tel522
pepito group is balinese owned , ya its expensive for sure .
Markit
Ubud is awful! Used to be nice, now just awful! Kuta is better as it at least doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is but Ubud has all this "cultural capital" (are knockoff Gucci/St. Laurent/DG kack culturally important?) pretensions. You just need to sit and watch the stressed, hot and disappointed faces of the passing masses to see what's up.
I keep telling people not to go but they don't listen...
spicyayam
I heard they are opening in Lovina and/or Singaraja also. I see it as a positive thing, more options for people, job opportunities etc. I can't imagine it would have any affect on the local markets.
Maybe the Japanese supermarket you are thinking of is Papaya?
Melati
spicyayam wroteI heard they are opening in Lovina and/or Singaraja also. I see it as a positive thing, more options for people, job opportunities etc. I can't imagine it would have any affect on the local markets.
Maybe the Japanese supermarket you are thinking of is Papaya?
You are totally right spicyayam, it was Papaya the one I was thinking, so I have to apologize because in fact I have not idea what kind of products Pepito sell or who are there targets, I never have been in one! but still thinking too many "big" supermarkets in Ubud
Sorry about that.
sakumabali
Pepito is far more expensive than Papaya. Who would exclusively shopping there when everything is so much more expensive? For me it's a miracle that these supermarkets still exists. I have a strong doubt which is leading towards "cleaning something"....they are popping up everywhere! Same a famous brand of furniture shops in Kerobokan.
Who knows who is a silent partner in there? The Indonesian government won't question "success stories" when they get all these tax dollars ;)
But does it make any financial sense? In my opinion not.
DenpasarHouse
sakumabali wroteWho would exclusively shopping there when everything is so much more expensive?
Personally, I agree. But my rich Indonesian neighbours do a lot of things that I wouldn't have expected.
Got more than one kid? Then obviously you need a separate Nanny for each kid.
You'd be surprised just how many rich Indonesians there are.
tel522
DenpasarHouse wrotePersonally, I agree. But my rich Indonesian neighbours do a lot of things that I wouldn't have expected.
Got more than one kid? Then obviously you need a separate Nanny for each kid.
You'd be surprised just how many rich Indonesians there are.
For sure the money here is in Indonesian hands , definitely not foreign , I know a few , many houses , substantial land assets all over the country,
etc etc .
Melati
I saw yesterday a Pepito supermarket is planning to open in Jalan Andong, I guess may be a great news for so many expats in Ubud but not for me.
Personally I think Ubud looks more and more like Kuta each day and not need another big supermarket, another more sign of globalization and modernism.
I am not sure who owns Pepito, many years ago when was open the first one in Kuta I heard it was Japanese but with that name I doubt it.
I guess targets the masses of expats are moving to Ubud and areas around Ubud these days, but is not Delta, Bintang and Coco supermarket enough for Expats in Ubud?
Expats and rich people will go to buy to Pepito for fancy import products and the poor and local people continue buying at the traditional market and Delta supermarket.
I hate to see the social inequalities in Bali these days trough tourists looking for luxury villas, where some tourists could pay 3.000.000 rp for one night and the staff of the villa could get if is lucky, 1.500.000 rp per a month for working six days per a week, 8 hours per a day.
Anyway, I needed to speak out!
sakumabali
I heard (and asked just now) that Pepito is chinese indonesian owned and I still believe all the other things I said before ;)
Re Ubud : true it's sad
Re land prices: sooner or later they might be riots on the streets when (as you said) the average Joe ehem Made can't live anywhere near his family temple or even on his island anymore
tel522
sakumabali wroteI heard (and asked just now) that Pepito is chinese indonesian owned ,
chinese balinese in fact , they own minimart group, food wholesalers and around 10 hotels , they live around 2k from me .
Not one of the poorest families in bali !
Melati
Markit wroteUbud is awful! Used to be nice, now just awful! Kuta is better as it at least doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is but Ubud has all this "cultural capital" (are knockoff Gucci/St. Laurent/DG kack culturally important?) pretensions. You just need to sit and watch the stressed, hot and disappointed faces of the passing masses to see what's up.
