Kolkata, Apr 1 (PTI) Direct selling companies are betting big on the eastern part of the country to expand their businesses as West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha are among the top five states in terms of the performance of the sector that witnessed over 7 per cent growth in the country in the COVID-hit 2020-21 fiscal, industry stakeholders said on Friday.
Most of the eastern states present a “strong and growing opportunity” with awareness of direct selling business rising, industry body IDSA Chairman Rajat Banerji said.
“I believe that eastern India led by West Bengal can become a stronger stakeholder and contributor to the national business mix,” he told PTI.
The industry grew by 7.7 per cent in the pandemic-impacted 2020-21 fiscal to cross the Rs 18,000 crore mark for the first time, according to a report released by Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA).
Northern India contributed to around 29 per cent of the direct selling sales in FY21, while the eastern region’s share was almost 26 per cent of the gross national revenue.
The southern, western and north-east regions account for 14 per cent, 22.56 per cent and eight per cent respectively, he said.
“Eastern India is one of the strongest regions and the contribution from this part of the country may go up to 30 per cent…. The trend is for sure going to move towards the East and north-east from the northern region,” FICCI Direct Selling Task Force head and IDSA vice-chairman Vivek Katoch told PTI.
Asked whether the direct selling entities are focusing on the eastern part of the country, Banerji said, “Certainly. It is my understanding that most such companies are increasing their investments in the region and ramping up infrastructure. It is demonstrative of the focus and inclination to grow and deepen the market penetration in the region”.
“Going forward, we could possibly see many business initiatives from Indian direct selling companies in terms of resource deployment and investment in eastern India,” said Banerji, who is also vice-president, corporate affairs, at Amway India Enterprises.
Of the 79 lakh direct sellers, the eastern region has a “direct sellers entrepreneur base of 26.5 lakh. Of this, West Bengal has a direct selling base at 3.8 lakh, followed by Bihar at 14.9 lakh, Jharkhand at 4.5 lakh and Odisha at 3.3 lakh.
“What is expected from the state governments, especially from West Bengal, is that they should come out with a monitoring mechanism because some frauds are taking place and people are confused. There is a need to remove this ambiguity,” said Katoch who is also director, corporate affairs and public policy, at Oriflame India.
In terms of gender ratio, the industry currently comprises 53 per cent of male and 47 per cent of female active direct sellers.
“It is my understanding that in Eastern India, gender ratios would be better than the national gender mix of 53:47. In my experience, women direct sellers tend to dominate the landscape in eastern and the north-east regions. They are very enterprising with a strong will and focus to succeed,” Banerji added. PTI BDC NN NN
