‘Refreshed’ Amway focuses on new generation of consumers
As it celebrates its 20th anniversary in the country this year, Amway Philippines is focusing on a number of initiatives to strengthen and further grow its business by tapping into the new generation of consumers through fresh campaigns and new products.
he world’s No. 1 direct selling business considers 2017 a “huge year” as it pours more investments in the market, with most of them already underway. The company will relocate to a new and bigger head office in the Makati Business District in July. Likewise, modernization and upgrade of its distribution centers in the provinces is ongoing.
Recently, it launched its “Kiss Me Online” online campaign that resonates with the millennial market and provides a glimpse of other offerings the company will start this year.
“The Philippines is in a unique position to provide a fertile testing ground for some of new ideas from Amway,” said Ma. Elenita Olmedo, Amway Philippines country manager.
New initiatives
According to Olmedo, the Philippines will serve as pilot market for Amway’s new initiatives such as the introduction of a new store concept, social and digital tools for business, new products, and fresh new image-building campaign that will help increase Amway’s relevance to the younger market.
Amway’s new direction is spurred by the growing Philippine economy and the rising middle class, which provide more opportunities for retail business, particularly for consumer goods in health and wellness, beauty and home care categories—areas where Amway has strongest suit. “The Philippines too has a young population, who are social-media savvy and very Western in orientation,” added Olmedo.
Some of the measures are already making positive impact on Amway’s growth targets. The number of Amway Business Owners, who number to 64,000 plus na- tionwide, continue to grow. Improved e-commerce combined with a digital business-building app, including an easy on boarding program helps new distributors build their business sustainably. In addition, the new experience center at the Amway’s new headquarters will further enhance their skills through retailing, training, and community-building programs.
“Our focus is to to provide a robust level of support for our Amway business owners so that they can maximize all the opportunities presented by emerging market trends,” said Olmedo.
Younger consumers
Amway will introduce new products this year in the beauty and health categories targeting the younger consumers. In the past, the company has pioneered products that were labeled “organic” even before the word became fashionable. Through its Nutrilite products, the company pioneered plant-based ingredients that are now known as “lycopene” in tomato products, “isoflavones” in soy, and a host of other plant nutrients found in supplements.
“Sustainability is in our DNA, and our society increasingly places value on these concepts such as healthy and sustainable living. Amway will continue to play a vital role, and our products will continue to have consumer demand, if not increasingly so,” said Olmedo.
The global company, which has presence in 91 territories around the world, was established in 1959 in the United States on the concept of free enterprise, which believes that people should have equal opportunity to have their own business.
The company’s operation in the Philippines has helped thousands of Filipinos become entrepreneurs, with direct selling providing them with a turnkey business that’s ready to go into operation on the day of sign up, said Olmedo.
One By One for Children
Amway is also involved in
CSR via its project One By One for Children, which is undertaken by the company in partnership with the Department of Education. The project provides values-based literacy programs in partner schools in key cities where Amway has a distribution center.
Amway has six partner schools, which are recipients of libraries, donated books, and volunteer programs such as story-telling sessions conducted by Amway staff and business owners with Museo Pambata.
In the coming years, Amway has a lot to look forward to in the progress of direct selling. It wants a brand that still feels youthful and relevant with the times.
“Amway (global) will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2019 and the challenge for this 60-year-old company is in how to make itself continually relevant to the business owners and consumers of the new generation. The future CEO is a young person on-the-go, building a business out of his backpack. Our intention is to design for our future CEO, without excluding anyone in Amway, using technology and platforms available to day to give them the flexibility to build whatever they want by enabling them digitally and socially,” said Olmedo.