Rankings for this score were determined based on customer satisfaction surveys of more than 9,000 energy customers. UW scored highly for its customer service and quality of communications about energy costs. 

“We’re delighted to have secured the highest overall score for Which?’s latest annual energy firm rankings,” said Stuart Burnett, Utility Warehouse Co-CEO. “As many people continue to face cost-of-living pressures, we’re seeing increasing numbers of customers join Utility Warehouse to take advantage of our market leading services, including our fixed rate energy tariffs. It’s thanks to our multiservice business model, which enables customers to bundle services together, that we can deliver big savings for households on their monthly bills.” 

The post Utility Warehouse Given Highest Overall Score by Which?  first appeared on Direct Selling News.

“We are on the cusp of new frontiers for Avon,” said Angela Cretu, Avon International Global Chief Executive. “It is an exciting new chapter. Women like to touch and experience the product and have that joy of seeing all the colors available.” 

Locations for the stores have not been announced, but preliminary details suggest the stores will be located within neighborhoods, rather than “high street” locations. 

The company has already tested this method in Turkey, where it opened 63 Avon-branded stores, and saw sales growth double as a result. 

“Many customers go to the stores for an opportunity to try many of the products, or simply to enjoy a pamper experience with a beauty adviser,” Cretu said. “We want to be as inclusive as possible. We want to give women the opportunity to open a business, especially in areas where it is not so easy for them to launch a startup.” 

This launch is an expansion of its recently-announced partnership with UK store Superdrug that will stock Avon products in 100 of the chain’s retail outlets and online. 

The post Avon Launches Retail Stores in UK  first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Global direct selling performance since 2015 has added $9.3 billion to the industry overall, which constitutes a 1.7 percent Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). And in that time, the growth of China as a direct selling powerhouse prompted expectations that the Chinese market would eventually reach the top spot on the Direct Selling News Billion Dollar Market List.

In 2018, estimated retail sales in China barely eclipsed those of the United States, prompting WFDSA to announce a tie for the top spot. While data may be restated later in 2019 as actual sales data becomes available, this represents an anticipated change and could usher in a new era within the global direct selling industry.

Sales Up In 65 Percent Of Global Markets

The top 24 sales-producing countries—the Billion Dollar Markets—comprised 94 percent of $192.9 billion in global retail sales. 2018’s 1.2 percent global growth was driven by regional increases in Asia, the Americas and Africa/Middle East. Europe reported flat sales performance. All told, however, sales in 65 percent of direct selling countries around the world were up.

The industry’s global sales force reached 118.4 million, up 1.6 percent over 2017. Since 2015, more than 13.8 million more individuals have joined the ranks. New sales force segmentation data shows 10.5 million full-time (30+ hours weekly), 42.9 million part-time (up to 30 hours weekly) and 64.9 million who have recently joined; many who join because they love the product and want to purchase at a discount; and others who join but just never become active. Seventy-four percent are female; 26 percent are male.

The Americas 2018 year-over-year performance was up 1.5 percent from a flat 2017, while Asia experienced the largest regional up-tick with 1.8 percent growth. The smaller developing Africa/ Middle East grew 1.4 percent, but Europe declined slightly—0.3 percent.

“We are pleased by the solid growth considering the uncertainties in the overall retail market vis- à- vis online sales. Thus, the numbers were a bit of a surprise and also were a confirmation of the robust nature of direct selling.” —Joe Mariano, President U.S. Direct Selling Association

Regional fluctuation is common with Australia, Taiwan and Thailand losing ground in Asia; Canada and Brazil in the Americas; and Italy, the United Kingdom and Russia dropping within the broader European market in 2018. But there was plenty of growth to offset declines. India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Peru, Colombia, and Poland marked significant growth, as did Argentina’s inflation-fueled escalation of 23.1 percent.

