Great Expectations: Times in Indonesia
Times bookstores in Indonesia is a licensee of Times Publishing Limited of Singapore. The first flagship Times store, spanning 1900 square meters, opened on June 28, 2008, at one of Indonesia’s most respected universities: Universitas Pelita Harapan in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang, Banten. The flagship store had a grand opening celebration that was widely covered in the media, conducted by Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and at¬tend ed by the Ambassadors of over forty countries.
The stores are operated by PT Times Prima In¬donesia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PT Matahari Putra Prima Tbk., a leading multi-format retailer in Indonesia and a subsidiary of the Lippo Group of Companies. The parent company has an excellent reputation for creating innovative marketing strategies and has mapped a strong distribution network with more than 300 sales outlets in more than 50 cit¬ies throughout Indonesia, selling more than 100,000 items to more than 4.5 million consumers across the country.
With an investment of more than US$20 million, PT Times Prima Indonesia is focused on branding, infrastruc¬ture development, human resources, marketing, merchan¬dising and establishment of new stores. Currently in Indo¬nesia, there are 16 stores nationwide, in Jakarta, Bandung, Tangerang, and Bali, with plans for continued expansion to meet the target of 30 stores nationwide within three years.
In addition to offering a comprehensive range of books, magazines, and complementary materials, Times Bookstores in Indonesia also hosts activities that entertain, edu¬cate and inform, including book-signings by famous authors, book reviews, and workshops on various topics of interest to the community.
To further strengthen its relationship with custom¬ers, Times in Indonesia introduced the Times Privilege Card in December 2008, a loyalty card designed to reward valued customers for their continued patronage. This quickly received an over¬whelming response in membership applications, reflecting the fast-growing strength of Times’ appeal to the Indonesian readership. The Times Privilege Card is unique, in that it en-titles users to discounts in three countries: Singapore, Malay¬sia, and Indonesia.
Times customer service extends to an Inquiry Pro¬gram that enables customers to order any titles they have difficulty locating in Indonesia. Times assists them by bring¬ing requested books into the country within 14 days.
In addition, a library service team works to meet the needs of the library and universities and supply them with adopted textbooks.
