It’s August, and you all know what that means, right? Yes, it’s our Billion Dollar Markets issue.
Each year we provide you with an analysis of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations’ global sales data. Writer Beth Douglass Silcox identifies the 24 countries with retail sales of $1 billion or more from direct selling. She also digs into the numbers to not only extract the economic impact our industry is having on economies around the world (global retail sales up 1.6 percent over 2016) but also reveals some insights to what the future will hold. The first of which is China, who is inching ever closer to overtaking the United States for the top spot, and most likely will by the end of the year. The industry also added Ecuador to the billion dollar market club, which makes 24 in total.
In this issue, we have the second installment of our series analyzing the U.S. DSA’s 2017 Growth & Outlook survey, which reported that for the second year in a row retail sales are down for our channel. In our July issue Ben Gamse, Market Research Manager for the DSA, gave us the data and a few reasons why the U.S. revenue numbers are down. This month writer Heather Martin moves the discussion forward by asking how does our industry better compete in the marketplace against the likes of Amazon and shifting consumer needs. Her research consisted of sifting through early response data from workshop attendees at the DSA Annual Meeting, as well as interviewing some executives to get their thoughts on how we can right the ship and get back to growth.
Pick up your print copy of the August 2018 issue in which this article appeared.
This month we also have a great lineup of companies to feature. Writer Angela Soper shares the story of ARIIX, led by CEO Fred Cooper. ARIIX’s house of brands philosophy has worked well for them, moving them up the DSN Global 100 list rankings each of the past three years. “We want to be a house of brands in which you get the best in class of different types of brands that you choose to represent”, says Cooper. “We also are not married to just products, we’re not married just to services, we have both.”
Next, writer Sarah Paulk takes a look at Isagenix, whose driving force is not only impacting the lives of people but long-term success. “Certainly, the impact on people’s lives is ultimately what we care about,” says Isagenix Chief Executive Officer Travis Ogden. “We’re building a company that every decision we make is for the long-term because we want Isagenix to be around for generations.”
And finally, I just wanted to thank you all for your kind emails of support since taking this new position. I love what I do and am honored and grateful to serve you in this capacity. Be sure and drop me an email to let us know how we are doing and how we can better serve you.