The global industry is on track, believes Tamuna Gabilaia, Executive Director and COO, WFDSA. Economic circumstances produce flat sales in some markets in some years. “If you look at CAGR, where we measure sustained growth of the industry, it was 1.7 percent. This shows sustained growth and that our industry is basically resilient,” she says.

Emerging Markets Expanding Their Global Share

Underway for years is a trend toward global market balance. The trajectory of emerging market sales began rising, while advanced/developed market sales plateaued. Nine years ago, 68.1 percent of sales came from advanced markets, but emerging markets continue to expand their global share of sales.

In 2018, emerging markets made up 42.7 percent of global sales. This overall trajectory of emerging markets will eventually overtake advanced economies, which made up a 57.3 percent share in 2018.

“Everywhere you look, emerging markets or developed markets, people are looking for an additional way to earn income. In the age of the gig economy, a 9 to 5 job is becoming the past and everyone wants to be his or her own boss. Direct selling offers the opportunity for people to do that,” Gabilaia says.

The combined markets of North America and South/ Central America reported $62.4 billion in estimated retail sales for 2018, a growth of 1.5 percent. 2015-2018 CAGR was up slightly at 0.5 percent. The Americas comprised 32 percent of global retail sales with eight Billion Dollar Markets. Cosmetics and Personal Care products hold 34.6 percent of sales; Wellness at 26.7 percent; and Household Goods and Durables a distant third at 12.1 percent. There are 31.0 million independent representatives, down 2.1 million from 2017. This 6.5 percent drop in 2018 follows a loss of 5.8 percent in 2017. All told, sales force reduction since 2015 stands at 3.6 million, due in large part to the re-segmentation of their sales forces by U.S. companies.

Regional data for the Americas are reported together; however, the Americas are split here to better understand each of the distinct markets.

North America

North American direct sales increased in 2018, up 1.1 percent. The United States rebounded from its flat 2017 performance with growth of 1.3 percent and sales of $35.4 billion. However, U.S. CAGR sits at -0.7 percent. Canada produced $1.9 billion in sales in 2018, a drop of 2.4 percent. Despite the 2018 loss, Canada’s 3-year CAGR from 2015-2018 is 1.5 percent.

“New economic trends such as the growth of e-commerce and the collaborative economy show that more than ever, direct selling is a pillar of the retail sector.” — Marie Lacroix, acting Director of Seldia, The European DSA

North American independent representatives number more than 17.8 million, with 16.5 million in the U.S. and just over 1.2 million in Canada. While Wellness is the top U.S. product category at 35.6 percent, Canadians’ largest selling category is Cosmetics and Personal Care items (36.8 percent).

“We are pleased by the solid growth considering the uncertainties in the overall retail market vis-àvis online sales. Thus, the numbers were a bit of a surprise and also were a confirmation of the robust nature of direct selling,” says President of U.S. DSA Joe Mariano.

Like every industry, 2018 posed challenges for the U.S. market ranging from economic to regulatory. Last year produced even more growth with both independent work/gig economy and the U.S. DSA’s work to protect independent contractor status at the federal and state levels.

In 2019, Mariano expects fluctuation in the economy and on the regulatory stage, as independent work and those seeking flexible work schedules continue to expand. “We will continue to ensure direct selling is a strong, viable option for entrepreneurs who seek to make some extra income and enjoy a flexible schedule,” he says.

“This past year, we saw an uptick (2 percentage points) in the share of people involved in direct selling in the U.S. under 35. This is a promising indicator that our industry is maintaining relevancy and appealing to future generations, and it reinforces the optimism we have with our industry projections,” Mariano says. Share among seniors has remained stable.

With strong retail numbers and by further distinguishing full- and part-time sellers from customers, Mariano says, “We are able to see consumers still loving and buying products and services offered by DSA members. We are predicting between 1-3 percent annual growth over the next three years and will see greater focus on customers of direct selling companies.”

