The store, launched yesterday on the ground floor of Ezdan Mall, is the first-ever
in the Gulf region set up by the Indonesian government, writes Umer Nangiana
Adding an all-new dimension to Qatar’s thriving hospitality and lifestyle landscape, Indonesia has launched Archi, a retail store of products coming straight from the hands of the island-country’s creative craftsmen.
Located on the ground floor of Ezdan Mall in Gharrafa, the shop is the first-ever in the Gulf region established by the Indonesian government through its Directorate General of Small and Medium Industry (DGSMI).
Archi — inspired by the word archipelago, meaning a group of islands — features lifestyle products with the latest trends in design but with an added value of a personal touch by Indonesia’s world famous local artisans.
It is a modern retail space created to enhance lifestyle experiences focusing on hospitality service-based products from hotel and resort decoration, amenities, restaurants, clubs and spas. Archi store offers premium selection of materials from across the archipelago.
Director General of DGSMI of Indonesia, Euis Saedah, formally inaugurated the store at a colourful ceremony organised by the embassy of Indonesia in Ezdan Mall yesterday.
“Introduction of our products [to a foreign land] is very important in order to make people aware of the products of Indonesia and their quality. And from this, we can go a step further to trading and not just limiting ourselves to retailing. Trading is especially suitable for hotels. They can order in big numbers,” Saedah told Community.
For the time being, she said, her department is presenting hospitality products from Indonesia at Archi. They are all handmade objects crafted in traditional style but with a modern touch. The director general added that all the products are made through environment-friendly practices and processes where they do not cut trees, and instead make use of the waste materials in combination with recycled and new material to create high quality products.
Archi, she said, is just a beginning. “We can look for other opportunities after accessing the market preferences and customers’ buying trends. So, next time maybe we can bring electronics and bicycles for instance,” she added.
Referring to a vintage-looking radio set at the store, the director general DGSME said electronics are one of the 10 biggest exports of Indonesia. The radio, for instance, is crafted and designed by renowned designers and this product is already being exported to Middle East, she said.
“I see a lot of potential for Indonesian products in the Qatari market for example spare parts of vehicles, fashion products, jewellery, petro chemical products, etcetera. There is a lot Indonesia can export to Qatar,” said Saedah.
It was her first visit to Doha. The director general was hopeful that the store would prove the starting point for further business opportunities for Indonesia.
“This is small but beautiful and I believe in think big, start small and move fast,” she added.
Qatar and Indonesia, she said, enjoy cordial relations. “We have a rich cultural diversity in Indonesia, which makes our products very special and unique. Now, we are working on making our products reach a wider audience and more people across the world including Qatar and the Middle East,” said Saedah.
Shinta Dewi, Merchandiser and Consultant from Indonesia, while explaining the range of products on display in the store, said they have a variety of “unmatchable lifestyle and hospitality products” to offer.
“The products are coming from Indonesia and we have them in lots of categories. We have home furnishing products such as wall decors, lightings, furniture, bath accessories, etcetera, and we represent the small scale entrepreneur in Indonesia,” said Dewi.
The products are coming from all over Indonesia. The store coordinates the supply through managed communication between the ports, warehouses and the retailers to ensure there is a new product in the market every three months.
Highlighting the specialities, Dewi said that the different lightings available in the store were true excellence of craftsmanship. “The chairs here are unique and vintage. You would not find such items anywhere else,” she said, pointing to a variety of chairs.
She said the Indonesian products are mostly handmade so the prices are a bit on the higher side. It is the first Archi shop in Middle East and with this they intend to make ways to penetrate deeper into the market.
Saedah said, “Indonesia is rich in cultural heritage that can become an inspiration to produce creative products in home furnishing. However, development of small scale creative industry still faces a few obstacles such as lack of promotional media.”
Therefore, this retail store, she added, is expected to become a breakthrough in marketing Indonesian products by establishing cooperation with Qatar for the Middle East market.
Archi offers products from Indonesia with a local value that has been transformed into contemporary design spirit.
“The decision to feature locally-inspired contemporary design products is a statement on how the future of Indonesian design will be. This approach is hoped to be a smart way to boost the products’ competitiveness in the global market that will lead to bigger sales,” explained Irvan Noe’man, an Indonesian senior designer.
“A good sale of the products will provide a sustainable employment for the craftsmen in Indonesia. And consequently, through these products Indonesia’s rich culture will be promoted in the foreign countries,” the designer added.
The opening of Archi is expected to broaden Indonesia’s small scale creative industry’s access to global markets. With the opening of Archi, the DGSME wishes to enhance the ability of small sale creative industry to compete in the global market.
“We need to enhance the quality of our human resources and entrepreneurs. We also need to add value and broaden our access to the other markets,” Saedah added.
“We choose Qatar as the first foreign country to open Archi shop because the domestic market of Qatar has big potential and has yet not been explored by products from Indonesia, therefore, giving Indonesia a chance to broaden its export market,” stated the director general.
Qatar, as a country with highest GDP per capita in the world will be the host of FIFA 2022 World Cup and this, she added, has positively impacted the development growth in hospitality and service based industry.
This opportunity and potential is what Archi is trying to grab, focusing on the product line it offers. To be able to fulfil this dream, the Ministry of Industries of Indonesia has worked closely with practitioners in the field and received full support from the Embassy of Indonesia in Qatar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, said Saedah.
Considering the needs of the overseas buyers of the Indonesian products, Archi also caters to private buyers, hotels, resorts, interior decorators and designers, contractors and developers, villa owners, wholesalers and retailers of home wares.
The store specialises in custom design using variety of materials such as teak wood furniture, rattan and synthetic rattan furniture as well as soft furnishings, clothing, stone and wood carvings, timber, stainless steel, teak outdoor furniture — creating a relationship between space and lifestyle with liberty and goodwill.
You can also explore Indonesia with more than 600 images of arts and crafts exclusively displayed at the Archi shop.
