Tradition For Sale:Batik, Local Heritage, and Capital Investment

Semiarto A. Purwanto and Anggun YuliaDepartment of Anthropology

University of IndonesiaKampus UI Depok 16424 Indonesia

semiarto.aji09@ui.ac.id

Abstract - In the age of information andcommunication technology today, the batik productionand distribution have also changed accordingly. Froman artisanal products to home industry, batik is nowmanufactured and distributed in boutique, show rooms,groceries, and by online. Our findings derived from twomonths ethnographic observation in Trusmi, Cirebon,West Java showed that the nature of batik productionand distribution has significantly changed compared toour previous observation (Purwanto 2002). As a centerof traditional hand made batik, Trusmi was famous forits local motives and patterns composed by local batikartisans. However, when the observation took place in2016, we found that manufactured-batik has been themain commodity in dozens of batik boutiques andshowrooms. They were sold as shirts, dresses, and otherready-to-wear apparels. Batik in form of textille andfabric is only found in small amount. Using ‘BatikTrusmi’ wholesale as a case study, we would like todescribe and analyze how cultural commodity, such asbatik, is marketed in this modern and globalized time.We emphasize the role cultural expressions and use ofall local sentiments regarding batik and other rural andtraditional life by the shop owner to increase sales.

Index Terms - Batik, Trusmi, Indonesia,cultural expression, economic commodity, marketing,retail store

I. Introduction

This paper discuss strategy to market batikin the most recent Indonesia that involving capitalinvestment and cultural commodification. Peoplemostly recognizes batik as part of artistic work ofIndonesia, as well as a traditional motives of clothes[13]. More than a cultural identity and expression,batik also become part of the community's economy[15] and national income. Its role in propping up theindustry has been recognized since the colonialperiod [17]. Batik has become the main commodityfor the capitalist during the colonial period back inthe XIX to early XX century. The Chinese and Arabdescent in Indonesia, formerly known as NetherlandIndia, has been the pioneer for the business. The

trend continued until the country’s independent in1945 to early 1970s. The introduction of modernmanufactured textiles during the modernization era inthe seventies has made batik industry decline. Therise and fall of batik industry is actually very relatedto technology and trends in the market, as well asstate policy [4].

As a commodity with a very strong culturalbasis, conversation about batik is not just a merebusiness affair. Places batik as a cultural object that isvery much attached to the community [13]. In thesame direction, we see also connect batik with othervariables such as with the craftsmen as batikproducers, labors who work in batik industry,knowledge about batik motives, the meaning of batikfor community which in some places still regard it asa sacred value. On the other hand, there are oftenother aspects that must be put forward whendiscussing batik business.

Selecting a batik showroom in Trusmi, WestJava as a case study, we will describe how thechanges took place on the marketing aspects of batikas a distinctive cultural commodity of Trusmi.Further analysis is done on a wholesale in Trusmiwhich actively uses cultural strategies and utilizes allthe local sentiments regarding batik and other ruraland traditional life to increase sales.

II. Methods

The data was gathered from a two-monthsfield research using ethnographic methods in 2016.We interviewed owners and showrooms managementin Trusmi village, shopkeepers, and batik craftsmen,and senior batik artists. In addition to focus on batikmarketing aspects in BT, we also explore the processof production and marketing of batik in the village.Observation on the arrangement of merchandise inthe showroom becomes our priority, followed byseries of depth interview to explore the marketingstrategy of the shop owners. Furthermore, theanalysis is carried out qualitatively by addressing thethemes that appear in our interview transcript. Then

52Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research (ASSEHR), volume 161International Conference on Issues in Social and Education Research (ICISER 2017)

we examine the content of them to interpreted thefindings.

III. Literature Review

Prospective buyers' views on products aredetermined by the store's atmosphere [14]. While theatmosphere is influenced by four things: storelocation and customer services, store ambience anddesign, product quality and features and instorecustomer convenience. Buyers will visit locationswhere they can easily reach which are placescharacterized by high accessibility and ease ofachievement. When all these necessary conditions aremet, a shop owner may expect buyers to come again.At the end, a store loyalty that refers to customer'swillingness to continue shopping from time to timewill be achieved. In this case, interrelationshipsbetween store attributes, shopping enjoyment, placeattachments, and store loyalty to a product becomesimportant. In short, he mentioned about significantstore attributes that make visitors comfortable are theatmosphere, price, leisure, design, and service.

There are several way to create ambiencethat positively attract consumers. Store display is oneof them. Researchers said that store display canemotionally effect on consumer [11]. Merchandiseshould be placed in particular orders and places to beable to draw attention of potential customers. How itappears in display is really important; merchandisedisplayed in a place with proper lighting, forexample, can invite consumer’s eye to starring at andthink about having one of them [16]. In addition tolighting, visualizing merchandise to create a positivestore environment has also consider the display itself,layout, coordination, merchandise assortment, andsignage [12].

Price is always becomes customers’ mainconsideration. In the fashion business which latelybecomes competitive, store owners have to carefullyhas to be very carefully examine what constitute theprice. A research on the price of batik Trusmiconsideration made by batik seller [2]. Aside fromthe motives of the textile, the way its producedwhether it handmade or manufactured, she explainsthat the material used to color batik is also importantto include in pricing. An environmentally friendlinessapparently has became a new sentiment for theconsumer to buy traditional textiles.

The local consumers in Indonesia arereally sensitive to price [10]. It means that storeowners have to think over the price constitution,even the loyal customers are sometimes changetheir choice to find a more reasonable price. Somecommon way for pricing is by giving an oddnumber for the price. Overall, providing productinformation on a sign without price elicited higher

likelihood to buy than providing a sign with price.The authors found a positive relationship betweenvisual attention to price on the display sign andlikelihood to buy, but an inverse relationshipbetween visual attention to information andlikelihood to buy [7]

IV. Data and Discussion

• The Village of TrusmiTrusmi is the center of batik industry located

in Plered, Cirebon, about four kilometers west ofCirebon City, in West Java province. It is actuallycomprise of two different village namely TrusmiWetan and Trusmi Kulon, however the outsidersbatik buyers mostly do not really aware of thisadministrative division. Batik craftsmen in the villageof Trusmi and its surroundings in subdistricts ofPlered and Kedawung, amounted to 4,462 workers in2016. In Cirebon regency, there are 521 unit ofworkshops are registered to produce batik with totalproduction more than 460,000 pieces each year. Thetable 1 below show us some data on the batikproduction in Cirebon regency.

TABLE 1.Some Facts on Batik Business in Cirebon

No. Data Remarks1 Location Subdistricts of Plered and

Kedawung2 Number of enterprise 5213 Number of

workforce4,462

4 Number ofproduction

460,460 pieces/year

5 Production value IDR 65,560,443,000/year6 Foreign distribution Japan, Brunei, Thailand,

PhilippinesSource: Disperindag Cirebon 2017

The 2016 production value of batik inCirebon reached IDR 65,560,443,000 or equal toUSD 5,043,111/year, if the currency rate is IDR13,000 for one dollar. That means, the average ofproduction value was USD 9,680/year for eachworkshop; not too much interesting for the business.In other words, the competition for selling in thelocal market is very high. in Trusmi, especiallyTrusmi Kulon where our observation took place, thecompetitiveness of batik business was not representby the number of artisan and their labor, but by thenumber of showrooms. Table 2 indicates the numberof showrooms in the Trusmi and its surroundings.

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TABLE 2Number of Showrooms in Trusmi and Arounds

No. Name of village No. of showroom

1 Panembahan 142 Trusmi Kulon 453 Trusmi Wetan 74 Kalitengah 75 Weru Lor 46 Kalibaru 27 Dawuan 1

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The table above shows how Trusmi Kulon isbecome the center of batik business. There are 45showrooms operated there compared with othervillages which in total comprise less than a half ofshowrooms in Trusmi Kulon.

