In Focus

Managing director Eddyanto Hadisurjo talks maintaining market leadership and the importance of innovation as family-owned Optik Melawai celebrates its 40th anniversary amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

- Julie Cooper

NAME: Eddyanto Hadisurjo

COMPANY: Optik Melawai

POSITION: Managing Director

LOCATION: Jakarta, Indonesia

The most successful businesses are founded at the intersection of good luck and perfect timing. In South Jakarta, that place just so happens to be on Jalan Melawai Raya and the business is Optik Melawai.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Optik Melawai was started by Budi Purnomo Hadisurjo in 1981. Rather serendipitously, Budi named the store after the street it was founded on – Melawai, a name which is said to evoke meticulousness, conscientiousness and adaptability. It couldn’t have been more fitting.

Throughout the years and with a tremendous amount of dedication, tenacity, hard work and grit, family-owned Optik Melawai has amassed incredible success, making it a trusted household name across Indonesia.

“There’s not a person in Indonesia who doesn’t know the Optik Melawai brand,” beams Managing Director Eddyanto Hadisurjo, Budi’s son. “Today, we have more than 300 retail stores throughout Indonesia and serve as the benchmark for quality products and services in the optical community.”

Since the very beginning, Optik Melawai has been a stand-out in the industry. In a landscape of tired and traditional optical shops, this store dared to be different. “We were the first optical company to introduce modern design, a comfortable air-conditioned environment and the latest state-of-the-art refraction equipment to the market. We were also the first optical store to open in the mall – a concept that was relatively new at the time,” he shares.