GS Supermarket, South Korea’s number 1 supermarket chain, opened its third outlet in Cipondoh in Tangerang on 12 October 2017. The first store was established in Legenda Wisata in Cibubur, Bogor nearly one year ago on 7 October 2016 and back then, it marked the expansion of the South Korean retailer into the most populous Southeast Asian nation. The second outlet is located in Jatiasih in Bekasi.
GS Supermarket concentrates on the fringes of Jakarta
All three outlets are located in Jabodetabek, an area comprising Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. The store in Cibubur is “Built to Suit” in collaboration with Sinar Mas Land. To own a store in Jakarta, the company has to rent but outside of Jakarta, it can build the property to its own specification, said a report in Kontan.co.id in October 2017.
Serving middle class and above
The reason for choosing to locate its first outlet in Kota Wisata, a project by Sinar Mas Land, is because the Cibubur area has a high concentration of middle and upper class consumers. In Cipondoh, the outlet is located outside of Taman Royal 2, a residential area.
A visit to GS Supermarket Cipondoh on 15 October 2017
Like most other GS Supermarket in Indonesia, the Cipondoh outlet has an indoor children’s playground (Kiddy Garden) where the children can play while waiting for mom to complete her shopping and a foodservice premise (Cooking Story). The Cipondoh outlet also features a launderette and car park in front of the store.
For the first GS Supermarket in Cibubur, the store has major tenants like the South Korean bakery chain Tous Les Jours, local Bengawan Solo Coffee, Century pharmacy and Great Chef restaurant.
Cooking Story
The GS Supermarket Cipondoh has incorporated the groceraunt concept with restaurant-style offerings (eg. sirloin steak) to offer a well-rounded shopping experience.
To tempt the taste bud of Indonesians, the menu features not only local food but also Korean and Japanese food and western and pasta.
The price for the Korean and Japanese food ranges from IDR 20,000 (toppoki and ramen) to IDR 25,000 (spicy chicken ramen, kimbab, California special sushi and salmom maki sushi).
Pasta and western food is priced from IDR 25,000 for spaghetti bolognese and spaghetti carbonara and all the way up to IDR 55,000 for sirloin steak.
A place for kids to play
In-store playground has become an important facility in brick-and-mortar retailers to win back consumers who are migrating to online shopping. Transmart Carrefour has the Kid City indoor amusement park in selected outlets, while the new Aeon Mall in Jarkata Garden City focuses on interactive facilities including Indonesia’s first international standard first skate rink and Fanpekka, a Scandinavian-style educational center for kids.
At GS Supermarket Cipondoh, the store provides parents with an indoor playground and this makes the store a destination for family.
Membership drive
The first thing GS Supermarket encourages consumers to do is to sign up for its membership card, which is free (gratis). The card offers consumers with a 0.7% cash back and GS&Point, where the points can be used for future purchases. GS&Point is the same name as the GS customer loyalty program in South Korea.
The data collected from shoppers’ spending habits will provide the retailer with a wealth of information for future targeted promotional activities.
Fresh produce section
The fresh produce section is the first port of call when you enter the shop. The range of fresh produce and meat is adequate for a size of a supermarket.
Japanese and Korean products
GS Supermarket Cipondoh offers a selection of Korean and Japanese products, which is the standard practice for most Korean/Japanese retailers in foreign markets. This comes as the key attraction for shoppers visiting the Korean/Japanese grocery chain is to get hold of the latest and most trending imported foodstuffs from South Korea/Japan.
The Korea Zone offers a range of imported Korean foodstuffs including snacks from Lotte, Nongshim and Crown as well as seaweed snacks from Manjun and Bibigo (CJ).
The Japanese product section features Japanese houseware.
Lack of space
The GS Supermarket Cipondoh is compact as the retailer maximises the store usage to the fullest. It makes it tough for shoppers to navigate around the store when it is crowded.
The store ambient is very localised and does not have the elegant feel of a South Korean supermarket. If the aim is to target middle to upper class consumers then GS Supermarket needs to work on improving the fine details in the Cipondoh outlet to make the store more beautiful and attractive.
*All images photographed by the author.
