Direct-selling still bigger than live-selling for Avon Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Amid reports claiming that direct-selling is no longer working, allegedly leading to bankruptcy filings such as those by Avon Products Inc. last August and by Tupperware a month after, Avon Philippines affirmed to Philstar.com that the practice remains to be its biggest revenue driver as opposed to other platforms like e-commerce.

“Avon, it’s really known for direct-selling… But we still have our reps (representatives) also, and our reps also do TikTok live (selling)… since the pandemic,” said Charm Adasa Anonas, Junior Manager for Skincare, Avon Philippines.

“Right now, bigger pa rin ‘yung traditional (direct-selling). It’s kind of hard for us to really track this because some reps do both (online and direct-selling),” she added, sharing that the company also has its own TikTok Squad composed of sales representatives.

“Definitely, in terms of getting your products across the market in terms of like social media in general, very, very helpful. We had products where we saw a boost in sales because of social media. I don’t have data… But I think everyone now has social media (accounts).”

Although their marketing efforts include organizing events and tapping different channels from online flagship stores to retail outlets, according to Anonas, e-commerce is still not yet a significant source of revenue.

“To be honest, it’s still a very small chunk (of the business) compared to our traditional tool (direct-selling). But it’s still growing.”

According to her, the company is number one in makeup, fragrance and lotion locally in the beauty category. Under makeup, “definitely the lipsticks” are the bestsellers from the brand.

Skincare is an opportunity for the brand since Avon “is not yet top-of-mind” in skincare, said Anonas, but the company is seeing Anew, the company’s bestseller under skincare, as an “opportunity” to tap a bigger market since this anti-aging line is “Science-backed.”

Instead of calling direct-selling a challenge in the face of other selling methods like live-selling, Avon Philippines general manager Vanee Gosiengfiao sees modernizing the direct-selling business as an opportunity.

“I want Avon to continue to be relevant in the