KARIMUN -- The tradition of buying new clothes in welcoming Eid is still felt today. This is what gives its own blessings to cloth and clothing traders.
A foster partner of PT Timah Tbk, Risman, who has been in the business of selling Malay fabrics and clothing for a dozen years, is also a blessing for this Eid. Risman's cloth shop business, which is located on Jalan Nusantara Tanjung Balai Karimun, is starting to get busy with buyers.
Risman's fabric shop not only provides materials, but also provides ready-to-wear clothes such as the malay brackets. Of course, the fabrics and clothes that Risman sells are of the best quality. So he also often accepts small to large scale orders.
Risman said that during the pandemic about two years ago, his business was a little sluggish, due to the declining purchasing power of the people. Not to mention the various restrictions on community social activities that cause people to be reluctant to travel.
"Since the pandemic, sales turnover has decreased, because people's purchasing power has decreased, especially since most of the people of Karimun depended on work in Malaysia during the pandemic, the route to the neighboring country was closed," he said when met at his place of business some time ago.
However, in the middle of Ramadan 2022, Risman felt his business was starting to get excited again because buyers began to arrive. For him this was a good blessing. So the turnover can be increased.
"Thank God, now, people have started shopping for fabrics or ready-made Kurung Melayu clothes to welcome Eid al-Fitr later," he said.
He said that his efforts to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic could not be separated from the support of PT Timah Tbk. The reason is, with the capital injection from PT Timah Tbk's Micro Small Business Funding (PUMK) program, he was able to develop his business.
“Initially I got information about the soft loan program from fellow traders, then I was interested and tried it, the process turned out to be easy. This helps me a lot,” he said.
Risman believes that the PUMK program from PT Timah Tbk is indeed good for helping small business actors to develop.
"Currently I already have one employee who is good at sewing, so it really helps ease the work when there are many orders for clothes," he said.
He hopes to PT Timah Tbk that the PUMK program can continue to run so that small business actors can be helped in developing their business.
"PT Timah Tbk helps promote so that the products of PT Timah's fostered partners can be increasingly recognized by the wider community," he said.*