I keep telling people not to go but they don't listen...
These days I think Ubud is better known internationally for yoga activities, something really not local or balinese at all, brought up by locals, neither running by locals or employ local teachers, than for painters and paintings, which is really the richness of Ubud.
Many tourists these days spend more time and money doing Yoga than visiting museums or buying local handicrafts or doing a painting workshop or any local balinese workshops.
JohnnyCool
Traditionally, Ubud was actually a centre for medicinal herbs. I believe that the name “Ubud” was derived from the Balinese “ubad”. It was also a prominent Balinese spiritual centre since 1200 years ago.
Its growth to prominence for painters and paintings probably began with the arrival of foreign artists such as Walter Spies in 1927. The current Hotel Campuan was actually Spies’ original house.
I think that Pepito’s is owned and operated by Balinese interests. The shops sell a wide variety of foreign foodstuffs, kind of like an “upmarket” Hardy’s. There’s even one in Sanur now. Sometimes their prices are slightly cheaper than Hardy’s, and vice-versa. As for their target market, I assume it’s expats and well-heeled Balinese.
Contemporary Bali is faced with numerous challenges and in my view, underpinned by one major one: [B]overpopulation[/B].
Decades ago, leading Balinese academics estimated that the optimal carrying capacity of Bali was about 1.5 million. Fast forward to today. The current population is about 4.2 million, plus about 4-5 million annual foreign tourists and 3-4 million annual “domestic” visitors. Approximately one quarter of the “local” population is from other islands, largely from Java.
These huge, unsustainable numbers on a physically tiny island have resulted in massive problems such as transport, water, electricity, pollution, sewerage, garbage management, coastal erosion, destruction of arable land and traditional rice farming, and so on.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an end in sight. If anything, there are plans to make things even worse, e.g, the reclamation of Benoa harbour, the ridiculous new airport in North Bali, more water-sucking golf courses, more international hotels in an already over-saturated market, and, more supermarkets.
If you look around many existing populated areas, you can’t help but notice the building frenzy that’s going on. Minimarkets, supermarkets, more “laundries”, spa’s, beauty salons, etc. Land prices have skyrocketed into bubble territory. It’s hard to imagine how a normal Balinese would ever be able to save enough money to buy something these days.
Markit
I'm always astonished at the lack of any economic understanding among the locals - if there's 3 pot nudel shops on a small street then lets put up another one.
About 2 years ago someone opened a neon pink shop selling "my kitty" stuff for young girls and their mothers - in the middle of a jungle - yes really, on a road but all around jungle. I pass there regularly (because I live in a jungle too) and have yet to see the first customer there. There's always a hopeful woman sitting there doing her ceremonial constructions but she's beginning to look a little desperate.
Melati
JohnnyCool wroteTraditionally, Ubud was actually a centre for medicinal herbs. I believe that the name “Ubud” was derived from the Balinese “ubad”. It was also a prominent Balinese spiritual centre since 1200 years ago.
Its growth to prominence for painters and paintings probably began with the arrival of foreign artists such as Walter Spies in 1927. The current Hotel Campuan was actually Spies’ original house.
I think that Pepito’s is owned and operated by Balinese interests. The shops sell a wide variety of foreign foodstuffs, kind of like an “upmarket” Hardy’s. There’s even one in Sanur now. Sometimes their prices are slightly cheaper than Hardy’s, and vice-versa. As for their target market, I assume it’s expats and well-heeled Balinese.
Contemporary Bali is faced with numerous challenges and in my view, underpinned by one major one: [B]overpopulation[/B].
Decades ago, leading Balinese academics estimated that the optimal carrying capacity of Bali was about 1.5 million. Fast forward to today. The current population is about 4.2 million, plus about 4-5 million annual foreign tourists and 3-4 million annual “domestic” visitors. Approximately one quarter of the “local” population is from other islands, largely from Java.
