BEHIND THE BRAND: Optimizing the Existence of Local Products

On Saturday, March 7, Shoesmart was invited by the Indonesian Footwear Industry Development Center (BPIPI) to be a presenter in a talkshow with the themeBehind the Brand’. This Talkshow is a part of the 2020 Indonesian Footwear Creative Competition (IFCC) Roadshow Indonesian Footwear Creative Competition which was held at the Marvell City atrium, Surabaya. Hundreds of audiences, mostly young people and students majoring in product design, enthusiastically participated in a series of events initiated by BPIPI, collaborating with IFCC and Footwear Forum ID.

From left to right: Andrew, Anchor, Zikri, and Fendi (MC)

This Talkshow 'Behind the Brand' presented three very competent speakers in the Indonesian footwear industry. There was Jangkar Bawono (founder of the shoe brand 'Portblue'), Ziekry Zulfikar (Shoes Designer 'Specs'), and Andrew Daniel Tanuwijaya (Marketing Director Shoesmart). The three of them provide material on how to manage a footwear international local brand However, according to their respective professions, the topics they convey are different.

"Start selling the products you like the most," says Jangkar.

As a founder brand of the men's shoe brand 'Portblue', Jangkar describes his story of growing a brand that he initiated when he was still in college in 2014. "At first, I sold shoes by ordering them to other people's craftsmen. However, as orders started to increase, I set up My workshop ," he said. In starting a shoe business, Jangkar also suggested selling the type of shoes that you liked. "Because, starting from what we like, we will know the advantages and disadvantages of the product we want to sell," he added.

Diving into the footwear industry, shoe design matters are also not to be taken lightly. Zikri goes through various long stages when designing shoes, including the Design brief, concept, design exploration, prototype,and final review"These stages continue to be carried out in every season"These stages continue to be carried out in every season. All the manufacturing processes must be detailed and clear," said the designer, who is now a shoe designer at Specs, specifically for football and running shoes.

"All shoe design work must be detailed, clear, and carried out every season," said Zikri.

The rise of Indonesia's local shoe international local brand nd shoe designers from Indonesia certainly makes us proud. What's more, locally made products are no less good than foreign ones. Ironically, the existence of local products is very sad when viewed from the side of e-commerce which is growing so rapidly. " e-commerce growth in Indonesia has reached 369 trillion rupiah. However, the number of local products sold is less than ten percent,” said Andrew Tanuwijaya.

"It's time for MSME actors to dare to sell their products in e-commerce ," e-commerce,”

Andrew explained that the sluggishness of local products in e-commerce was not spared from the lack of interest in MSME players to sell their products on online platformThe majority of MSME actors are still 'offline-minded'. They also tend to be insecure when selling their products online, because they are not supported by good digital knowledge,” he said.

Andrew Tanuwijaya with one of the works of IFCC 2020 participants

According to Andrew, MSMEs engaged in shoes now don't need to hesitate to sell their products at Shoesmart. Shoesmart itself, as the largest shoe marketplace, is here to oversee various local Indonesian international local brand ."At Shoesmart, all shoe international local brand that join will be assisted to develop and be known by the wider community. There are no registration fees or commissions. We are here to help promote domestically made shoe products," concluded Andrew, full of hope.