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Indonesians love to shop, that much is true. But if you’re part of a certain demographic, you’d know that flying to Singapore for a bit of retail therapy offers a different kind of dopamine hit compared with a stroll around Pondok Indah Mall.
At first, it was the Western labels. I remember a time when getting a Zara blouse or H&M cardigan meant booking a flight to Changi. After that, Singaporean homegrown brands started getting traction, as seen from the hordes of Indonesian tourists queuing for crispy fish skin from Irvins and surprisingly capacious bags from Beyond the Vines.
Now, more Singaporean brands are within sight in Jakarta, and Indonesians can now splurge with diverse hype options for their shopping endeavors.
Mass appeal, high quality
Engaging a market as massive as Indonesia is an attractive prospect for businesses across the globe, and some Singaporean brands have been warmly welcomed in the archipelago.
Millions of Indonesians turn to the e-commerce platform Shopee every day for vouchers and deals, while young professionals have looked to Charles & Keith for sensible flats since their arrival in 1998, just two years after its inception.
Part of the appeal is perhaps their strategic approach to courting a wide array of customers from all walks of life. Just like Indonesia, Singapore’s multicultural communities all converge on the island, which venture builder Louken’s CEO Haoming Lee says plays an important role in shaping a vibrant design scene.
“That's why we came up with Singlish [colloquial Singaporean English], because it’s actually a mix of different languages and dialects,” Lee tells me.
“The same goes with our design scene as well. It's a very up-and-coming scene; there are very unique designers out there right now, and you can find all sorts of design disciplines.”
Coincidentally, our conversation at a café in Senayan City was on the sidelines of Nova Now, a pop-up showcase that featured six Singaporean brands, including collectible specialist Mighty Jaxx, lifestyle brand The Paper Bunny, bedding company Epitex, and fashion labels GINLEE Studio, GRAYE and Young Hungry Free.
Running from Feb. 27 to March 2, the event marked a physical debut for both Nova Now and the brands in the Indonesian market, each catering to different lifestyles and niches, from unisex silhouettes to pop culture collectibles.
For its part, Louken knows what it is bringing to the table. After all, it was Louken that brought Charles & Keith and its sister brand, Pedro, to Indonesian shores.
Judging by the crowd when I visited the Saturday after payday, so did dozens of others. I found myself drawn to The Paper Bunny’s The Arc bag, lightweight for the daily commute but still stylish enough for brunch.
Elsewhere in the atrium, Mighty Jaxx’s blind boxes seemed a good way to spruce up my work desk until I realized my rotten luck at gachas did not land me the character I was eyeing. Still, that’s the thrill of the chase for you.
“What we're looking for is lifestyle brands. There are so many different types of lifestyles out there. We wanted to find brands to fit into different communities,” says Lee.
Mass market, authentic shoppers
With some 280 million looking to have their wants and needs met every day, it’s only natural that Singaporean businesses are looking to widen their net to reach the entire archipelago.
Lee points out that such a substantial market is only a one-and-a-half hour flight away from Singapore, hence why he tells brands, Singaporean and others, to learn more about Indonesian culture and try their hand at testing the waters.
Of course, pandering to Indonesian consumers means looking at their quirks and habits.
Mighty Jaxx general manager, Mark Thong, tells me that the brand’s background was in fairly high-priced collectible art toys. With the meteoric rise of POP MART and viral collectibles like the Labubu, Mighty Jaxx’s own line of art toys with different pop culture IPs has became easily recognizable and accessible.
Its collectibles range from SpongeBob SquarePants, My Little Pony to Jujutsu Kaisen.
“We also found that many Indonesians grew up with a lot of IPs like Yu-Gi-Oh! - they started from a young age of playing the trading cards. As they grow older, they become more affluent and start to move from just cards to physical toys. They feel proud to show their friends,” he explained.
Another interesting little tidbit he found about Indonesians is that, for the true fans and collectors at least, they tend to really go for the genuine and authentic.
“They really have this very strong collector mentality of ‘if I can buy it, I'll buy the real product, I will not buy a counterfeit’, which is unique in Southeast Asian countries as well,” Thong explains.
“We really love Indonesia because of that. Every one of our products is unique, so I think that created a resonance with the Indonesian market that whatever we do, there's nobody who can actually fake our invitation.”
On the fashion front, Xie Qian Qian, GRAYE’s cofounder and creative director noticed Indonesians going for jackets and layering despite the heat and humidity, hence why she felt its line of outerwear would do well in the market.
GRAYE, which started as a menswear brand in 2016, shifted to men's and unisex clothing in 2018 because its styles fit among women as well.
“Unisex should be the way because it's more inclusive and versatile, the way modern couples share their wardrobes,” Qian says.
“Our transformable designs allow the wearer to have dual use of the product, that’s what drives the design team at GRAYE. Our aesthetic is very East meets West, old meets new. We try to balance the things that we want to do and what sells in the market.”
“I think there's a much younger demographic compared with other nations in Southeast Asia. Indonesia has a much younger demographic. They're open-minded to a more vibrant and daring fashion. They’re more willing to try a different style.”
So, the next time you want a new wardrobe, you can save your airline miles. Except if you want a quick MBS getaway, though. That’s another can of worms for you and your card.
