WFDSA World Congress 2021, “Tomorrow is Now”, Virtual Edition, was held on 6-7 October. Led by Mr. Roger Barnett, Chairman of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), Vice Chairman Mr. Magnus Brannstrom, Vice Chairman Mr. Lam Yu, Secretary Dr. Dora Hoan, Executive Director Ms. Tamuna Gabilaia, and other federation members, CEOs and representatives of the world-leading direct selling companies also participated in the congress.

WFDSA World Congress 2021 was initially planned to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, but was eventually held online, due to the global pandemic. Direct selling representatives across the world shared their experience and explored possible collaborative opportunities, by discussing the six key topics, which are “Rethink, Recreate And Redefine Direct Selling”, “Post-Pandemic Opportunities And Challenges”, “Consumer Trends That Impact The Direct Selling Industry”, “The Global Trend of Direct Selling Regulations And The Challenges”,  “Digitization And The Future of Direct Selling”, and “Win The Wealth Seeker to Your Team in The Modern Sales Era”. The in-depth discussion provides valuable insights for the future development of the industry. The industry will continue to demonstrate its great value to the world, by supporting the global population in pursuing better health and optimal happiness.

Mr. Lam Yu, CEO of Infinitus Global, was elected to be the Vice Chairman of WFDSA on 1 October 2020. This was the first time for him to participate in the World Congress. During the Congress, Mr. Lam shared his thoughts about the current and future development of the global direct selling industry, and provided an in-depth analysis on the opportunities and challenges the industry will be facing. Among the six key topics of the congress, Mr. Lam and the panelist specifically exchanged thoughts and knowledge about “Rethink, Recreate And Redefine Direct Selling”. Below is an abstract of the discussion:

Q1. Given the 100+ years of history of the direct selling industry, what do you think should be the most important thing we should do, if we are to rethink, recreate and redefine direct selling?

Lam Yu:

I believe transforming our mindset is the most important thing to do. Everyone, including the distributors and admin staff need to do so. We should not be satisfied with being the biggest fish in a small pond. Instead, we should play a bigger game by being the leader even in a bigger market. Over the past century, we have discovered a fact: the challenge for the direct selling industry is not the competition between the direct selling companies. Instead, the cross-industry competition is the real game out there. E-commerce and gig economy are great rivals of the direct selling industry. We should think out of the box now. Strategies that were once effective may no longer apply. Therefore, the most important thing to do now is to transform our mindset. Redefining direct selling is the future of the industry, and only with a transformed mindset, we will have capacity to rethink, recreate and redefine direct selling.

Q2. What permanent changes did you make in the business to cope with the emergence of the coronavirus?

Lam Yu:

Following the pandemic, there has been two significant changes in the business trend within China. These two changes were accelerated particularly by the pandemic, first of which is the consumer trend in the health and wellness industry, and the second one is the online-offline channel integration. The second change is especially interesting and worth discussing. Nowadays, people can easily develop a second career to increase their income within a couple hours. They can do that at home, simply by utilizing their smart phones. One of the direct results of the pandemic is the increased online activities, which have inspired an increased population to raise their income by developing online businesses. Direct selling provides this group of people exactly with a career opportunity that they need. With the growing demand for health products, the direct selling industry will continue to thrive.

In addition, professionals in the direct selling industry receive training that highly improves their various skills and competitiveness. During the pandemic, direct selling companies have taken on the responsibility in educating the general public, resulting in an overall improved awareness of health, immunity and disease prevention.

We also hope the direct selling industry and direct selling associations will continue to facilitate more communication with media and the government. I think it is very important to share with the public how the direct selling industry can contribute to the society, by providing values to consumers, improving national health and stimulating the labor market.

Q3. Can you please talk about how digital transformation impacts the direct selling industry and your company?

Lam Yu:

In the past 5-10 years, the Consumer Internet was dominating. It was until last year, that we have entered the Industrial Internet era. This new trend is a huge opportunity for the direct selling industry.

The biggest advantage of the direct selling industry used to be the offline human connection. If we can combine the offline human connection with the efficiency provided by the internet, we will be able to create a new product within the Industrial Internet.

Digital transformation or development may appear to be a technological transformation, but it is a human transformation in fact. How do we transform ourselves, to be prepared to reach consumers online, maintain the human connection and convert that into sales? Without the human connection and trust developed between people, the efficiency brought by technology  remains soulless and clinical. Human connection and trust are great advantages of direct selling. With that being said, although digital transformation can be challenging at times, this is a great opportunity that we must seize to advance ourselves.

Q4. Please briefly share with us how you see and feel about direct selling.

Lam Yu:

As much as technology advances, the fundament of direct selling is the trusted relationship developed by sharing authentic product experience, and helping consumers to improve their life by resolving problems. Having been in the industry for so many years, supporting our sales partners and growing with them have always been my greatest pleasure, reward and accomplishment.

Closing

As the Vice Chairman of WFDSA, Mr. Lam Yu hopes to support direct selling companies in becoming mainstream enterprises that are recognized by the public, by bolstering steady development of the industry, promoting digitization and improving the business reputation. As the CEO of Infinitus Global, Mr. Lam Yu’s participation in the World Congress represents the company’s significance to the direct selling industry. Infinitus will continue to endeavor to work with other industry fellows for a healthy and sustainable future of the direct selling industry. 

World Federation of Direct Selling Associations

The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) is an international organization representing the direct selling industry worldwide. It was founded in 1978, and has developed a member base across over 60 regions in the world. