European Direct Selling Celebrates Annual Conference

Mrs Henryka Borchniarz, President of Polish Confederation of Private Employers

Marie Lacroix, Seldia, shares a joke with Ric Hobby, Herbalife.

On 21 September 2011, over 100 participants made up from 20 DSAs, the direct selling industry, government and stakeholders’ organisations gathered at the Intercontinental Hotel in Warsaw to celebrate the first Round Table on the Future of Direct Selling. The meeting was jointly organized by Seldia and the Polish Direct Selling Association was held under auspices of the Polish Minister of Economy, Mr Waldemar Pawlak.

At the conference, Seldia announced its latest industry data, which showed a 7.1 per cent growth of sales volume in 2010. The number of European direct sellers has grown to an astonishing 4.5 million, 82 per cent of whom are women. The opportunities that the industry offers to women in particular were illustrated at the conference, where eight out of the 12 speakers were women.

The growth of the industry was welcomed during presentations made 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. Other speakers included Mrs Henryka Borchniarz, President of the Polish Confederation of Private Employers ‘Lewiatan’; Paul Dobson, Code Administrator, UK DSA; Maurits Bruggink, Executive Director, Seldia; Jules Stuyck of the University of Leven and Marie Lacroix, Director of Internal Affairs, Seldia.

One of the key messages highlighted in the meeting was the need to talk to national authorities about how the new European Consumer Rights Directive will be implemented into national law. The direct selling sector is ahead of the game with the introduction of a new European Direct Selling Ombudsman who will deal with both B2C complaints as well as B2C complaints with a cross-border dimension that for any reason cannot be dealt with by the national Code Administrator. The evening awards dinner was held at the Belvedere Restaurant in Warsaw, and hosted by the Seldia Chairman Philippe Jacquelinet.

Recognition was given to the Polish DSA when they were presented with the annual Seldia Award for their continued support for the European trade association in times of restructuring, for its contribution to continuous growth in the largest new EU member state and for its courage to co-organise the first Round Table on the Future of Direct Selling.

The next Round Table will be on 3 October 2012, so save the date!