Bazaars help budding entrepreneurs
KOTA KINABALU: With many bazaars being set up towards the school holiday season, entrepreneurs should carefully pick which bazaar would best showcase their products.
Bibie Doughty, co-founder of KK Legasi, said the first thing that sellers should look at is the bazaar’s organizer.
A good organizer who sets up a bazaar would usually consider demographics as one way to elicit patrons to visit the bazaar.
She said the KK Raya Festival, which is organized by her company KK Legasi, is held every year at different venues with special offline and online marketing.
“You can immediately see the type of patrons that will go to the bazaar. Apart from having our own circle of loyal customers, having a good location, like malls, will help to create new prospects.
“People going to the mall should have enough spending power to buy goods, food, etc., so you can already see the type of people that will be at the bazaar,” she told The Borneo Post.
KK Legasi is one of the pioneers of pop-up booth, or bazaar in the city with seven years experience in organizing indoor and outdoor events.
Bibie said there are also a number of other bazaars that cater to a different market, such as for parents and kids, home decor, tourism-based products, food and beverages, property and many else.
With almost a decade of experience, Bibie believes that a bazaar is helpful to entrepreneurs because it allows them to introduce their products to the market and interact with potential customers.
“The bazaar system is up-andcoming, so if they have a new product and new ideas during the bazaar season, it would be nice to go out and test, see if the market would respond to your new product and new ideas,” she added.
However, she warned that there are also some disadvantages in choosing to sell at a bazaar, which include costs, doing extra work when you cannot fulfill the market demand and returns that are not guaranteed.
“If you’re going to test your product in the bazaar, the expectation level has to be set first. If you’re planning to make lots of money, check out the bazaar. It’s no joke, according to our experience, especially if the time is from 10 am to 10 pm, five days straight, and you’re the only one there, it can get pretty tiring,” she added.
She also said that joining bazaars come with a price, which should cover fees for booth rental, security, manpower, special handling of equipment and unexpected costs, like theft or spoilage.
But Bibie believes that the pros still outweigh the cons as bazaars will give budding entrepreneurs the much-needed exposure and experience.
KK Legasi is currently finalising their upcoming bazaar at Imago Shopping Mall - KK Fashion and Lifestyle Fair early next month.
One of vendors, Fariezah Rabusah of B_Charm Collections selling handmade rattan bags, echoed Bibie on the advantages of selling at bazaars, especially in testing to see if the products will be accepted.
“There’s value in really testing your product and to see how your product is accepted. Do they like it? Do they not like it? The value in market research is tremendous and you get so much insight from talking to people.
“As for me, I will try to join at least one bazaar in every three months to have that special engagement with loyal and new customers,” she said.
For first-time bazaar sellers, Fariezah advised on making the most out of the small booth, and to make your product stand out and appeal to the five senses.
She also advised against ‘hard selling’, which can put off most shoppers.
Another vendor, Afizah Jislih of Eja Fizaa Closet, who is selling up-to-date clothing, said that choosing the right organizer is the most crucial aspect to be considered before signing up.
“For me, I prefer to sell in an indoor bazaar because I know my customers. The want air-conditioned place for them to browse around. And the most important part is get new customers in each bazaar who can become our loyal customers.
“KK Legasi is the best organizer because they have their own team to pull the crowds in. They are also very particular in terms of the locations because they want their vendors to make money. I am not joking, but in the previous bazaar in June, my clothes were almost running out of stock,” she added.
KK Fashion and Lifestyle Fair will be held from November 7 to 11, where vendors will be showcasing their fashion and lifestyle goods.