Survival of the Fittest
There are scores of Indonesian brands that have survived for over half a century. There is even a coffee that has been produced since 1878. Almost all were produced by Chinese merchants in home industries. They maintained their success because they were smart enough to follow market trends, were quick to modernize, and were cleverly innovative.
November 3, 2009
LIAW Tek Soen’s coffee shop in Hayam Wuruk, Jakarta, is gone without a trace. But Tek Soen surely did not realize that his personal coffee recipe would survive after 131 years. Since 1967—when the New Order regime prohibited the Chinese from using their original name—the Tek Soen brand was changed to Warung Tinggi. The name actually represents the original Tek Soen coffee shop in Hayam Wuruk. Since the building was large and tall, the surro
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