“We are predicting between 1-3 percent annual growth over the next three years and will see greater focus on customers of direct selling companies.” —Joe Mariano, President U.S. Direct Selling Association

South/Central America

Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Ecuador make up the South/Central American Billion Dollar Markets. Brazil reported the only downturn (-1.5 percent), but all other markets grew in 2018, representing 2 percent regional growth and reporting $25.1 billion in estimated retail sales. This region’s 3-year CAGR is 2.3 percent.

Market performance breakdown is as follows: Brazil ($10.2 billion, -1.3 percent CAGR), Mexico ($5.9 billion, 2.3 percent CAGR), Colombia ($2.5 billion, 1.7 percent CAGR), Peru ($1.9 billion, 5.2 percent CAGR), Argentina ($1.6 billion, 33.4 percent CAGR), and Ecuador ($1.2 billion, 7.8 percent CAGR). It’s important to note that Argentina has a highly inflationary economy.

There are nearly 13.2 million independent direct selling representatives in South/ Central America. Cosmetics and Personal Care products comprise 62 percent of those sales, down from 66.0 percent in 2017.

Forty-six percent of global retail sales are generated in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes 10 Billion Dollar Markets. In 2018, Asia-Pacific sales totaled $89.2 billion with growth of 1.8 percent; 3-year CAGR stands at 1.9 percent.

In 2018, this region added some 4.6 million independent representatives to its direct selling sales force—a total of 69.7 million. This figure comprises some 59 percent of all direct selling independent representatives in the world. 41.2 percent of market sales are Wellness products and 29 percent Cosmetics and Personal Care products.

China is the largest market in the Asia-Pacific region with 2018 estimated retail sales of $35.7 billion, up 2.0 percent over 2017. China accounts for nearly 40 percent of Asia-Pacific’s sales. With estimated growth of 2 percent over 2017 and an estimated 3-year CAGR of 2.3 percent, WFDSA has ranked China in a tie with the United States for the number one spot on 2018 Billion Dollar Markets List. WFDSA estimates nearly 5.6 million Chinese participate in direct selling.

“The millennial generation looking for more entrepreneurial ways of earning is helping to boost the sector’s independent sales force and leading to the development of new, younger customer bases.” —Susannah Schofield, OBE, Director General of U.K. DSA

But the story of the Asia-Pacific region is not limited to China. There are nine other countries on the 2018 Billion Dollar Market ranking: Australia ($1.3 billion, -4.1 percent CAGR), India ($1.5 billion, 10.9 percent CAGR), Indonesia ($1.5 billion, 13.1 percent CAGR), Japan ($15.6 billion, -1.0 percent CAGR), Korea ($18.0 billion, 1.8 percent CAGR), Malaysia ($5.3 billion, 3.7 percent CAGR), Philippines ($1.4 billion, 8.6 percent CAGR), Taiwan ($3.9 billion, 3.2percent CAGR) and Thailand ($2.9 billion, 0.2 percent CAGR).

Direct Selling in Europe comprises a 21 percent share of global sales. Over 14 million people are active in direct selling, with just under 6.9 million located in the European Union. For Europe overall, Wellness accounts for 32.6 percent of sales, Cosmetics and Personal Care for 25.6 percent of sales, and Household Goods and Durables for 14 percent of sales, rounding out the top three European product categories.

“New economic trends such as the growth of e-commerce and the collaborative economy show that more than ever, direct selling is a pillar of the retail sector. The challenge for the coming years will be to adapt our channel of distribution to these new trends, to the rapid digital evolution, as well as to increasingly demanding customers,” says Marie Lacroix, Acting Executive Director of Seldia, the European DSA.

Germany ranks at the top of European Union countries on the Billion Dollar Market list with $17.5 billion in sales—a slight increase of 0.2 percent in 2018 and 2.7 percent CAGR. Poland increased nearly $1.2 billion in sales last year, up 4.5 percent from 2017 with a 2.3 percent CAGR. But the biggest European Union gains were in France with nearly $5.4 billion in sales, up 3 percent year over-year and 3.3 percent CAGR.

