Building A Big Dream From A Small City: The Struggle Of A Former Kernet Truck Driver To Build A World-Scale Fashion Business

The owner of the clothing autodsuply brand, Febrianto Eka Wijaya. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - In the midst of the rapid development of e-commerce, an inspirational story emerged from a young urban entrepreneur on the eastern tip of the island of Java. Starting from his dream of bringing local products from Banyuwangi to the global stage, Febrianto Eka Wijaya built his own local fashion brand, called ootdsupply in 2017.

Before establishing himself in business, Febri had actually tried to try to guess his fate in several types of work, ranging from the truck driver's kernet, roadside bakers, working at one of the telecommunications companies, to being a dropshipper at Shopee. Unexpectedly, this experience as a dropshipper has finally become an inspiration and a turning point for Febri's success in building autopsuply.

"I started doing business with a dropship system in Shopee that is easy and doesn't require big capital. My experience being a dropshipper is what made me dare to try to build my own fashion business because I saw a very big market opportunity at Shopee. With full confidence and modest business science, I finally tried to venture to build an ootdsupply with a capital of 5 million rupiahs when I was 19 years old," said the man who is familiarly called Febri, quoted Wednesday, November 20.

The success of ootdsupply is not the result of mere luck. Febri's efforts to continue to learn and improve its business strategy have succeeded in bringing ootdsuply into a local brand that is not only famous in Indonesia, but has also succeeded in reaching overseas buyers. Here are some of the strategies carried out by Febri:

1. Consistency in Doing business in achieving targets

Febri realized that business success could not be achieved in just an instant. Consistency is the main key to Febri's success in building ootdsuply over the past few years. Febri's early failure to build ootdsuply did not make him discouraged.

When we started a business, we never knew when the business could achieve the expected target. At the beginning of building ootdsupply, I also experienced a lot of difficulties. However, I continue to consistently try to get up by creating more new product designs that are more market fit. This effort has proven to help my business grow and I can even increase the credibility of my shop at Shopee by becoming a Shopee Mall seller. The key is we have to keep trying and not break the spirit," said the 27-year-old man.

2. Dare to Invest in the E-commerce Feature

Febri emphasized how important it is to understand and take advantage of all the features and programs available on Shopee to optimize business performance. Febri believes that the use of appropriate e-commerce features and programs can help business people maximize their business potential.

We have to take advantage of social media and e-commerce as the main channel for selling. Learn and understand what features and programs are suitable for our business. The success of autodsuply is inseparable from the investments we make in participating in Shopee's monthly campaigns, Shopee Ads, XTRA Free Promos, and maximizing Shopee Live and Shopee Video features. We have also joined the Shopee Export Program and this program has succeeded in helping us reach buyers to Malaysia and Singapore. In essence, don't be afraid to try and invest in features and programs that are effective for our business," he explained.

3. Adaptive to Developing Trends

In the midst of the rapid current market development, fashion business players seem to be required to always be adaptive to the existing fashion trend. Fashion business people must also continue to strive to ensure their products remain relevant to the targeted audience. Febri believes that speed in adapting to trends can be the main strategy to win competition in the fashion industry.

The fashion industry is one of the most competitive industries. As fashion business players, we must be sensitive and quickly adapt to the growing fashion trend in society. Understand market needs and offer products that have different selling values from competitors, such as unique designs, competitive product prices, and of course maintaining the quality of the best products," concluded Febri.

Thanks to tireless efforts, Febri managed to employ 80 local employees around Banyuwangi and bring their products abroad. Not only opening up jobs, but ootdsuply has now also received monthly business turnover of up to billions of rupiah.

Even in 2024, the total ootdsuply products successfully exported through the Shopee Export Program will increase 10 times compared to 2023. In line with Shopee's commitment to supporting MSMEs, Shopee strives to continue to create an inclusive ecosystem and provide programs that support the growth and long-term success of MSMEs and local brands in Indonesia.