Avon at the ready to direct-sell in China
for a change in direct-selling legislation. Avon - the world's
largest direct seller of cosmetics to consumers - says it is ready
to resume direct-sales in the world's most populous country if the
Chinese government permits it.
China banned direct sales - in which consumers buy goods from representatives hired by a company instead of through a retailer - in 1998 due to fraud and abuses like pyramid schemes and sellers being forced to shell out money for products that could not be returned if they went unsold.
Avon is already present in China, using department stores to sell its product range. Lifting the ban on direct-selling models in China would allow the company to make further inroads into the country.
"We are ready to move forward. We have a physical presence in every province in China, the direct selling model will give us that extra reach in the future that we wouldn't be able to get with the model we have in place at the moment," said financial officer for Avon Robert Corti.
Avon's current presence in China already gives the company access to the country's production and distribution networks. Corti however declined to speculate about the size of the sales that could be gained or the amount of time it would take to begin direct-selling in China.
Early indications are that the Chinese government is considering a simplistic form of direct selling, which would be very close to Avon's model in many countries.
Chinese officials have indicated new regulations for direct selling may be in place by the end of this year.
