Home Direct Selling

Direct Selling

Embracing Industry Self-Regulation
Direct SellingFeaturesHeadline NewsNews

Embracing Industry Self-Regulation

By:  Peter Marinello

Because the industry made the bold decision to commit to third-party self-regulation when it did, DSSRC was able to socialize its goals and objectives with direct selling companies and familiarize the industry with the program’s jurisdictional purview and process of review before the coronavirus hit.

The direct selling industry worked diligently and cooperatively to establish and implement an industry self-regulation program that celebrates its third year this month. The BBB National Programs’ Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) administers that program, helping direct selling companies across the industry abide by the high standards first established by the Direct Selling Association (DSA) Code of Ethics.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

January 1, 2021 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Good News for Public Companies
Direct SellingFeaturesHeadline NewsNews

Good News for Public Companies

Sales surge for USANA, Nu Skin, Herbalife; others struggle

By:  Dave Rauf

NOTE: We listen in on the public company earnings calls and the transcripts so you don’t have to. Check back each quarter for our review with insights and takeaways for your own business.

 

Tupperware Searches for New Leader to Run China Operation

Tupperware had its first year-over-year sales growth in a quarter since 2017, the company said in its third-quarter earnings report, but the direct selling giant continues to face uphill challenges in one of the biggest global MLM markets: China.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

January 1, 2021 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Channel Evolution Brings Changes to Model
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Channel Evolution Brings Changes to Model

Companies embrace shift in structure, comp plans to meet market demands

By:  David Rauf

“Direct selling is no different than any other form of distribution of goods today. All consumer sectors of business have been evolving dramatically over the last 5 years, and most of it is driven by technology. We looked at this as a good time to enter the market.”

—Robert D’Loren, CEO, Xcel Brands

One of the core tenets of this new world is accessibility.

—Terrence Moorehead, CEO, Nature’s Sunshine

The direct selling channel has been pressed and pressured by a variety of factors over the past two to three years—largely unrelated to each other but all significant in bringing change to the channel. 

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

December 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Pushed by Pandemic, New Companies Enter Social Selling Space
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Pushed by Pandemic, New Companies Enter Social Selling Space

Opportunities and obstacles are the name of the game as companies compete and e-commerce explodes

By:  David Rauf

“If I’m a traditional manufacturer of consumer packaged goods and always sold in retail stores, but now because retail stores are closed revenue is cut, I had better be looking at every single channel and opportunity to keep my product in front of consumers.”

—Kerry Tassopoulos, founding member,

The Tassopoulos Law Firm PLLC

There are companies right now doing the type of accelerated growth they have not seen before.”

—Mike Sheffield, CEO, Sheffield Group

When the coronavirus outbreak started spreading across the globe earlier this year, executives at The Body Shop, a U.K.-based skin and beauty product retailer, had some decisions to make.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

November 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
US Companies Dodge a Bullet in Trump’s WeChat Ban
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

US Companies Dodge a Bullet in Trump’s WeChat Ban

Wildly popular messaging and commerce app crucial for direct sellers in China

By:  David Rauf

China is the second-largest market for direct selling behind the United States, accounting for almost $24 billion in sales last year. And nearly all e-commerce in China flows through WeChat.

A new Trump administration ban on the China-owned app WeChat has been narrowed to only bar its use in the United States, as opposed to a potential worldwide prohibition that would have devastated the ability of direct selling companies to compete in the highly-lucrative Chinese market.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

October 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Supreme Court to Weigh In on FTC Authority to Order Monetary Relief
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Supreme Court to Weigh In on FTC Authority to Order Monetary Relief

Recent court decisions concerning Section 13(b) of FTC Act could change decades of precedent

By: David Rauf

The FTC has taken the position that the injunctive relief permitted by 13(b) allows it to disgorge revenue from scammers and corporations as well as regain restitution for victims.

“There’s an existing process outside of 13(b) for the FTC to pursue monetary relief, but it is cumbersome and requires more due process, which is why the FTC doesn’t like it.”    —Larry Steinberg, Chair, Multilevel Marketing Industry Group, Buchalter

This could dramatically affect the relationship between the direct selling industry and the FTC.     —Larry Steinberg, Chair, Multilevel Marketing Industry Group, Buchalter

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can continue to seek monetary rewards when it sues scammers and firms accused of deceptive business practices, setting the stage for a ruling that will have wide-ranging ramifications for the direct selling channel.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

September 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Direct Sellers Grapple with Supply Chain Challenges
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Direct Sellers Grapple with Supply Chain Challenges

Despite strong sales, pandemic creates some disruptions for companies

By:  David Rauf

“This was felt everywhere and in everything; the immediacy of things shutting down in a manner of days was extraordinary.”

—Brian Kraus, VP Global Manufacturing, Amway

“We were fortunate that we had some plans in place to be able to respond as quickly as we did. It’ll be interesting to see, as an industry, how this changes things in the coming year.”

—Brian Kraus, VP Global Manufacturing, Amway

Already faced with a variety of new challenges in the coronavirus era, direct sellers are dealing with another major hurdle affecting their daily business: supply chain disruptions.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

August 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Direct Selling Executives Break Traditional Silence
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Direct Selling Executives Break Traditional Silence

Usually quiet on social issues, major companies issue bold statements

By:  David Rauf

“The fact that leadership in companies has taken this stand is a very distinct change in culture.”

—Connie Tang, former CEO, Princess House

“This is a human issue, social issue and a justice issue.”

—Ryan Napierski, President, Nu Skin

Several major direct selling companies are joining a growing chorus of corporations issuing public statements in support of racial equality after protestors poured into the streets across the country following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody on Memorial Day.

Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.

July 1, 2020 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
Newer Posts
Older Posts