Croatian Direct Selling Companies Establish Their Association

On Thursday, the Croatian Direct Selling Association (HUDP) was presented in Zagreb, with initial members including Amway, Avon, GNLD, Herbalife, and Oriflame, and it is expected to quickly increase its membership given the pace at which the direct selling sector is developing. The current members of the Association achieved a total turnover exceeding 200 million kuna in 2006, engaging around 70,000 direct sellers and 100 permanent employees.

HUDP expects to soon become a member of the Federation of European Direct Selling Associations, whose vice president, Ric Hobby, attended the presentation of the Croatian association. The increasing importance of direct selling as a segment of trade in Croatia was confirmed by the presence of Ema Culi, assistant to the Minister of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship, who emphasized the positive contribution of direct selling to the development of the trade sector and explained that the new Trade Law, which is in preparation, will be adapted to the new conditions and market demands: creating equal business conditions for all trading companies and protecting consumers.

The law will also introduce a typology of sales points in which direct selling will have its place and will be statistically monitored.
Currently, direct selling in Croatia is mainly present in the areas of cosmetics, household items, wellness, and similar products, while on a global scale, this spectrum is incomparably broader. In Europe, direct selling generates an annual turnover of nearly 19 billion euros; it involves 7.5 million people, of which 84 percent are women, and 69 percent do it part-time, meaning that this job is primarily a source of additional income for families.

On a global scale, direct selling achieves a volume of 93 billion US dollars and has been steadily increasing over the past five years. HUDP’s plan is to promote direct selling not only as an operational activity but also to introduce it into the national economy as a segment of trade with relevant economic and social potential.   (Davorka Zmijarević)