Companies operating in France are optimistic and predict growth, as they increasingly adopt multi-channel distribution, adjust to constant digital evolution and new consumer trends, says Jacques Cosnefroy, Executive Director of the French DSA. Italy ($3.3 billion, down 2.0 percent for 2018) and the United Kingdom (nearly $3.6 billion in sales, down 7.6 percent) experienced losses; CAGR stands at 2.0 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Giuliano Sciortino, Executive Director of the Italian DSA Avedisco, reports that recruitment difficulties due to a new state welfare legal status, the inability of traditional companies to adjust to new trends and digitalization, and a higher turnover rate among top distributors adversely affected Italy’s sales in 2018.

“Everywhere you look, emerging markets or developed markets, people are looking for an additional way to earn income.”— Tamuna Gabilaia, Executive Director and COO, WFDSA

Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General of the U.K.’s DSA, says the complete withdrawal of a U.S. company from the U.K. market, as well as two companies going into administration tipped their market sales down last year.

However, Schofield adds, “Consumer trends such as the demand for increasingly personalized retail experiences are providing significant opportunities for growth in the sector. In addition, a millennial generation looking for more entrepreneurial ways of earning is helping to boost the sector’s independent sales force and leading to the development of new, younger customer bases. It’s due to such factors that we expect 2019 to be a year of strong growth for many of our member companies, despite challenges such as Brexit.”

Russia, along with the smaller markets of Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine, represents the WFDSA data subcategory “Rest of Europe.” Russia’s nearly $2.5 billion in sales comprises 57 percent of all sales in Rest of Europe and identifies them as this region’s sole Billion Dollar Market. Their 13 percent growth in 2017 was not repeated, as 2018’s estimated retail sales dropped 5 percent. However, CAGR remained fairly steady at 6.1 percent.

The Rest of Europe generated nearly $4.4 billion in estimated retail sales last year, a drop of 1.4 percent and CAGR of 6.1 percent. Independent representative numbers also dropped by 7.4 percent—more than half a million—to 7.5 million. Estimated sales and product category reporting by the five main players in this region is inconsistent. But Cosmetics and Personal Care products rank number one, comprising 43.6 percent of sales in Russia and 65.4 percent in Ukraine. Within the Rest of Europe, Turkey had sales of $585 million in 2018, which makes it a market to watch in the coming years.

The post Billion Dollar Markets first appeared on Direct Selling News.

The initiative supports a central pillar of Avon’s transformation plan to digitize its business and accelerate the selling and earning power of Avon’s millions of Representatives worldwide.

The partnership is one element of Avon’s business strategy to “Open Up” the company and unleash the potential of the brand and business model. The new training platform will change the way Representatives experience training as Avon transforms into a digital-first, social selling, fast-beauty brand.

The platform will deliver content to fuel Representative earning potential and, thereby, retention. Training delivered through the platform will include a wide range of topics, from beauty tutorials and skincare science to marketing and sales skills. Avon’s goal is to reach millions of women with a mix of blended training to help them build their Avon businesses.

“Our Avon beauty entrepreneurs are the heart of our business and it’s crucial that we provide them with digital and mobile-first tools to open up their potential learning and earning power,” said Miguel Fernandez, president of Global Sales. “This is a core element of Avon’s transformation plan, and as we have recently reported, we’re seeing early signs of the positive impact new digital tools and increased training can have on our Representatives’ sales. In today’s world of ready access to technology, our new relationship with Fuse will enable us to deliver training tools to our global network of Representatives in a form that enables them to learn on their own terms as they grow and thrive with Avon. We are opening up Avon to better serve our customers and support our Representatives. When she succeeds, we succeed.”

Following an extensive procurement process, Avon selected Fuse for its ability to create a globally scalable learning platform. Fuse’s learning platform allows companies to create, curate and share content to facilitate seamless learning, knowledge sharing and communication. The platform is built with learners in mind and achieves employee engagement rates up to 100x higher than other industry learning providers.

