With the aim to showcase Indonesian batik textiles to the world, the Indonesian premium batik e-commerce platform Berbatik.com has officially launched today. Heri Fikrio, the co-founder of Berbatik, said that demand for traditional batik is on the rise, both locally and globally. He explained further about his startup and what plans he has for Berbatik.
Heri said that Berbatik uses a similar idea to the design-oriented and handmade e-commerce site Etsy.com, but focuses on only high-end batik products. The items sold there include apparel, shoes, and small accessories. Heri explained that Berbatik has 10 sellers on site, producing around 900 women’s items so far. Heri assured me that in the next two weeks, he’s also going to sell Batik items for male customers such as gadget cases/bags and apparel.
The products Berbatik sells are priced IDR 200,000 ($21) and above, while several other batik online shops tend to price the cheapest items at just IDR 25,000 ($2.60) or thereabouts. This is because he only sells either handmade or stamped batik products which are more difficult to make than mass-produced items. He further explained that through his research, the middle-class population in Indonesia will double in size in the next year, which enforces his decision to enter into this online retailing segment.
The Future Looks Colorful
Three founders from the left side - Heri Fikrio, Jessy Agita, and Hendy Irawan
Berbatik is looking to partner up with batik communities both online and offline. At the moment, the team is working together with the Batik Indonesia Facebook page which already has more than four million likes. They are looking forward to engage with more offline batik communities in order to help them market their products.
In the future, Heri plans to open up a credit card payment system for Berbatik. He is also looking to educate the market about batik by putting up stories regarding the pattern’s design origins on various products’ descriptions.
There are other promising batik e-commerce players in Indonesia such as Sandang Indonesia, which was launched on the recent national Batik Day. But Berbatik’s pricing scheme puts them in a more premium segment, which hasn’t seen too much competition online yet. I also think that the planned stories behind each batik design will become a tremendous asset in boosting the product’s value in customers’ eyes.
Let’s see how Berbatik progresses in the months ahead.
The post Inspired by Etsy, Berbatik Brings Premium Batik Products Online appeared first on Tech in Asia.