Fewer Brunei products displayed at CF5

VISITORS to this year's edition of the Consumer Fair saw fewer products from Bruneian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Local manufacturers participation in the Consumer Fair (CF5), which came to a close yesterday at the International Convention Centre in Berakas, blamed it on high rent and low returns.

However, Jason Tee, marketing and sales manager of Sunlit Advertising, the organisers of the Consumer Fair series, said the $1,200 price tag for booth space over the four days of the CF5 was "reasonable".

"It's similar to the pricing for spaces at The Mall (during such exhibitions) and other similar platforms to the Consumer Fair," he said.

Although Tee acknowledged that there were fewer local products at this edition of the Consumer Fair, he said that this could have been mainly due to the SMEs' lack of profitability rather than the rent.

"It's not guaranteed that they will make money (at the Consumer Fair), but we provide all the necessary facilities for them. So, it's really up to their marketing and whether it is successful," Tee explained.

"We've had some really good feedback from our participating vendors who come back again and again to the Consumer Fairs," he added.

"There were more (local SMEs) participating before, in the past Consumer Fairs, but for this (CF5), we are seeing less of them," said Major (R) Hj Mohd Salleh Hj Hidup, director of Seri Pekatan Sdn Bhd, a local producer specialising in seafood cracker products.

Major (R) Hj Mohd Salleh said that some of the newer SMEs could not afford to participate in the CF5 since they would make relatively little profit from it, considering the rent.

"In my opinion, the Consumer Fairs are mostly for exposure, so we can showcase our products to the public as well as interact closer with potential customers. It's not really to make a big profit," he said.

"This year, we are seeing a lot of visitors, but not a lot of buyers," he added.

On top of it, Major (R) Hj Mohd Salleh said the reason more of the "regular" SMEs had pulled out from participating in the CF5 was insufficient supply and choice of products to suit public demand.

"Also, they have to compete with the foreign products, especially with local agents who import goods from other countries to sell here," he said.

However, despite the challenges of rent and competition, the Seri Pekatan director said that the advantage that his company sold on was the quality of his goods.

"Here in Brunei, our products are scrutinised through the strictest processes (by the government) to ensure that they are of the highest quality. So when people buy Bruneian products, they are assured of this quality and that's how we can compete," he said.

"But for me, these Consumer Fairs are usually worth it because we can showcase our whole range of products at one place instead of customers just seeing the various products at different retail outlets," he added.

First-timer to the Consumer Fair series, Managing Director of Zhulaikha Mega Enterprise Muhd Rosli DH Hj Abd Wahab also believed that rent played a pivotal factor for SMEs to decide whether it was worth it to participate.

"It depends on what goods they sell. If they have the right product and they get a lot of customers, then of course rent won't be a problem. It's all about their business performance, perhaps they (the SMEs that pulled out) didn't receive the response they were looking for (during the past Consumer Fairs)," he said.

Muhd Rosli said that his decision to go ahead and participate in the CF5 was based on his belief that the Consumer Fair was a "strategic" platform to expose his product, Tricajus, juice with medicinal properties derived from South America.

"More than 90,000 people visited the CF5, so you can imagine how many people pass by every minute and how many of them will stop and take a closer look at your product," he said.

Some visitors to the CF5 also voiced out their concern over the decrease of local products seen at the Consumer Fair.

"There doesn't seem to be as many Bruneian products as before. Usually, we see a lot of locally-made cakes and pastries and other stuff," said Hj Shafie Bolhassan, who was at the CF5 with his family.

The Brunei Times