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Published on March 10, 2008

That rate is double that of traditional retailing.

"Thailand has racked up a nice track record over the past 10 years. We also expect to double the size of Nu Skin's busi-ness in Thailand over three years," CEO Truman Hunt said last week.

Nu Skin's local sales rose 10 per cent to Bt1.2 billion last year, while the direct-sales industry as a whole rose 7 per cent to Bt43 billion.

Nu Skin has two core-product categories - personal care and skincare - but it moved into nutritional and food supplements in 1990, Hunt said.

Nutritional products now make up about half of its sales.

Unlike other direct-sales firms, most sales representatives at Nu Skin are men.

"Our compensation structure allows our sales executives to make a lot of money and that attracts more males into the system," he said.

Nu Skin pays out 43 per cent of revenue as commissions to its sales force, the highest in the industry, he said.

The company, which posted worldwide sales of US$1.16 billion (Bt36.62 billion) last year, plans to open offices in Vietnam in two or three years and in India in three or four years.

After 23 years, Nu Skin operates in 47 markets around the world. It now sees great potential in many emerging markets in Eastern Europe, such as Hungary and Slovakia, as well as in India, which is already a fairly substantial market today.

"About 84 per cent of our revenue has been generated outside the US, while only 15-16 per cent was from our home market," said Hunt, who is also chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, which has 82 members around the world.

Japan is the largest Nu Skin market and contributes 38 per cent in sales. Other huge markets are South Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Thailand is on a par with Singapore and Malaysia.

Globally, the industry has grown 5-6 per cent to more than $100 billion a year.

In China, the industry did about $4 billion in business in 2006 but will rival even Japan in market size, which is expected to reach more than $20 billion in 10-15 years.

"In the US, one in 10 people is interested in pursuing a direct-selling business, while in China, every five in 10 intend to do direct selling," Hunt said.

In Thailand, every two in 10 are interested in getting into direct sales, he added.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation