Mom & Pops Store

Trying to avoid post power syndrome, my parents decided to open a tiny Mom & Pops Store following their retirement. It’s rather fortunate that we have a corner house back in Makassar. Soon after finishing renovation the little store ready to sell random stuffs from butter and eggs, to tooth picks.

They were running pretty OK during the first couple of years. Since Dad still has his pension from Aneka Tambang, the store merely serve as something to keep them occupied. Not much profit taking, they don't open in late hours, and the customers are mainly our neighbors.

Recently, as the effect of globalization, lots of Multinational Corporation opens their business everywhere. The result was evident in the wholesale and retail industry. Its growth brings plenty of employment opportunities, generating income for the government, and doing pretty good at moving the wheel of economy in these difficult years.

The flipside of the coin is the expansion of these behemoth businesses engulfed lots of smaller establishments like The Mom & Pops Stores in many places.

Take an example from the tug of war between Carrefour and Hero group. In their effort to increase their business, they open branches far into the rural areas. This ‘invasion’ will eventually swallow millions of small business that has been striving in the neighborhood.

Let’s face it The Mom & Pops Stores tend to cost a bit more due to their inability to purchase a million shampoo at once from the principal distributor. Many people including me prefer anonymous shopping for a lot of things at once. We have to admit that walking in the cool aisle surrounded by gazillion selection of almost everything makes shopping a lot more comfortable.

Recent survey from AC Nielsen shows that people, especially in the big cities, prefer shopping their groceries in modern shopping centre. Traditional markets have count that hundreds of shop closed each year. That would mean, even though plenty of employment opportunities arise from supermarket and hypermarket chain, there are many business closed as the indirect result.

I think it’s about time government regulate the license of opening store chain in hope to level the playing field between major players and the little people. We might want to remember that when we shop in large chain store our money goes to some rich CEO who already makes hundreds of billions rupiah. Not that it’s wrong, mind you.

One thing that could keep these smaller ventures is if and when they can excel in their uniqueness: Their closeness to their market base and customers. The hospitality of the owner is important to keep people coming back. They maybe are 100 or 500 IDR pricier, yet the personal touch, the small talk, and the warm welcome are what separate them from the cold shoulder people get in huge retail store.

If they can keep their edge, they might survive this onslaught of free trade.

We are a bit lucky because my mom, bless her, is a very hospitable woman. It helps a lot to keep the Mom & Pops Store afloat, at least for now.

PS: The picture is supposedly of David vs Goliath's Tale.