Wake up Indonesian Brands

Before you start reading this post, try to name at least five Indonesian brands which are famous regionally or internationally within five minutes.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five…and stop!

So how, do you manage to name five? Or even not a single one?

I couldn’t name one within five minutes. Maybe I could if the time limit is extended to 10 minutes, well umm maybe 20, or erm, an hour…I’m not sure. I won’t say that there are none but maybe there aren’t many Indonesian brands out there that have gained regional or international fame. This is a problem for our country. We almost don’t have powerful brands recognized by the international community. It’s ironic and sad because we have the resources, creativities, and talents yet until now we are still not able to make full use of them to create world-leading brands.

In fact, we are left behind the other Asian countries as Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. Malaysia got Royal Selangor, a successful international brand which is now retailed in upscale outlets around the world, such as Harrods of London, David Jones of Australia, and the museum of Modern Art Gift Shop in New York. Next, Malaysia got Padini Holdings, the mother company of Malaysians well-known brands such as Padini, PDI, and the one and only VINCCI. Last but not least, Malaysia has Air Asia, the Asia’s most famous affordable flights.

Taiwan has Acer and NAUTICA. Yes, NAUTICA was actually made by a Taiwanese- born business man named David Chu (I was a bit surprised when I knew this, I used to think NAUTICA was an European or American brand such as CAT or Lacoste). Singapore is famous for its Singapore Airlines and SingTel. The last is Japan, which I don’t need to tell because I’m sure y’all could name the brands less within 5 minutes.

Then what happened to Indonesia? It’s about time for us to take more account on this matter because the impact of international brand is not only beneficial for the host companies, but it will also give a lot contribution for our country, especially in terms of economical factor. Besides that, having strong domestic brands which are known worldwide would give a good image for Indonesia. They would be the country’s representatives in the international community. So the world will know that we actually have ‘the quality’ to compete.

I think this ‘left behind’ situation is not an obstacle, but it is actually an opportunity for us to create strong brands of our own. Remember, we already had the resources, creativities, and talents, we only need to build-up our will and passion to create something brilliant from these valuable assets.

It’s nice to know that Indonesia already had a few strong brands which are known internationally but still formed as small players. For example: Batik Iwan Tirta, which is adored by foreigners and a batik boutique named Bin House, one of the famous foreign tourist destinations in Jakarta. These brands are on their way to soar and hopefully they will achieve international success as Royal Selangor or NAUTICA.

As Indonesian young generations, we need to be optimistic and inspired because who knows, we might be the future creators of world-leading brands. Think globally, start today because big success comes up from little things