On September 21st over 100 participants from industry, government and stakeholders’ organisations gather in Warsaw to celebrate the 1st Annual Round Table on the Future of Direct Selling, organized by Seldia and Polish DSA.
Industry Growth Figures
At the conference, Seldia announces its latest industry data, which showed a 7.1% growth of sales volume in 2010. The number of direct sellers has grown to an astonishing 4.5 million, 82% of whom are women. The opportunities that the industry offers to women in particular are highlighted at the conference, where 8 out of 12 speakers are woman.
Woman Empowerment
The growth of the industry was welcomed during the interventions by Members of the European Parliament Mrs. Malgorzata Handzlik and Mrs. Anna Maria Corazza Bildt. Both MEPs have closely been involved with the industry – Mrs Handzlik as rapporteur on the Services Directive and Mrs Corazza Bildt as rapporteur for the Retail Market Report.
Panel On Social Media
It was highlighted that social media is clearly an opportunity not to be missed, more than a threat to direct selling business model. The strategy must be well thought off and it is not only an opportunity for the multi-national companies, but that there are easy ways for even the individual distributor to optimise sales.
On consumer legislation
One of the important messages to take home from this panel is the need to talk to your authorities about how the new European Consumer Rights Directive will be implemented into national law.
On self-regulation
The direct selling sector is ahead of the pack with the introduction of a new European Direct Selling Ombudsman. It will deal with both B2C complaints as well as B2C complaints with a cross-border dimension that for some reason cannot be dealt with by the national Code Administrator.
The next Annual Round Table will be on 3 October 2012.