My Opinion

Jakarta Material Boys Center

By admin ⋅ March 25, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

If you get a chance to wander, either deliberately or accidentally, around or past Jl. Tebet Utara Dalam on any given weekend, you will see many cars tightly parked in lines along the side of this narrow road.

Cheerful and relaxed-looking young men, together with their friends and family members, can be spotted emerging from the small clothing stores, widely known as distros, that line this road in North Tebet.

Distro is the local term for a “distribution outlet”, a store that sells fashion products like bags, T-shirts, jeans, trousers and other clothing items. The products are produced by independent companies and made in limited quantities to maintain their exclusive character.

Distros first appeared in Bandung in the 1990s. At that time, indie bands and the skateboard community were trying to sell their merchandise, like T-shirts, CDs and stickers, and they did so by opening small shops out of garages or homes.

It took some time, but eventually distro products became popular, and the manufacturers increased the quality and range of the products they were selling.

These days, distro goods are no longer linked to the indie music and skateboard community exclusively; they’ve become part of the young, modern male’s lifestyle.

If you take a look down Jl. Tebet Utara Dalam, you will see more than 10 distros. Although the goods on sale from distro to distro are similar, each store has its own style and character — such as an exclusive trademark, brand name or label, which makes it different from its rivals.

But why Tebet?

“Because this area can be accessed from East, Center and South Jakarta … it can be reached by the wider community,” said Andaru, the manager of the Nanonine distro.

“In this area, there are some famous government senior high schools … there is strong interest from the young male students.”

The geographical location of Tebet — in the middle of an area between South, Central and East Jakarta — is considered more *neutral’ compared to that of Lamandau or Cikajang; two known hang-out spots for youth in the capital.

Similar comments were made by Oscar, the manager of Gunmo Store, a distro that sells goods produced by Ouval Research, a famous trademark from Bandung. When researching the best location to open a distro, Oscar considered the Lamandau, Cikajang and Tebet areas.

Finally, he decided on Tebet because the area was deemed a more suitable location for a distro.

Andaru also decided to open a distro in Tebet after opening one in Lamandau.

“That way, we could increase our coverage,” he said.

Oscar and Andaru both say they come from indie communities: In the beginning, Ouval made merchandise for the skateboarding community in Bandung, while Nanonine supported the indie music movement in Jakarta.

Each planned to make affordable, unique merchandise that would not be available elsewhere.

“When we had the economic crisis in 1998, the skateboarders and their friends had problems getting T-shirts for their performances, because the price was so expensive,” Oscar said.

“Finally, Ouval was established to provide apparel for them.”

The Ouval trademark was then changed to Ouval Research.

Their products are now becoming more commercial; a development that has come about through market demand.

“For example, someone who wants a T-shirt comes to our store to buy one as a souvenir … then their friends come in great numbers to also buy here,” Oscar said.

“But nonetheless, we maintain the exclusivity of the products that we sell,” said Andaru.

In the past, distros were mainly concerned with producing clothing for men. Now, however, due to an increase in the number of buyers, distros have widened their range of merchandise to include goods for women.

The type of goods sold in distros has also evolved; it’s no longer just T-shirts, hats and pins, but also bags, shoes, thongs and women’s accessories.

When it comes to design, the manufacturers steer clear of sticking to the same styles and each trademark has an exclusive design.

Manufacturers often rely on the Internet or catalogs from overseas for new ideas.

“But we don’t imitate, we modify. We don’t want to be labeled copycats,” said Andaru.

To maintain the exclusivity of their merchandise, manufacturers make only 20 copies of each product and spread these among their outlets. They do this to guarantee that the same product will not be seen worn by everyone on the street.

The materials they use for their products are sourced from within the country to keep the prices within reach of their customers.

“The Indonesian materials for T-shirts are very good,” Oscar said proudly.

Over time, the distro concept and name has become more flexible. Andaru doesn’t call Nanonine a distro, but a “concept store”.

His store displays around 30 brand-name products that have been chosen for their design, material and continuity.

They also include the Nanonine trademark.

Andaru wants the goods in his store to make a different statement to the fashion world.

Oscar, meanwhile, classifies Gunmo Store as a distro, even though the only goods sold carry the Ouval Research trademark.

Whatever their names, the items found in these distros have been produced to keep up with the expanding indie trend among young people, not only in Jakarta, but throughout Indonesia.

“We even sell to Timika (in Papua),” Oscar said.

~Jakarta Post