Retail Entrepreneurs Complain About Losing Against Illegal Imported Goods: People Buy Thrifting

Chairman of Aprindo Roy Nicholas Mandey (left). (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Retail entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Aprindo) complain that they are less competitive against illegal imported goods.

The public is considered to prefer to buy imported goods or thrifting rather than shopping at modern retailers.

Chairman of Aprindo Roy Nicholas Mandey said that the shift in public interest in buying illegal imported goods made retailers lose competitiveness.

"But we often lose, because of illegal goods, the fake goods that come in are out of nowhere," he said at the Gambir Talk event, in Jakarta, Wednesday, August 14.

The public buys it to thrifting. No longer to retailers who pay taxes, who employ labor, contribute VAT to the state, even thrifting that does not use taxes. There is no tax label. This (peretel) is dealing with this situation or condition," he continued.

According to Roy, the competition between thrifting products and goods being sold in retail is unbalanced.

He said the used clothes were sold for only Rp. 15,000, even Rp. 100,000 received six pants.

"Well, this is what we often worry about, we lose not because we lose compete, lose because it is illegal, with fake," he said.

In fact, according to Roy, illegal goods entering Indonesia are not only marketed and sold offline but also online.

"This of course hopes that the level of the same playing will not occur offline but also offline, because of course it is easier to enter what is illegal from online because there is no visible person selling and the shop," he said.

Therefore, according to Roy, there needs to be supervision of the circulation of illegal imported goods in the country.

Both those who enter through official doors such as ports and airports, as well as those entering through the rat route.

"This is what needs to be deepened when we are still a consumer country, not an exporter country," he explained.