These huge, unsustainable numbers on a physically tiny island have resulted in massive problems such as transport, water, electricity, pollution, sewerage, garbage management, coastal erosion, destruction of arable land and traditional rice farming, and so on.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be an end in sight. If anything, there are plans to make things even worse, e.g, the reclamation of Benoa harbour, the ridiculous new airport in North Bali, more water-sucking golf courses, more international hotels in an already over-saturated market, and, more supermarkets.
If you look around many existing populated areas, you can’t help but notice the building frenzy that’s going on. Minimarkets, supermarkets, more “laundries”, spa’s, beauty salons, etc. Land prices have skyrocketed into bubble territory. [B]It’s hard to imagine how a normal Balinese would ever be able to save enough money to buy something these days.[/B]
Balinese not able to buy land???? totally true, but even they cannot rent places these days, I know a few had before shops in Ubud and close and move, I have not idea about Sanur but in Ubud many of the shops are already rented by expats or people outside of Bali, with crazy prices putting all the prices around up and hard to believe somebody can get profits with that rents!!
200 millions rupias per a year for a small shop in jalan raya ubud, selling clothes or silver, could somebody explain to me how they can make profits?
Of course I know some as well that have the house on the back, a little warung or shop on the front and ibu ibu were busy selling things and of course these days is more profitable for them rent the place to an expat selling fancy clothes to tourists and stay at home and not work.
ronb
The above reads like there is no Pepitos in Ubud. But there is Pepitos supermarket
Jl. Raya Tebongkang No.99, Singakerta, Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571
https://goo.gl/maps/6gzMkdqCvC52
Melati
Hahaha is funny Ronb because I didn't knew there was as well one in Singakerta and yesterday I was surprise to see it, I just passed it by coming to Ubud.
This is like when you are pregnant and see pregnant woman everywhere hahaha me seeing Pepitos now all the time!!
But I saw on Jalan Andong on the left side from the statue, they are about to open another one, at least if my eyes didn't cheat me I saw it myself.
You mean Pepitpos and Pepitos are different?
JohnnyCool
Yes, “crazy prices” are the norm these days, [I]especially[/I] for land.
One random example: land in Tejakula (North Bali). How would you like to buy 70 are for a mere Rp 55,000,000 per are (“freehold”)? That’s relatively “cheap”. About Rp 3,850,000,000 (roughly USD 300,000) [I]before[/I] bargaining.
I’ve seen smaller plots advertised for between Rp 100-300 million/are! And that’s in Tejakula! Maybe prices have climbed in anticipation of the North Bali floating airport which is unlikely to be built/completed any time soon (if ever).
Real estate prices in Sanur have been climbing for years. So have rents. I see all kinds of businesses start and fold, often within six months. I have a few locations that have “interested” me for years. One in particular has had three reincarnations in less than two years! The latest one opened a few weeks ago. I’ll be surprised if it lasts to the end of this year. (My theory about it is that somehow the plot it’s on is cursed. Several thriving businesses across the road are doing just fine. Then again, maybe that’s the problem. Too much competition.)
ronb
OK I fixed the typo. I go there sometimes. They have good baguettes and other bread looks good but I have only tried baguettes. Mostly their prices are similar to Delta Dewata where we go most. The fruit/veg section has some surprises like rhubarb and parsnips - but those are imported and expensive.
Melati
more supermarkets more people buying things and more rubbish everywhere! I used to buy weekly at Delta and since a while I am buying less and less and more at the local markets, just fruits, vegetables, eggs, tahu.......
I hate to trough away things and produce so much rubbish.
Markit
Same as above - I'm buying more and more at the local market - I love the fresh food and the chit chat with the "ladies". I'm clearly paying above the odds for my stuff - usually only 2 or 3% but still waaaay cheaper than the stuff at the commercial shops like Dewata or Hardys where prices are usually 40 - 50% higher on fresh produce. I only get stuff there that I can't get at the markets like cleaning stuff and herbs. I've taken to making my own sauerkraut (yes possible in the tropics) and pork knuckles (Haxe). Getting massa harina (corn meal) for crispy tacos, enchiladas, tostados and nachos next weekend from a supplier in Denpasar so Ole!