Cirebon batik handicraft is attached to KiBuyut Trusmi, a figure in the era of the kingdom ofCirebon 15-16 century whose name became the nameof his residence. The triumph of Trusmi as the centerof the batik industry was in the decade of 1930marked by the emergence of a group of Chinesebusinessmen. At the time of the independencerevolution, the workers took over the batik industryfrom the hands of Chinese businessmen. Initiallybatik was produced by writing technique, thenrepaired with stamp technology in the 1850s. For ahundred years, this stamp technology makes batikgrows as a big industry. The golden age of batikhandicrafts in this area occurred during the period1950-1968. No wonder if a cooperative at the locallevel, Batik Cooperative Budi Tresna shade batikcrafters, able to build a very grand building in early1950. In 1968, the first batik showroom was openedby a senior batik crafter. Slowly afterwards batikshowrooms became the main store to sell batik inTrusmi to replace batik cooperative.

• Batik Wholesale Center BTThe showroom owner, Ibnu Riyanto, is the

son of a well-known batik entrepreneur in TrusmiVillage, Rusima. This man born in 1988 previouslyhad the first batik showroom with the name of IBRstands from Ibnu Bersama Istri (Ibnu and wife) orIbnu Bin Rusima. Riyanto who has startedentrepreneurship since graduating high school in2006 has a high motivation for business. In 2011, hebuilt his second showroom by renting a former rattanmill area of 1.5 hectars. The showroom is namedafter Batik Wholesale Center 'Batik Trusmi'. Thebuilding is one of the largest and magnificent amongall batik showroom located in Trusmi. Inaugurated inconjunction with the batik claim as Malaysiancultural heritage that many reap protests in Indonesia,

Batik Wholesale Center 'Batik Trusmi' get a goodmomentum. The shop was crowded since the first dayit opened.

During the first year, Riyanto only soldshirts and batik cloth. However, in the followingyear, market demand is changing. Consumers arelooking for typical foods and beverages of Cirebon tobe made souvenirs. Riyanto’s showroom becomesmore varied, not only sell batik in the form of clothand shirt but also dress of woman, dress and gamis(moslem long dress for man), and souvenir typical ofCirebon like crackers, fishes, terasi (shrimp paste),and fruit syrups. Also available are variousaccessories such as sculptures and knick-knacks,sandals, and shoes obtained by distributors fromother regions in Yogyakarta, Bandung, Indramayu,Kuningan and Madiun. In 2015, Riyanto acceptsoffers in collaboration with e-commerce such asBlibli.com and Zalora.

This impressive progress seems to haveother consequences. The name of Wholesale Batik'Batik Trusmi' showroom was sued by other Trusmibatik traders. They consider that the Trusmi Batik is ageneric name that should not be a trademark.Through a long discussion with other crafters, tradersand shipowners, Riyanto changed the name of theshowroom into Batik Wholesale Center BT.

• Merchandise settings at Batik BT WholesaleCenter

Below we will describe the various ways ofsetting up merchandise by adapting the models fromprevious retail management experts that combinephysical and emotional elements, and tangible andingtangible attributes from the store's atmosphere.

Batik Wholesale Center BT is located atJalan Raya Trusmi Kulon no. 148, Cirebon. Thebuilding is located at a crossroads between themarket of Kalalaran and the Sheikh Datul Kahfistreet with a large yard for the parking of four-wheeled vehicles. The location of Batik WholesaleCenter BT is strategic because it is only about 100meters from the gate to dozens of other showroomsalong Trusmi village road.

The visitors enter through the entrancethrough the main building of the Grand Store whichprovides the main merchandise which is a collectionof batik products, and typical souvenirs from Cirebonand other areas. When entered, on the right side thereis information center and visitors can leave luggagein the place. Sales Promotion Girl and security guardswill greet visitors by offering assistance whilerepeatedly saying "excuse me, good day! Cananybody help? “to those who come. Toilets andcashiers are available at the very back.

