Surianti Ang is the director and owner of Queen Pacific Suksesabadi, a trading and shoe manufacturing company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company was established in 2007 as a trading company; in 2011, they started manufacturing sandals, flip flops and other types of shoes. Queen Pacific has been successfully operating since 2007, making sales to name brands such as Michael Kors, Hush Puppies, Bata worldwide. Since 2014 the company has been exporting to Peru, Kenya, the USA and Asia pacific with dreams of reaching even further.
Queen Pacific’s success is no simple formula; however, the founder prides herself on the fact that women are big part of the operations in her company. “Aside from it being a woman-owned company, the presence of women can be felt everywhere from production to management.” Queen Pacific employs and works with 60% of women. Surianti states, “I prefer working with women in manufacturing, and at the office, women more active and careful, and they don’t give up easily. The women in my company are very hard working. Don’t get me wrong, we do employ men, and their presence is appreciated, but women are really what keeps PT Queen Pacific moving and propelling into the future.”
In 2019 Queen Pacific received the Primaniyarta award; the highest award given by the Government of Indonesia to exporters that have made tremendous achievements in the export sector. The award is given by the Government of Indonesia through the Directorate General of National Export Development. This was a big accomplishment for Queen Pacific as a woman owned exporter competing with big multinational companies in the same sector.
“We have stiff competition from both China and Vietnam; so, our priority is to set ourselves apart. To do so, we focus on producing a good quality product. Therefore, teamwork is important to us, a strong and good team creates a strong and good product, but to do that, we have to make sure our employees are in a good work environment and feel like a family. Ultimately having a good team and strong team- which for me includes many women- means that we all succeed, especially the company and the brand”.
“The COVID-19 pandemic really impacted the manufacturing.” Part of the measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 virus meant many companies had to close completely or enforce social distancing measures, resulting in reduced production. “Since I started doing business, I have always prepared for the worst-case scenario, whether a natural disaster or a loss of a customer. We have always set aside funds so that our company can survive for two years. In this time, we would adjust to the market and try to recover losses. So I guess in a way, when the pandemic occurred, we were slightly prepared. We can’t just wait for the pandemic to pass but what we can do is begin to adjust to the existing conditions and work around this new order.”
“What I want to see for Queen Pacific is that we survive these challenging times. My company is like a family, and they have families. The pandemic was also a wake-up call. I have been producing fashion items, but now I want to focus on merging fashion with supporting local communities around me even further.