In 2009, the market of direct sales for Amway products will not be affected

The financial crisis isn"t affecting the direct sales market anywhere near as badly as other economic sectors. This is what George Popescu, the director of "Amway" Romania, maintains: "The crisis is on everyone"s mind and it is indeed making its presence felt all over the economy. In our sector, the effects are not as significant, because we don"t have to make big investments like in the industrial sector. Our customers will buy because they need our products, they are not something one can easily do without".

He further explained: "In difficult times, people are looking for alternative income sources, and one of them is direct sales. The initial investment of a distributor - private entrepreneur- is approximately 100 Euros, which can provide them good earnings in the coming years, without interfering with their main job".

• Looking to diversify, "Amway" has expanded in over 80 countries

"Amway" got its start in household cleaning products, in the US, 50 years ago, in a factory in the small town of Ada, Michigan state. The diversification process was wide-ranging: the household cleaning products were soon joined by products for laundry and car cleaning. Entire series of products for the personal hygiene were created, such as the Artistry cosmetics range, or the E.Funkhouser New York professional make-up products. Then came the Nutrilite dietary supplements (a company bought by "Amway" in 1972) and Positrim, jewelry, fragrances.

In Romania, the company distributes most of the products manufactured in the America, with the best sellers being cosmetics and dietary supplements. The best sellers among cosmetic products are the skin care products.

An important feature of the dietary supplements, sold under the Nutrilite brand (with over 3 billion dollars in sales in 2008), is that they are produced using plants grown in organic farms, which can fight the effects of bad dietary habits.

"Interest in healthcare has seen a dramatic increase these last few years. We can gauge this by the volume of sales of five specific products, including Double X, Daily, Omega3 complex", George Popescu said.

He further added: "We are optimistic for 2009. We"ve had good results so far this year, and we are looking to increase our sales by 10-20% compared to 2008. It all depends on the exchange rate and the consumers" purchasing power".

"Anway" Romania provides a business opportunity for over 50000 thousand customers and private authorized entrepreneurs. The company has over 40 permanent employees. They ensure the dispatching of orders (which come from all over the country through the Internet), directly at the homes of all applicants.