Founder and CEO at Fuse Universal, Steve Dineen, added, “Avon’s business is remarkable and touches millions of customers every day. Avon beauty entrepreneurs need to be armed with the latest knowledge on products and services, and this partnership will help power Avon’s transformation, with new ways of working that can be executed with speed and agility. We’re also excited at the prospect of building a community environment that empowers Representatives around the world to share their best practices on sales skills, customer experience and product knowledge in order to stay ahead of the competition.”

The platform has already been successfully piloted in South Africa and will now roll out to Avon’s key markets this year, starting with the UK, South Africa and Avon’s largest markets in Latin America.

The post Avon Products, Inc. Announces Partnership to Deliver Global Training Platform first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Several UK sales reps, some of whom host parties to sell jewelry, say they have been messaged by the firm to say it has been hit by declines in the value of the pound and euro.

Messages have been posted online by the sales reps from chief executive and founder Jessica Herrin, who founded the company in 2003 and also founded WeddingChannel.com.

Herrin says the once profitable European business is now operating at a loss.

“Sadly the market conditions in Europe have become very difficult,” she wrote. “In the last few years the British pound and Euro have devalued against the US dollar by almost 20 percent, causing a deep decline in our margin, whilst at the same time operating costs have increased.”

Herrin also wrote that the decision to close had been taken with a “heavy heart” and after “countless deliberations” and that it was of “utmost importance” to exit gratefully.

UK sales representatives, known as stylists, will be able to continue to sell products and earn commissions until April 7.

The post Stella & Dot to Exit European Market first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Seldia commissioned Ipsos, a Paris-based global market research firm, to conduct a socio-economic study on the direct selling salesforce. This is the first such report in the last 10 years to cover the makeup and motivation of those participating in the channel. Countries included in the survey were Italy, UK, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, France, Spain, Lithuania and Sweden.

Highlights from the survey include:

• 88% of direct sellers are women
• Largest group (26%) are aged 35-44
• Average length of involvement in direct selling is about six years
• 42% work full-time outside direct selling; 27% focus on direct selling
• The main motivator for involvement is they like the products/services
• On average, direct sellers spend about 12 hours a week on direct selling
• Face-to-face meetings are the number one source of revenue
• 78% are satisfied with their overall experience with direct selling
• 9 out of 10 direct sellers are likely to stay with their company

To view the full survey, click here.

The post Seldia Releases New Survey on European Direct Sellers first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Avon is mobilizing its six million Representatives around the world, who together create a unique and powerful woman-to-woman communication network, to share educational information about breast cancer. Avon will launch the Pink Light Project through its Representatives and Avon’s many communications platforms with the aim of educating women around the world to increase awareness and help save lives.

“At Avon, we believe no woman should die because she was left in the dark about breast cancer,” said Jan Zijderveld, CEO of Avon. “We want every woman across the globe to know the risks, the signs, and what action to take when it comes to breast cancer. That way, if a woman does have symptoms, the cancer can be caught early and, if necessary addressed with treatment as quickly as possible.”

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, has announced new global breast cancer data, highlighting that much remains to be done to address what the IARC calls “the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally,” with 18.1 million new cases of cancer reported and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. IARC believes that prevention plays a key role in fighting cancer.

Nick Grant, executive director at Cancer Research UK said, “Breast cancer affects over 2 million women each year, which is why we’re excited to be working with Avon to help women across the globe understand the risks and signs of the disease. Ensuring women have understandable and empowering information is a powerful first step in helping tackle a disease which affects so many worldwide. Together Cancer Research UK and Avon can bring breast cancer out of the dark, putting the power back into women’s hands.”

The post Avon Unveils Pink Light Project first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Transformation efforts thus far have included leadership appointments, digital applications and operational changes. 

