Congratulations to DSA South Africa, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on April 19.
Founded in 1972, the DSA South Africa is an organization that, according to DSA Chairman Richard Clarke, sees itself as a “self-regulated association of direct selling companies that promotes and protects the interests of members, distributors and consumers.” Those members and distributors include 1.2 million direct sellers who in 2010 recorded an annual sales turnover of R 7.4-billion (USD 1.1B), placing it 20th on Direct Selling News’ list of billion-dollar markets.
Despite the economic recession and an overall unemployment rate of 25 percent— closer to 50 percent for those aged 15-25—the South Africa direct selling industry has reported continued growth over the past few years: 10.1 percent from 2008 to 2009, and 16.9 percent from 2009 to 2010. The number of salespeople continues to grow as well with a 14.9 percent increase reported from 2009-2010, bringing the 2010 total to 1.27 million, of which 87 percent are women. The industry is represented by all racial groups, with “black salespeople making 78 percent, white 15 percent, and the remaining 7 percent comprising Indian, Asian and colored people,” according to the DSA.
The DSA South Africa, which is a Gold Status member association of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), currently has 39 member companies, including Amway, Avon, Herbalife, GNLD, Sportron, Tiens and Tupperware. The Top 16 companies in the DSA account for 92.9 percent of all sales. Top product categories include household goods (33.5%), health and wellness (18.1%), fragrance and cosmetics (16.3%), personal care (13.5%) and financial products (11.9%).
On May 23 the DSA South Africa will kick off a year-long celebration with the “Celebrating 40 Years of Job Creation” event.
For more information on DSA South Africa, visit www.dsasa.co.za.
