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December 4, 2008
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Direct Selling News
Global Landscape

Stories in this section:
Nu Skin Enterprises Announces the Opening of Indonesia
Relìv International Enters Germany, Expanding Operations to Continental Europe
Tupperware Philippines Expanding into Cosmetics
Mannatech Awarded Patent in the Philippines

Jump to other sections:
Financial Report
Global Landscape
Roundtable
Perspectives and Innovations

Nu Skin Enterprises Announces the Opening of Indonesia

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. announced the upcoming launch of business operations in Indonesia on Aug. 8, 2005. As the company's 41st global market, Indonesia is expected to augment the company's strength in its growing Southeast Asia region.

"Distributor interest in Indonesia has been high, and we have invested a great deal of effort preparing for this opening," said President and Chief Executive Officer Truman Hunt. "Indonesia is one of the top 25 direct selling markets in the world and has nearly doubled in size over the past five years, reaching more than $500 million in annual sales. We look forward to developing a solid market in Indonesia as we offer our innovative products and compelling business opportunity to the 240 million people who live there."

Indonesian operations will be directed by new General Manager Agung Sardjono, a seasoned executive in the direct selling industry who arrives at Nu Skin Enterprises after leaving a 15-year post as President Director of Avon Indonesia. Sardjono, a former Secretary General of the Indonesia Direct Sellers Association, will oversee all Nu Skin Indonesia operations and be responsible for the development and management of all marketing programs, including initiatives to gain distributor support and foster distributor retention.

"We are pleased to have Agung join us as General Manager for this important new market," Hunt said. "I am confident that his deep understanding of the direct selling industry and his executive management experience will help us to further establish our leadership position in the region."

The Nu Skin division will introduce skin care products from its Nutricentials® daily skin care line, as well as its Scion® personal care offering. Initially, the Pharmanex product offering will feature LifePak, the company's flagship nutritional supplement.

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Relìv International Enters Germany, Expanding Operations to Continental Europe

Relìv International, Inc. announced the opening of its network marketing operations in Germany. This marks the company's first foray into continental Europe, and brings to 11 the total number of countries in which Relìv operates around the world.

"Germany is an extremely attractive market for Relìv," noted R. Scott Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations for Relìv. "It's one of the top five markets in the world for direct selling, with annual sales of more than 4 billion U.S. dollars. Germany also enjoys a large population base, the largest in Europe-so that makes the country a perfect gateway for Relìv on the continent. I believe those strengths are reflected in the extraordinary amount of interest and support that our distributors have expressed for launching our German operations," Scott said.

The company is eager to establish a base of business in continental Europe to complement its existing operations in the United Kingdom, Scott said. "With a total population of over 450 million people, Europe boasts one of the world's largest and most vigorous economies. As such, it represents a significant-and largely untapped-market for Relìv," he said. Total network marketing sales in Europe grew 10 percent in 2004 compared to the prior year, Scott noted, while overall retail trade fell by 0.3 percent in the 25 states of the European Union from April 2004 to April 2005. "The network marketing model is catching on in countries across Europe, giving hard-working entrepreneurs the chance to pursue their dreams of financial independence," Scott said.

At the same time, Relìv has been emerging as one of the network marketing industry's fastest growing companies, noted Ryan Montgomery, Vice President of Sales at the company. "Since 2001, we have achieved sales growth of at least 20 percent each year in the United States, our largest market," he said. "This rapid growth is the direct result of our efforts to streamline the company's business model, and make it easy to replicate from market to market."

Relìv also benefits from growing consumer awareness of the role that good nutrition plays in promoting overall health, Ryan said. "With our exclusive line of supplements, we bring nearly 20 years of advanced nutrition science to the German market," Ryan said. "Our products are popular with consumers, because they make good nutrition simple-using patented formulations that provide unique combinations of ingredients to support wellness and healthy lifestyles."

The headquarters for Relìv's operations in Germany are located in Dietzenbach, just outside of Frankfurt. The company began accepting product orders and new distributor applications in Germany in July.

Along with Germany, Relìv now sells its products through a network of independent distributors in 10 other countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

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Tupperware Philippines Expanding into Cosmetics
Tupperware Philippines, the world's leader in quality plastic container manufacturing using a direct selling strategy, is expanding to sale of beauty line products within the year to boost sales.

Company president Jose de Jesus Buenrostro said that the brand Beauty Control will launch in the fourth quarter this year.

"We have already identified six local toll manufacturers of beauty products for us," Buenrostro said. This new line of business, which will initially focus on skin care, was a result of acquisition of the BeautiControl Corp. in 2000 by Tupperware U.S.

The target is to have an equal share of sales or 50-50 from the plastic container business and the cosmetics business in five to six years. Initially, however, the cosmetics business is expected to account for 10-15 percent of its total sales next year.

It will be composed of 30 percent imported products on the first year and 70 percent local products. Buenrostro said that BeautiControl is doing well as a brand in the United States. Aside from the Philippines, BeautiControl cosmetics will be launched simultaneously in Brazil and Venezuela, he noted.

The new line was already introduced in Mexico and Malaysia as products by Tupperware. Buenrostro said they would be able to market the beauty line products easily with the company's direct sales agents and sales consultants who have been carrying cosmetic products by other companies.

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Mannatech Awarded Patent in the Philippines
Mannatech, Inc. announced that it has been granted Philippine Patent No. 1-1997-57533 by the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of the Philippines for its proprietary Ambrotose® blend. Philippine Patent No. 1-1997-57533 joins Mannatech's growing international patent portfolio, which includes 19 issued patents related to its Ambrotose® complex. The company holds patents in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

According to Sam Caster, Mannatech's Founder, Chairman and CEO, "Our position as a global leader in glyconutrition is strengthened each time a new patent is issued to us. As part of our commitment to protecting our investments in intellectual property, Mannatech has filed this and additional patents for glyconutritionals in the U.S. and worldwide."

"Mannatech continues to invest in research and product development. We are extremely pleased with the excellent progress and achievement of our unique and broad technology, which is supported by our growing patent portfolio," stated Terry Persinger, Mannatech's President and COO.

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