Through Retail Exports, Boyolali Batik Laris In Singapore And Malaysia

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - The middle-aged man, Achmad Latief, never thought that the batik he made was in demand by customers from abroad.

The hard work of the batik craftsmen from Boyolali bore fruit, even though they started their business from going bankrupt, the entrepreneur was able to return with impressive results.

Not only penetrated the turnover of billions of Rupiah, but Achmad Latief also managed to expand his market to foreign countries because of the convenience of retail exports he got.

"Alhamdulillah, now there are many of my export customers in Singapore and Malaysia. I am happy to be able to introduce domestic products to the outside world, yes, I am very proud because I never thought that anyone could be interested in buying them abroad. At that time, the first export sale to Malaysia, "said the business owner named Toko Zahra 27, quoted Thursday, August 10.

Achmad Latif's success as a micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) fighter did not come overnight. Before successfully getting billions of turnover and reaching the overseas market, Achmad first went through a winding and challenging business trip.

In 2008, the 37-year-old opened his own batik business in one of the largest shopping centers in Jakarta. However, Achmad's batik kiosk had to be completely closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His turnover also plummeted drastically to zero rupiah and made him bankrupt. Not giving up, Achmad, who received advice from his colleague, started an online business.

At the end of 2020, Achmad decided to open his online shop in the marketplace with the consideration of a large market share and reaching all over Indonesia.

Although initially confused about running his online business, however, with the spirit of never giving up, Achmad studied hard to understand the intricacies of selling digitally.

"Initially, I was hesitant and confused. I used to selling directly to meet people, this suddenly just used a cellphone and computer. But slowly I started to enjoy it and it wasn't as difficult as I imagined, especially since I also joined the Billbel Shopee, and was taught how to start a business online. Yes, finally I enjoyed this one online sale," said Achmad

His struggles and hard work began to bear fruit, his turnover slowly increased, and his achievements became a spirit to continue to grow. By the end of 2021, Achmad's efforts began to improve with turnover which continued to increase from tens of millions to hundreds of millions.

The man also managed to build warehouses and production houses in Ciomas, Bogor Regency, West Java. In last Ramadan, Achmad's Zahra 27 Shop was able to touch turnover of up to billions of rupiah.

Not satisfied with the success in the domestic market, Achmad also uses the Shopee Export program to develop international markets.

Its batik products penetrated markets in Singapore and Malaysia, bringing its own pride in its work as an MSME fighter.

"As a batik seller, yes, I am very proud that my products can be purchased by foreign people, especially our customers in Singapore and Malaysia. Because it's that easy, so, I can sell hundreds of products per month. So, it's a shame if it's not used," said Achmad.

Shopee is the only e-commerce that allows small businesses to penetrate the export market through a cross-border commerce mechanism.

The program is a big breakthrough for local MSME players because it provides convenience for local MSME activists such as Achmad to be able to export their products to foreign countries with a very easy mechanism.

Unlike conventional export mechanisms that must meet certain quotas, the Shopee Export Program allows Achmad to export any amount of batik products, according to customer orders.

"Alhamdulillah, it's not complicated at all. We don't need to add any fees and customers also don't have to pay postage fees, it's also easy to buy one or two. I can still sell my products, which costs from IDR 40 thousand to the most expensive IDR 200 thousand," he revealed.

Thanks to his increasingly stable business, Achmad is currently able to empower his family and dozens of residents in his home environment to express ideas and energy in managing the production of the Zahra 27 Toko batik to further develop.