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IDSA’s role in strengthening the business ecosystem of NorthEast

BNE ADMIN


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The Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) is the Indian affiliate of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) and is focused on demystifying Direct Selling in India. As you would know, Direct Selling is when a product or service, reaches the consumer directly, through individuals, who earn a livelihood by selling that product or service to the consumer. In the Indian context, the product or service categories include Nutrition & Wellness, Consumer Goods & Services, Personal Care & Cosmetics, Home Care, Clothing & Accessories which are sold Direct to consumers specifically and only by our Direct Selling professionals.

 

IDSA’s take on the direct selling industry’s output and growth is that the industry has been steadily growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 12% since 2016. Despite the onslaught of Covid19 and its resulting lockdown, the Direct Selling industry has been able to weather and overcome the business challenges posed by the pandemic through technology, innovation, and superior training of its direct selling associates. In the Financial Year of 2020-21, while Indian direct selling business did get affected just like other industry categories and our rate of growth slowed down to 5% in the first half of the FY but the industry bounced back to hold its momentum to touch 7.7% growth overall and breach the Rs. 18000 Crore mark (to reach the gross national revenue figure of Rs. 18067 Crores).

Cosmetics is the most ‘tapping’ vertical in the Direct Selling space in the North East, which accounts for 8% of the gross national Direct Selling revenues as compared to FY2019-20 when the North East contributed around 10% of national revenues. This implies that its share of business in the national revenue mix fell by about 2% year-on-year (YOY), which may be attributed to the adverse impact on the life and business of Covid19 during FY20-21. IDSA is confident that the North East would have recovered and performed better during FY21-22.

In terms of the product sales mix, in line with the national product pie, North East would also have contributed most to the growth of the Nutrition and Wellness segments followed by personal care (hygiene products) and beauty care/cosmetics. That has been the general trend.

Indian Direct Selling as an industry like so many other consumer goods industry segments in an all-encompassing industry vertical that ensure the growth and development of not just its primary sales enablers viz. the direct sellers, but also of all its manufacturing entities and partners, supply chain, and logistics service providers, business partners, and consultants. Direct Selling like any other industrial category comprises a very large ecosystem ranging from manufacturing to packaging, warehousing & storage, transport, logistics, sales, and servicing, etc. India’s Direct Selling focuses on strengthening each aspect of the industrial ecosystem, spreading business awareness, educating our end-consumers, and training direct sellers and their associates. They do the same in the North East, investing in the front-end business and sales infrastructure, offices, and manpower, warehousing facilities, consolidating our transport and logistics, etc.

So therefore their extended vision would be to benefit and grow every single business aspect of our direct selling ecosystem, creating a win-win situation for all concerned.

The most recent challenge has been the Covid lockdown, which increased challenges to life, health, and the economic viability of a business. The Direct Selling industry adopted a more technology and innovation-oriented method of doing business involving digital platforms for interaction, sales, growth of our distribution network, or in terms of penetration of new markets. We also used the digital platforms extensively to spread business awareness, product or service knowledge, and the imparting of training concerning the industry, business modelling, product science, etc.

 As far as policy challenges go, the industry has worked in close tandem with the Union and all State governments to notify the Direct Selling Guidelines in 2016 to protect both the direct sellers and their consumers. In December 2021, the Union Government of India instituted and notified the Direct Selling Rules 2021 under the Consumer Protection Act.

Rajat Banerji, Chairman, IDSA says that the Direct Selling Industry per se has always been focused on empowerment through the entrepreneurship of women. The Indian Direct Selling Association and the Direct Selling industry at large have always been strong proponents of women’s entrepreneurship, gender equality, skilling of women, the greater cause of financial inclusion of women, etc.

The Direct Selling Industry’s growth in the North East of India has been catalyzed and in effect, a lot of credit can be given to those women entrepreneurs from the 7 sisters and Sikkim who have ventured to grow their businesses beyond their immediate geographic and demographic segments into the remotest parts of their state which otherwise may not have been easily serviced by conventional FMCG businesses. That in itself is a story of transformation as far as the North East is concerned. This again is a work in progress and all member companies of IDSA and the direct selling businesses operating under the law of the land would continue to invest in such enterprising women entrepreneurs. All IDSA companies are ramping up their training, education, sales, and logistical infrastructure, as they speak in line with the vision to grow the business both by awareness and by the geographical spread.

Indian Direct Selling Companies already have a fairly strong presence that is evolving and growing from strength to strength, which includes Office and Sales Infrastructure, Training, Education, and Knowledge Sharing apparatus for Direct Sellers and people interested in direct selling as well as a strong logistics and warehousing infrastructure. Several direct selling companies are ramping up their presence in many cities and towns while deepening the direct selling base.

While, as an industry, IDSA is directly engaged in promoting or building the Start-Up Ecosystem- they believe that every direct seller is a micro-entrepreneur who has started up his or her venture using direct selling as a mechanism or means of doing business. As of today, the direct selling

industry has encouraged women or students, or working professionals who have never engaged in business, to take up this ecosystem as a means of supplementing their primary household income or for generating additional monthly income over and above their primary income sources. Through the direct selling ecosystem, they can promote financial inclusion and gender diversity which are buzzwords for every growing economy globally.

Further, the direct selling industry has provided means of livelihood and employment to lakhs of vendors, suppliers, and service providers who have helped in building and strengthening the direct selling industry – whether it is for providing raw materials for manufacturing of goods, or packaging, labelling, transportation, storage and warehousing, IT services support, stationary service providers, office equipment vendors, etc. Through this, the entire MSME and Start-up ecosystem has also found numerous opportunities to partner with the Direct Selling Industry – both the companies in it as well as the direct sellers.

Watch the video: https://www.business-northeast.com/ne-direct-selling-expo-showcases-strong-industrial-growth-assam-ranks-9-in-indias-direct-selling-market/

Therefore, the Direct Selling industry as a whole has always encouraged innovation in goods and services, promoted the MSME ecosystem, encouraged and built micro-entrepreneurship, promoted Women’s Entrepreneurship, and through them greater financial inclusion – every element and building block that helps build a stable economy both at the level of States as well as for the National economy.

BNE ADMIN