Entering Indonesia: Localisation is essential

Speaking at the World Retail Congress in Singapore yesterday, Henri Honoris, president director at Modern Putra Indonesia/7-Eleven, shared ways in which 7-Eleven has tailored itself to local habits. Stores in Indonesia offers more fresh food than in other markets, for example. “And Indonesians don’t walk, so we also prepare parking space for them,” he said.

He added that the brand's stores in the country provide tables and chairs, as Indonesians love to hang out with their friends.

Honoris was speaking in a panel discussion titled, “Indonesia: The jewel in the crown of Southeast Asia”, together with Anand J Mehta, director of retail industry for SEA, India, Japan, Korea at Motorola Solutions, as well as VP Sharma, CEO at Mitra Adi Perkasa.

Mitra Adi Perkasa represents more than 100 brands in Indonesia, including Starbucks, Burger King, Dorothy Perkins, Nine West, Adidas, Kinokuniya and Debenhams.

The session was chaired by Paul Martin, managing director at Planet Retail. Based on a survey by his firm, Martin noted, grocery stores are growing in Indonesia, with the top three retailers being homegrown brands.

Yet Indonesians love foreign brands, Honoris noted, adding that international brand awareness among Indonesian consumers is high. Modern Putra Indonesia/7-Eleven has plans to open 120 new convenience stores this year.

Sharma, meanwhile noted that infrastructure and logistics are big challenges in Indonesia, but ones that brands must tackle because the growth taking place outside Jakarta is stronger than that in Jakarta itself.

For 7-Eleven, the infrastructure includes logistics, training centres, human resources, central kitchens and warehouses. Honoris said the company is in partnership with DHL to invest in infrastructure, and added that it is important for companies to work, invest and grow together.

Indonesia is experiencing even faster growth than other countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Mehta said.

He also noted that mobile commerce would surpass electronic commerce. “The landscape is rapidly migrating towards mobile commerce," he said. "This will be absolutely huge in Indonesia. Consumers are not buying laptops because affordability is an issue. If they have a dollar to spend on a device, they will spend it on a mobile.”