Competition to Give Fashion Forward a Helping Hand
Jakarta. One hardly needs to look beyond the malls of Jakarta to see that fashion is big business in Indonesia. And for designers, retailers and entrepreneurs, the growing Indonesian population represents a huge customer base.
"According to our data, the total value of Indonesia's clothing and apparel businesses is around Rp 20 trillion [$1.4 billion] per year," said Surachmat Sunjoto, president director of LiMa Group. "It's indeed a huge industry."
LiMa, established in Jakarta in 2008, has a number of business subsidiaries ranging from housing to the agro-industry.
Subsidiary capital investment company, LiMa Ventura is a member of Indonesia's Venture Capital Association (AMVI).
Most of the stakeholders in the country's fashion industry, according to their data, are small and medium-sized businesses with a working capital of under Rp 200 million.
With such limited capital, these businesses usually find it very hard to grow and face a tough battle against international retail giants, who have found a footing in the local fashion market.
"The competition is really tough these days," said Aria Rajasa Masna, founder and owner of Tees.co.id, an online marketplace for locally designed and produced T-shirts.
"It's hard to compete with [international] competitors that have more capital, production capacity and distribution lines than we do."
And with the enactment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Economic Community (AEC) in December, more international brands will be coming to Indonesia, offering chic fashion items made with high-quality materials sold at a fraction of the prices local businesses can afford to produce and sell.
Seeing this imminent risk, LiMa presents their first business competition aimed at growing the country's small and medium-sized clothing and apparel businesses.
"It's our first business competition," said Surachmat. "And we're aiming to assist micro and medium-sized fashion businesses, including clothing, accessories and apparels that are innovative, creative and want to grow much bigger than they are now."
Any fashion business that is legally established — with a business permit (SIUP) and company registration certificates (TDP) — and has a clear organizational structure and standard operating procedure (SOP) is welcome to take part in the competition.
To enter, businesses must forward their financial model and business plan to LiMa Ventura. A sample business plan is available on the competition's website Kompetisibisnis.com.
"We guarantee the secrecy and intellectual properties of your businesses," said Agni Pratama, director of the fashion business competition.
For the inaugural competition, LiMa hope to attract at least 50 entrants. Applications are open until Sept. 15, after which the judging panel will get to work.
"The judges will have a score-sheet to evaluate all the business plans received in the competition," said Agni.
Indonesia's fashion enthusiasts make up the panel, including Surachmat Sunjoto.
"We'll be looking for the candidates that can really differentiate their products among thousands of other similar products in the market," said Surachmat.
Savina Wibowo, the first runner-up of Miss Indonesia 2005, will also help in choosing a winner.
"As a fashion lover, I will be looking for candidates with the latest designs," she said. "Their products should also be well-made, and yet affordable for most people."
The top 20 candidates will be selected by Oct. 1, and whittled down to a top 10 by Oct. 8 after submitting financial reports for further review.
"At this stage, we will carefully evaluate their expansion plans, whether it's feasible and yields favorable returns-on-investment," said Agni.
Three finalists will be announced by Oct. 15 and face the judging panel to pitch their business.
The winner will win Rp 1 billion in equity from LiMa, as well as receive business coaching sessions to mentor them to success.
Aria Rajasa Masna, owner of Tees.co.id, lauded the grand prize of the competition.
"Despite popular belief, money doesn't solve everything," said the T-shirt entrepreneur. "What's very important for start-up companies is business mentoring by experts. It can help them avoid common mistakes, which can be very costly for their businesses."
Fajar Utomo, deputy of capital access for the National Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf) and competition supervisor, praised the event's potential.
"The business competition is in line with Bekraf's programs that promote growth for the country's creative industry," said Fajar. "As what the president has said, the creative industry should be the backbone of the country.
"Indonesia's fashion market is truly immense and our businesses should be able to tap into the market rather than lett the international brands tap them," he said.
Runners-up will take home valuable feedback from judges and the chance to receive soft loans of between Rp 100 million and Rp 500 million from LiMa.
"With this competition, we really hope that Indonesian fashion businesses will not only become more creative and innovative, but also more resilient in facing today's tough competitions," said Agni Pratama.
For more information, go to: www.kompetisibisnis.com
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