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The Es Teler 77 franchise has been setting benchmarks for
Indonesian franchisees and their businesses since its creation.
The business's founder calls himself Mister Teler (Drunken Man), but no
drunkenness is involved in the running of his 25-year-old company,
which has been a pioneer in the franchising of traditional Indonesian
foods.
"If needed, I am willing to work 76 hours a day for this business,"
said Mister Teler Hoo Tjio Kiat, also known as Sukyatno Nugroho.
Sukyatno, 59, is the chief commissioner of the business he began so
many years ago with Rp 1 million (US$109.97) he collected with his wife
her parents. With this capital he began selling Es Teler 77, a
traditional Indonesian drink containing coconuts, avocados, jackfruits,
syrup and milk from a small roadside tent near Duta Merlin shopping
center in Central Jakarta.
The police would occasionally raid his roadside tent, though now he no
longer has this problem as most of his outlets are located inside
shopping centers. The business now operates under the name PT Top Food
Indonesia.
Sukyatno's business, which also retails meatball and noodle soup in
addition to Es Teler 77, grew rapidly after he decided to transform it
into a franchise in 1987.
At present, the business has more than 180 outlets in 22 provinces
throughout the archipelago, plus four outlets in Singapore and three in
Australia.
"I have achieved so much because I always begin my work with goodwill
(in cooperating with franchisees and business partners), hard work and
creativity - as well as help from God," he said.
"I believe my biggest assets are the thousands of employees and
hundreds of partners, including their families and friends, who have
been loyal to me all these years," Sukyatno said. Es Teler 77 has over
1,200 employees across the country.
"Nationwide, the number of Es Teler 77 outlets will hopefully increase
by between 15 and 20 this year, depending on the opening of new
shopping centers," Andrew Nugroho, Top Food Indonesia's director for
business development, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. Andrew is
Sukyatno's son.
Last year, the company opened 29 new franchise outlets across
Indonesia, most of which were not on Java.
"Each of our outlets serves an average of 500 people per day and each
visitor spends at least Rp 20,000," he said. "Our profit margin was
around 25 percent to 30 percent of our takings last year," he added.
"As a franchiser, I push myself to always be innovative and creative in
adapting to developing situations," Sukyatno said.
Being innovative does not only require concentrating on the food Es
Teler 77 sells, but also the atmosphere, service and kitchen
efficiency, he said.
Es Teler 77's marketing manager, Antonius W, said the company was
currently trying to attract more teenage customers. A new product
tag-line, "Makin gaul aje" (getting cooler than ever), has been created
and interior decorations and layouts have been altered in many outlets.
These moves are tailored toward adult women, who make up between 75
percent and 80 percent of Es Teler's customers.
New menu items such as pecel ayam, soto ayam, kwetiau goreng, nasi
goreng ikan asin and nasi goreng sambal terasi were now available,
Antonius said.
Sukyatno said his company would soon build an eight-storey office in
West Jakarta, where it would conduct training, research and development.
Indeed, Es Teler 77 is a local franchiser that has achieved
significantly, said Indonesian Franchise Association chairman Anang
Sukandar.
Around 50 local franchises now exist nationwide, with half of these
operating in the food services sector. Franchisees also deal in the
education, laundry service and beautician sectors. Comparatively, 250
foreign franchises currently operate in Indonesia.
There are opportunities for 300 more local businesses to develop
themselves through franchising, Anang said. "Unfortunately, the
government does not fully support local franchises, even though the
Indonesian Franchise Association was established 15 years ago," he said.
"Our government has yet to see the potential local franchises have in
lifting the nation's economy and creating employment opportunities for
many people," he added.
The government should replicate initiatives undertaken in neighboring
countries such as Singapore, Australia and Malaysia, Anang said.
The Malaysian government provided loans with an annual interest rate of
6 percent, which was half of the market interest rate, he said.
Despite this, Sukyatno, who studied at senior high school for only
three months, said franchisees must go forward with confidence and
never fear the obstacles ahead.
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