Amway planning national network of centers

Amway Corp, the world's largest direct selling company, on Friday opened its first experience center in Shanghai as part of its efforts to further expand its presence in China.

The company said the new center will play a big role in upgrading its image, branding and provide more transparency and understanding in connecting with customers.

The center, located in the central business district of Shanghai and covering 7,500 square meters, was designed by architects from South Korea. It features high-tech and green-style immersion experiences of various business units of Amway.

The retailer plans to set up a similar center in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong province later this year and another one in Beijing next year. More centers could be opened in other big cities to upgrade the company's traditional shops that mostly offer transactions with distributors.

The next generation of Amway shops will be upgraded to serve as the branding, culture and communication unit of the company, it said.

Doug DeVos, president of Amway, who is slated to take over as the new president of the World Federation of Direct Selling Association next month, said his main agenda will be to make the direct selling business more transparent and widespread.

About 50 direct selling companies have got licenses to conduct businesses in China and there are growing expectations that they would soon be connected through an industry association.

He said the global direct selling industry has been growing steadily. "Our efforts would be to promote the industry, build transparency and make everybody understand the direct selling business," said Devos.

Though direct selling is in essence a simple business, there are still lots of misunderstandings, said Devos, adding that companies must simplify their messaging and enhance innovation and creativity to further improve the quality of their products and customer experiences, especially in markets where direct selling is relatively new.

The Michigan, US-based company posted sales of about $11.8 billion last year.

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