems to be thriving for dozens of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that recently opened shop inside MRT stations in Jakarta
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span>Business seems to be thriving for dozens of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that recently opened shop inside MRT stations in Jakarta. Vendors say the busy MRT stations brought many customers to their outlets in the first few days of operations.
Muhammad Utama Akbar, one of six vendors at Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta, has seen lots of customers visit his stall, where he sells fresh fruit and salad. Utama said he earned around Rp 1 million (US$71.46) in revenue on a weekday.
“I’ve have had quite a lot of customers since opening my business in the station, especially during rush hours. However, the sales are not that good on the weekends,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Utama explained that around 30 to 40 people per day come to his stall, which is located near the exit of the station. His store, called Gorjuice, is open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Near Utama’s shop is a bakery called Melati Bakehouse. Rifa Permata Sari, an employee who works on the store, said the bakery had to close early almost every day because its products were sold out.
“Even though the bakery is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., on weekdays it usually closes around 7 p.m., because all of the products are sold out,” she said, adding that customer numbers were lower on the weekend.
A bakery closes early almost every day because its products are sold out, but it sees less customers on the weekend.
With products ranging in price from Rp 7,000 to Rp 25,000, Rifa said the bakery made around Rp 1.5 million in revenue on a weekday. “On weekdays, more than 30 customers buy our products, from croissants and toast to sandwiches.
City-owned MRT operator PT MRT Jakarta has reserved 16 spaces at five stations for SMEs to sell food, fashion or handcraft items.
The five stations are Lebak Bulus Station with six outlets, Fatmawati Station with another six outlets, Dukuh Atas Station with two outlets and Haji Nawi and Blok A stations with one outlet each.
The vendors applied for the spots by joining a tender and selection process run by PT MRT Jakarta in collaboration with the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf).
Bobby, who works at the Lemper Purnama food stall at Fatmawati Station in South Jakarta, said the shop sold around 1,000 pieces of lemper, a traditional savory snack made from glutinous rice, on workdays.
“On the weekend, however, sales usually drop around 50 percent,” he said on Monday as he shared his success story with the Post.
Bobby explained that more than 50 people typically bought lemper at the shop. The lemper, he said, came with various fillings, such as spicy chicken, green chilies and Balinese spice paste, and cost Rp 6,000 apiece.
MRT passengers have warmly welcomed the newly launched SME outlets at the stations but also noted some weaknesses.
“I think it’s good that the MRT operator supports local and small businesses instead of only giving business spots at the stations to big vendors. However, it would be better if they also provided seats for customers at the stalls,” Martini Manaf, a 62-year-old passenger from Rawamangun, East Jakarta, told the Post while buying a sandwich from a vendor at Lebak Bulus Station.
Another passenger, Kris from Kebayoran, South Jakarta, expressed the same wish.
“It would be better if the stalls had some chairs so I could meet up with colleagues and friends here, instead of having to search for nearby restaurants,” she said at Lebak Bulus Station on Monday.
Kris explained she had made a detour that day specifically to see the newly launched outlets. “I would normally go through another exit today, but since I knew several MRT stations now host SME vendors, I was curious.”
Kris expressed hope that the SMEs would be given better places at the station.
“The outlets’ location is not central enough; passengers leaving the station can easily miss them. To support them better, I think the MRT operator should give them a more strategic spot, or at least place an eye-catching sign so that passengers know [where the shops are].”
Agustina Syamsuri, the owner of Lemper Purnama, said she had to submit a proposal, some documents and give three presentations during the selection process for the tender. However, she claimed, she had no idea why her outlet was selected among hundreds of others in the tender.
MRT business development and support director Ghamal Peris said in January that the SME vendors had to pay Rp 1.3 million to rent a space in the stations.
“They are charged around Rp 1.3 million per month without any additional service charge. The rent is 50 percent lower than that of regular retailers. The SME vendors also don’t have to pay a deposit or share their profits with PT MRT,” he said. (nal)
