Malaysian designers and retailers of Muslimah fashion brands have found a strong demand in Brunei following exhibitions in the sultanate.

One of the owners of Malaysian Muslim fashion outlet Busana Saizara, Ani Aizara, says she found Brunei “a very good place to do business” when she attended this year’s Brunei International Trade and Consumer Exhibition (BITC) for the first time. She followed up by taking part in the Brunei Islamic Fashion Exhibition (Bifex) last month.

Aizara says her sales were so overwhelmingly positive during Bifex she had to ship more items over to replenish her stock, and her company is now in discussions with online store Dee Collections, which is interested in carrying the brand in Brunei.

“We will hopefully be signing an MOU very soon,” says Aizara.

Another Malaysian fashion store, House of Doll, also received encouraging sales at Bifex, reports The Brunei Times. The company launched its Hijab body mists and doll scarves during the expo before launching them in Kuala Lumpur.

A company spokesman says it has already found a reseller for its new products and will be looking for more Brunei distributors before the end of the year.

Sakura Malaysia brand director Suraya Sharifuddin says her brand has a strong following in Brunei through online shopping portal Fashion Valet. She says her company’s fragrances are in high demand in Brunei and sold “like hotcakes” at the Kuala Lumpur International Hijab Fair (KLIHF) in Brunei early this year.

“We usually hold sales for our products in Kuala Lumpur during Ramadhan, but then we decided to hold the sales exclusively at Bifex because of the overwhelming reception in Brunei,” says Sharifuddin.

Sakura has teamed up with Brunei fashion boutique Melur for distribution, and Sharifuddin says the brand hopes to launch its own clothing line in Brunei.