What Sarinah is known for
Indonesia's first modern department store, opened August 1966 on Jalan M.H. Thamrin, Jakarta; the state-owned retailer was built to support small local craft and textile businesses.
Sarinah opened in August 1966 on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in central Jakarta, and is documented as Indonesia's first modern department store — a state-owned enterprise (BUMN) rather than a private retail chain. From its founding, the store's mandate went beyond conventional retail: it was established to support small and medium local enterprises (UMKM), particularly artisans and cottage industries working in textiles and handicrafts, giving it a distinct role in Indonesian retail history as a state-backed showcase for domestic craft.
Today the enterprise has expanded well beyond a single department store, running divisions in property management, hospitality partnerships and international trade facilitation, and its flagship building functions as a cultural and performing-arts venue in addition to a shopping destination, hosting Indonesian artisans and product showcases. It maintains additional locations across major Indonesian cities.
Its precise distinction is an August 1966 opening and its status as Indonesia's first modern department store.
In the press
- The Jakarta Post 2022
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Indonesian batik, craft and local design
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Where next
- Saks Fifth Avenue — New York
- Matsuya Ginza — Tokyo
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