Toko (shop)

A toko (Indonesian for shop) is a shop in the Netherlands selling mainly Asian food products of which the owners are generally Indo-European, Native Indonesian, Surinamese,[1] Chinese or Vietnamese.

Toko in Amsterdam (1956)
Indo toko with Indonesian dishes on display in Amsterdam (2011)

In Indonesia, the term toko is used a generic name for any kind of shop or store. For example, in Indonesia, toko roti means a bakery while a toko kelontong sells daily necessities. The term is of Indonesian origin and probably from the Chinese Hokkien loanword to refer a shop. In the Netherlands, the meaning has shifted more specifically to refer to Asian shops and takeaway restaurants.

History

Tokos have become a common type of shop in Dutch cities since the repatriation of Dutch colonial expats and Indo-Europeans during and after the Indonesian revolution in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Tokos originally sold products from the former Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).

In the Dutch language the word toko has become an informal name for any type of company or organisation.

Indonesian e-commerce unicorn Tokopedia takes its name from combining toko with an encyclopedia.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Surinaamse kok wil af van toko-imago". Het Parool (in Dutch). July 31, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  2. https://nextbn.ggvc.com/2019/11/07/s2-episode-6-william-and-patrick-of-tokopedia-from-selling-t-shirts-to-driving-1-5-of-indonesias-gdp/


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