JAKARTA - In the midst of the swift currents of modernization and the onslaught of large retail that have mushroomed to remote corners of the city, many grocery stores have to fight hard to keep standing. From networked minimarkets to online shopping platforms, the space for small shops in the corner of the village seems to be getting narrower. However, among these challenges, small stories emerged about resilience, collaboration, and the spirit of mutual assistance, a story where grocery stores actually became a place for their lives to return to the local economy.
One of these stories comes from the Local Corner program, an initiative from the Sampoerna Retail Community (SRC) community store network that provides space for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to market their products in SRC stores throughout Indonesia. The concept is simple, one grocery store opens space on its shelves and becomes a turning point for many businesses to find its way.
Check out three inspirational stories from Bekasi, Pontianak, and Magelang, about how the Local Corner program revives the entrepreneurial spirit and changes the fate of the family.
In Bekasi, Dwi is the owner of the SRC Toya Store which plays an important role in his environment. He is determined to make his shop not just a place to shop, but a space to support his entrepreneurial neighbors and relatives. Departing from the awareness that many home business actors have difficulty marketing their products, Dwi took the initiative to provide Local Corners at the SRC Toya Store.
"Starting from my neighbor, a mother with four children who need more income to finance her family, but the capital is small. This is what underlies me to open space for those in need, especially the surrounding MSMEs," said Mrs. Dwi, telling the story of the beginning of the Local Corner program at her shop, quoted Monday, November 17.
His goal is to help women in the surrounding environment who make local raw snacks by minimizing capital burdens for them.
Dwi's move proved to be strategic and very helpful. He implemented a consignment sales system with agreed margins, ensuring that MSMEs get fair profits. Now, the SRC Toya Store is selling well with best-selling entrusted products such as pastries, utilizer chips, bakarung, runnyness, onions, and peyek.
The achievement of the Local Corner at the SRC Toya Shop is very proud. The average turnover of deposited products reaches IDR 3.4 million per month. The impact is widespread, the neighbor's business is now employing five employees, and touchingly, Dwi is grateful to be able to see his neighbors' children attend school well thanks to the benefits of their business supported by the Local Corner.
The spirit of sharing Dwi made it an inspiration. Until 2021, the SRC Toya Store has become a sustenance bridge for more than 10 MSMEs around them to entrust their products, create a stronger mutual assistance ecosystem. We are all happy, it feels like growing together," said Dwi.
grocery stores that used to only sell daily necessities have now become a space for community economic growth, proving that amid the onslaught of modernization, grocery stores still have their own way of surviving, namely by sharing.
Meanwhile in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Iskandar is the owner of the SRC Bu Darmi Shop who is excited to empower local entrepreneurs. The initiative is very helpful for Mrs. Nyai, an MSME entrepreneur who produces nastar and orange leaf fried beans. At the age of 60, Mrs. Nyai faces big challenges ranging from limited capital, marketing networks, to legality problems that hinder her business growth.
The year 2021 will be a new chapter when Mrs. Nyai begins to entrust her products to Iskandar's Local Corner of the SRC Bu Darmi store. This partnership was welcomed and became a transformative mentoring process.
Through the Local Corner, Iskandar helped Mrs. Nyai improve product quality and facilitate the management of Domestic Industry (PIRT) permits at the local Health Office. This step significantly increases the trust of customers and nastar turnover and Nyai Mother's orange leaf fried beans.
"Through the Local Corner, I was taught the importance of quality and legality. My efforts became increasingly recognized, liked by customers, and the turnover increased," said Mrs. Nyai, grateful for the support from the shop owner. He proved that old age is not an obstacle to innovation and progress.
Now, Mrs. Nyai's efforts have empowered four employees, with stable turnover reaching IDR 2 million per month and sales reaching an average of 80 jars per month. Iskandar, the owner of Bu Darmi's SRC Store, is also a partner for three other local MSMEs, with a total turnover that has been achieved of IDR 2 million per month from their Local Corner. This story teaches that the right partnership can create new opportunities and legality amid limitations.
The success of Local Corners is not only measured by increasing turnover and legality, such as the story of Mrs. Nyai. In Magelang, shop owners SRC Rohmah proved that assistance in terms of appearance and aesthetics is also the key so that local products can actually "upgrade".
In Magelang, another story grows from the Rohmah SRC Store owned by Rohmah. This store has long been established, inherited from its parents. However, a big change occurred when he started opening the Local Corner rack for products made by local MSME entrepreneurs. One of them is from a neighbor named Dwi, who initially only sold products in ordinary plastic packages, not attracting the buyer's attention.
Realizing this visual challenge, Rohmah and Dwi participated in PKK assistance Dharma Wanita at her place of residence, learned to make more attractive and labeled packaging. "As shop owners, I am happy to see the packaging of attractive products. If the appearance is good, buyers believe, and shops also advance to class," said Rohmah, emphasizing the importance of the role of assistance in increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs.
Now, Dwi's turnover from sales at the Local Corner of the SRC Rohmah Shop reaches IDR 2 million per month, with an average sales of 90 packs of local products every month. In addition to the two employees who helped him, Dwi felt that he had a new family from MSME actors in his neighborhood.
"We are helping each other. I helped sell them, they helped fill the store store store window with a typical Magelang product," said Rohmah.
Three stories from Dwi's SRC Store in Bekasi, Iskandar in Pontianak, and Rohmah in Magelang are real faces from the impact of Local Corners on SRC stores. This program has transformed grocery stores into micro-scale business incubators. Local corneres not only solve marketing problems, but also create jobs, improve product quality through mentoring, and encourage business legality.
In fact, based on the results of Kompas Gramedia (KG) Research, the turnover of MSME products marketed through the Local Corner is estimated at IDR 5.6 trillion per year in 2022.
The philosophy behind the Local Corner is very humane, namely mutual progress. SRC Shop owners do not see MSMEs as competitors, but as strategic partners who enrich product variations and attract more customers. In this ecosystem, every pack of snacks sold, every bottle of local drinks that change hands, is the pulse of the local economy that rotates.
Local Corners are a valuable lesson about how simple collaborations that offer small spaces in store store store windows can be a solid foundation for the growth of people's economic independence. It is proof that to "upgrade", MSMEs only need opportunities and hands that are ready to embrace. At the Local Corner, the dream of MSME players to find a bright path, brings hope to families and communities throughout Indonesia.
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