Supporting MSMEs, The Government Changes Sarinah To 100 Percent Of Local Brands

Illustration of Sarinah building (Angga Nugraha/VOI)

JAKARTA - The government is increasingly serious about supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to rise and develop.

Various efforts have been made, one of which is the Proud National Movement Program Made in Indonesia (BBI). The goal is for people to love local products and help the sector.

Most recently, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has echoed the campaign to hate foreign products.

This call is a form of the role of the state to provide greater opportunities for local products.

Therefore, Jokowi asked for strategic space in public areas and private trade centers to be given to MSMEs rather than imported products in both shopping centers and digital trading platforms.

"Do not let the front room, strategic locations, instead be filled with brands from abroad, this must begin to be shifted. They are shifted to a place that is not strategic. A strategic place, a good location provides space for local brands," he said, Thursday, February 4.

The former governor of DKI Jakarta said that Indonesia's population of more than 270 million people and as a very large market should be used so that people are more loyal and love products made by the nation.

Therefore, Jokowi asked that branding be attached so that people love original products made in Indonesia more than foreign products.

"So that our people really become loyal consumers of Indonesian products," he said.

Sarinah 100 percent for local brands

Following Jokowi's wishes, BUMN Minister Erick Thohir plans to encourage domestic products through PT Sarinah (Persero). He also plans to open market access for domestic products to international markets.

"We change Sarinah 100 percent to the local brand, but we know that this retail business is sunset, if we don't have strong market access it's also hard. That's why from the beginning we said Sarinah besides we have a local brand that is curated but also supported by the financing," he said in Hipmi national working meeting, Friday, March 5.

Erick stated that entrepreneurs who sell their products in Sarinah will be assisted in their marketing. This is because he is aware that selling local products will be difficult if there is no market access.

"So later in the Sarinah Building there will be a trading house above directly, so people see that there are 10 pieces of good batik below. Japanese people want to buy how to become a licensor, buy 2 containers directly from the transaction above and these are all digital," he said.

Target Sarinah to bring 10 UMKM products worldwide

As is known, PT Sarinah (Persero) collaborated with Dufry and the Omega Mexico industrial group at the Indonesian Embassy in Mexico City. Dufry is a leading company in the travel retail sector with more than 2400 outlets in 400 locations worldwide.

This MoU outlines several mutually beneficial business opportunities for the company and the most strategic one is Sarinah as the only retail SOE in the tourism cluster and a supporter of pioneering international markets within the framework of multilateral trade.

This kind of cooperation model is aimed at realizing the identity of this nation which is rich in diversity through showcases or exhibiting permanently in the world's premium retail markets.

Some of the other benefits contained in this Memorandum of Understanding are the availability of the Indonesian Corner and House of Indonesia in various outlets and shopping centers that are Dufry's networks in the world.

With this collaboration, Erick hopes that Sarinah can also focus on curating and selecting premium MSME and Indonesian products, world quality and according to market interests and tastes in the world's duty-free product category.

Furthermore, Erick said that Sarinah, who will enter the international retail and duty-free market league, also needs to increase the capacity of both institutions and human resources through the scouting process and learning world retail management from Dufry.

"For the first stage, I am targeting at least 10 superior Indonesian products that can be marketed through this collaboration and hopefully there will be more opportunities for local products and MSMEs to go global," said Erick Thohir, Monday, November 9, 2020.