Leadership Appointment

Avon announced the appointment of Rob Lowndes to the newly created Sales and Operations Planning role. Lowndes, currently vice president of Global Fashion and Home, will assume the role of vice president of Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). The role will leverage his expertise in commercial operations to drive critical improvements. He will also be responsible for matching objectives to new technologies, adopting an integrated value chain perspective in order to manage sales and more effectively order planning to improve product availability and service levels across Avon’s global markets. He will report to Avon Global President Miguel Fernandez. 

Software Utilization

Avon also announced utilization of exclusive software to provide real-time sales planning visibility for Representatives, enhancing their execution and delivery abilities:

• Avon’s next generation technologies allow for increased adaptability to demand volatility, a dramatic reduction in delays to service delivery, greater inventory and process efficiency, strategic resource allocation and end-to-end Representative engagement.
• Avon’s exclusive demand planning software accurately forecasts Representative and customer demand and synchronizes Avon’s ability to meet these demands by right-sizing inventory requirements across its supply chain.
• The unique new Machine Learning Model has gone live in all three of Avon’s top 10 markets, after successful pilots in the UK, Russia and Mexico.
• Plans are in place for further rollout to Avon’s top 15 markets by early 2019, beginning with Brazil in November, with a longer term goal of using this advanced technology to achieve a fully automated campaign planning process. 

Operational Changes

The company also noted more consistent and in-depth tracking of growing Representative satisfaction through regular pulse surveys:

• In early April, Avon committed to speaking to up to 100 Representatives in each of its top 14 markets each day, measuring satisfaction scores across 10 fundamental service KPIs and applying the data to immediate preventative and corrective actions.
• In just 11 weeks, Avon made 25,000 calls to its Representatives and achieved:
  • 30% reduction in damaged boxes
  • Successful launch of reinforced and compartmentalized boxes in five countries
  • Average representative satisfaction scores up by as much as 30% in some markets.

“We are making significant progress to our service supply chain, and these efforts are beginning to show results across the organization, particularly with regard to Representative satisfaction and overall operational improvements,” said Avon CEO Jan Zijderveld. “Through the application of targeted demand planning software, we are building a smarter supply chain that better understands the immediate needs of our Representatives and responds and reacts to them with greater efficiency and effectiveness. We look forward to benefitting from Rob’s leadership as he advances our positive momentum in this crucial area. We are extremely focused on finding new and better ways for Avon to deliver the level of quality and service our Representatives deserve.”

The post Key Milestones for Avon in Transformation of Supply Chain first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Ayo Olaseinde

Olaseinde has more than 35 years of direct selling experience and has spent the past 14 years with Saladmaster. He has served as president of Saladmaster UK, Ltd. since 2016, in addition to overseeing the European, Middle Eastern and Africa (EMEA) markets. Under his leadership, the EMEA division has been one of Saladmaster’s fastest-growing divisions over the past 10 years. He has expanded the brand through distribution and development of Independent Authorized Dealerships, by helping people take advantage of the Saladmaster opportunity.

Olaseinde’s leadership has also led to Saladmaster UK, Ltd. being recognized multiple times by the Direct Selling Association UK as one of the top direct selling organizations in the country. It was awarded the Excellence Award in 2014 and was a finalist for the Company with Heart Award in 2016. Olaseinde also was personally awarded the prestigious Leadership Award in 2015.

Ryan Reigle

He has served on Saladmaster’s senior leadership team for the past four years and has the reputation of being a trusted leader. His wealth of knowledge in the business, along with his experience in various global markets, will be an asset that will continue to build upon Saladmaster’s more than 20 percent growth.

Concurrent to Olaseinde’s appointment, Ryan C. Reigle, president of Saladmaster, will transition to group vice president of direct sales, which includes the Saladmaster and Kitchen Fair brands. He also will be joining Regal Ware’s Board of Directors. Reigle will remain at the Fort Worth headquarters, and Olaseinde will office in Stafford, England, UK.

The post Saladmaster Appoints Veteran Executive to Oversee Global Operations first appeared on Direct Selling News.