Sarinah
| Sarinah | |
|---|---|
 Sarinah Department Store | |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial |
| Architectural style | International style, Postmodernism |
| Address |
Jalan M. H. Thamrin No. 11 Gondangdia, Menteng, Central Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 6°11′15″S 106°49′26″E / 6.187587°S 106.823829°E |
| Opened | August 1966 |
| Design and construction | |
| Main contractor | Obayashi Corporation |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Sarinah, dubbed "The Indonesian Emporium", is a department store in Gondangdia, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is located at the intersection of Jalan Kyai Haji Wahid Hasyim and Jalan M. H. Thamrin. Sarinah is Jakarta's first modern department store, famous for having Indonesia's first escalators, for being air-conditioned and for having electronic cash registers.[1]
Operator
Sarinah is owned and operated by PT Sarinah (Persero), which was incorporated on 17 August 1962 as PT Department Store Indonesia. The entity is wholly owned by the government of Indonesia and was renamed in 1979.[2]
History
In the early 1960s Indonesia was hit by very high inflation rates. President Sukarno believed that a department store would act as a price stabilizer to help keep prices under control, a view he formed after visiting several communist capitals including Moscow, Prague and Warsaw.[3] The department store was built by Obayashi Corporation using Japanese war reparation funds and opened in August 1966.[4][5] The project was conceived by President Sukarno, who named it Sarinah after his childhood nanny.[1][2]
In an effort to pursue its price stabilization agenda, state-owned Sarinah department store published weekly grocery price lists. However, it failed almost immediately in this role as there was a limit to what one store or even a few stores could do in such a large country. Sarinah struggled to compete with other retailers and went into debt as it expanded aggressively into other cities in Indonesia.[1]
In the early 1970s, in an effort to survive, Sarinah moved its focus to local handicrafts, especially the Batik. Sarinah is still best known for Batik today. In 1973, Sukarno affirmed that "The Sarinah department store will become one of the important tools for the organization of Indonesian socialism..." and "if Sarinah sells a blouse for 10 rupiah then another retailer will not dare to sell the same blouse for 20 rupiah".[3]
In the 1990s, after leasing out some of its space to the McDonalds and Hard Rock Cafe, Sarinah managed to rejuvenate itself as a popular place for young people.[1]
Now
On 14 January 2016, multiple explosions and gunfire occurred near Sarinah.[6] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility.[7] 8 people were killed, 4 civilians and all 4 attackers.[8]
Barack Obama remembers this building as the tallest building in Jakarta when he was there.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Merrillees 2015, p. 107.
- 1 2 "Sarinah 2014 Annual Report" (PDF). PT Sarinah (Persero). April 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- 1 2 Merrillees 2015, p. 106.
- ↑ Rimmer & Dick 2009, p. 179.
- ↑ Shimizu 2008, p. 158.
- ↑ "Blasts, gunfight in Indonesian capital; at least three dead". Reuters. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ Penny Spiller, Claudia Allen, Alastair Lawson, Tessa Wong, Saira Asher, Heather Chen, Simeon Paterson & Naziru Mikailu (14 January 2016). "As it happened: Jakarta attacks". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
- ↑ "Jakarta attacks: Convicted militant named as attacker". BBC News. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
Cited works
- Merrillees, Scott (2015). Jakarta: Portraits of a Capital 1950-1980. Jakarta: Equinox Publishing. ISBN 9786028397308.
- Rimmer, Peter J.; Dick, Howard (2009). The City in Southeast Asia: Patterns, Processes and Policy. Singapore: NUS Press. ISBN 978-9971-69-426-5.
- Shimizu, Hiroshi (2008). Japanese Firms in Contemporary Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press. ISBN 978-9971-69-384-8.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sarinah. |