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The exit door was close. Above the exitgate, there are photos and travel stories of IbnuRiyanto, some awards, and news coverage in someprinted media neatly framed. When out of area 1 and2, visitors can enter Batik Kitchen restaurant thatprovides traditional food and beverage menu. Inaddition to restaurants, Batik Kicthen providesmeeting rooms for rent. Being near the restaurant is areflexology room provided for visitors afterexhaustion around the showroom. From therestaurant, visitors can walk backwards to thePelataran Seni (Art Courtyard), an area that is alsothe most visited by visitors and is usually the lastarea.

When starting his business Riyanto onlysells batik in the form of clothes and shirts. In thefollowing year, his business has progressed relativelyrapidly. So that he provides a variety of fashiongoods like shoes, shawls, batik mats, blouses, blezer,pillowcases and bed sheets to bags. The mannequinsat the front of the store became one of the consumer'scenter of attention. This is important to attract theattention of consumers, visitors and tourists to enterthe store. The storefront contains a cloth with well-known motifs such as megamendung and pagalima.

Store decoration is usually associated withspecial events or celebration days such as fasting andIdul Fitri, Independence Day, Valentine's Day, NewYear Eve, etc. Decoration is done by arranging someclothes that are promo at the front near the visitorsenter. In addition, the colors in the store aredominated by certain colors like red and green toattract attention.

V. Ambience and Positioning

Riyanto seeks to leave a strong impressionthat visitors feel the rural atmosphere. Apparently hetried to associate batik with traditions, traditions withrural, and rural atmosphere with distinctive culturaltraits. In addition to the stage decoration filled withmegamendung batik paintings, the roofs made ofwoven bamboo with brown color make visitors morefeel the rural atmosphere attached to all thingstraditional. To complete the traditional atmosphere,Riyanto built an arts court in the BT Wholesale BatikCenter complex.

The art courtyard has various activities.While the wholesale is open from 08:00 to 20:00 forweekdays and another extra hour at the weekend, the'batik corner' open from 09:00 to 17:00 daily. Afemale employee is appointed as coordinator to thatcorner to organize batik making demonstrations andprovide short training for visitors to learn how tomake batik. In the afternoon at 14:00 until 18:00

visitors are entertained by traditional Cirebon dancessuch as bugis ronggeng dance and mask dance on theart stage performed by local high school students.The visitors can see the art performances withouthaving to pay for tickets, but they can give donationsprovided in the cardboard box in front of the stage.

In addition to featuring performance art,Riyanto also provides a corner to learn to createtraditional arts for visitors. They can learn to do glasspainting, t-shirt painting, and mask coloring bypaying Rp. 20,000 - 35,000 equal to US 2-3.Certainly, they can also learn to make batik. The artscourtyard has 20 units of batik making which can beused for 5 people. Visitors are taught by craftsmenand in the end the produced batik clothes can bebrought home.On holiday, the visitors of Batik Wholesale CenterBT mostly tourists from outside Cirebon. A set oftraditional West Java musical instruments, namelyangklung displayed in the shop to impress the visitorswith local identity. The sound of angklung softlyheard from the speakers throughout the day. Insidethe store, consumers are given compliment wedangjahe (hot ginger tea) and krupuk mlarat (typicalcrackers of Cirebon).

VI. Conclusion

The marketing of batik as a traditionaltextile of Indonesia has been very dynamics. Startingfrom a subsistence production by making the textilefor personal use to home industry, it is nowadays soldin a modern stores, groceries and wholesales. Thecase we studied in Trusmi showed three interestingfindings. First, the batik craftsmen in Trusmi as thecenter of traditional batik in Cirebon, West Java,began to realize the importance of the suitablemarketing strategy. Secondly, the marketing of batikin Trusmi develops from time to time: (1) localretailers in the village; (2) collection and distributionthrough cooperatives, (3) opening individual stores orshowrooms, and wholesalers. Third, the marketingstrategy in the store or wholesale does not limited toproviding merchandise. The case of Batik WholesaleCenterBT shows how cultural expressions in theforms of performing the making of varioushandicrafts, arts performances, and the provision oftypical food and drink can be used as an approach toattract visitors. In addition, the creation of traditionaland rural life atmosphere is also a powerfulmarketing tool for the shop owner to increase sales.

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