JakartaGlobe-May 7
Footwear company Sepatu Bata announced last week the closure of its factory in Purwakarta after 30 years of operation due to declining demand and continuous losses over the past four years. As a result, 233 employees lost their jobs. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo commented on the closure of the Bata shoe factory, attributing it to the company’s inefficiency and competition with new products. “When a factory closes, it’s due to various reasons like efficiency or losing out to new products. Many factors are at play,” the former furniture businessman said in Depok, West Java, on Tuesday. However, he emphasized that the closure of the factory does not reflect Indonesia’s overall economic condition. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia’s economy grew by 5.11 percent annually (year-on-year/yoy) in the first quarter of 2024. Founded in 1894 by Czech shoe entrepreneur Thomas Bata, Bata’s presence in Indonesia began in 1931. Initially, Bata collaborated with the colonial company, Netherlandsch-Indisch, as a shoe importer operating in Tanjung Priok. Six years later, Thomas Bata established a factory in the middle of a rubber plantation in the Kalibata area, South Jakarta. Shoe production began in 1940. The Bata factory in Kalibata no longer exists. In 1982, Sepatu Bata was listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange with the code BATA. In 1994, the construction of the Sepatu Bata factory in Purwakarta was completed. When it was established, this factory was one of the largest factories in Indonesia. Currently, Bata operates a retail chain of 435 stores nationwide. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/bata-shoe-factory-shuts-down-after-30-years-jokowi-reassures-economic-resilience
