PT Djarum (from Javindo ꦗꦫꦸꦩ꧀ 'djarum'; Javanese pronunciation:[ˈdʒarʊm]) is an Indonesian kretek (clove cigarette) brand/manufacturer founded on 21 April, 1951, by Oei Wie GwaninKudus, Central Java. It produces dozens of domestic and international brands.[2]Djarum Black, Super, and L.A. Lights are among the most popular products of Djarum.[3] The company owns the PB Djarum, a professional badminton club, the Italian football club Como, and was the main sponsor of Liga 1, Indonesia's top football league from 2005 to 2011. Under its direct parent, PT Dwimuria Investama Andalan (also known as Djarum Group), it has non-cigarette business lines in technology, banking, and beverages.[4][1][5]
In 1951, Oei Wie Gwan, an Indonesian businessman, bought a nearly defunct cigarette company in Kudus, Central Java, known as NV Murup. The brand was called Djarum Gramofon which means 'gramophone needle'; he shortened it to Djarum (current spelling: jarum) which means needle. The company's first brand was 'Djarum'. The company nearly collapsed in 1963 when its factory was destroyed in a fire, followed by the death of Oei Wie Gwan. The new owners, Oei Wie Gwan's children, Budi and Bambang Hartono, took the opportunity to rebuild the company.
The company began producing machine-rolled kretek in the early 1970s but also continues to produce hand-rolled kretek made by manual labourers.[6]
Djarum Super was launched in 1981, followed by the introduction of Djarum Special in 1983.[7]
While the domestic market for kretek was large, in 1972, the company began exporting hand-rolled kretek to tobacco retailers around the world.[8] Budi and Bambang Hartono diversified the company's activities outside of cigarette manufacturing.
After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the company became a part of a consortium that bought Bank Central Asia (BCA) from BPPN. BCA is the largest private bank in Indonesia and was formerly a part of the Salim Group. Presently, the majority stake of the bank (51%) is controlled by Djarum.[9] In 2004, the Djarum Group acquired a 30-year BOT contract from the government to develop and renovate Hotel IndonesiainJakarta under the Grand Indonesia superblock project.
Since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 banned most flavoured cigarettes in the United States, Djarum's clove products are now marketed as "filtered cigars" and are wrapped in tobacco leaf instead of black paper. The tobacco is air-cured, and they are packaged in boxes of 12 instead of 20.[10]
