Cosmetics firm Avon said that the company has recruited a team of some
300,000 licensed door-to-door salespeople in China this year and has complied
with 95 percent of China's new direct sales rules.
Gao Shoukang,
president of Avon China, said that the company has trained and certificated its
direct sales agents.
According to Gao, the number of the company's
licensed sales staff reached 299,568 nationwide by the end of October. Its
network of some 6,000 boutiques in China shrank to 5,400, as it shifts to its
more traditional business of door-to-door sales.
Gao said that Avon will
use China Post to deliver its products.
In 1998 door-to-door sales of 10
foreign-backed direct selling companies were suspended in China while new
regulations were developed. The deadline for application for approval under the
new regulations passed on December 1 with two companies being granted
licenses.
Only Avon, the world's biggest direct seller of beauty
products, and For You, a manufacturer of health products have obtained licenses.
Gao said the company expect a 9 percent increase in revenue this year.
Direct selling giants such as Amway, Mary Kay, and Perfect are waiting
for final approval of their direct selling businesses in China.
The
major difficulty for the unlicensed firms is that their sales plans resemble
pyramid schemes in which one sales person relies mainly on recruiting other
sales people, who have to recruit other salespeople.
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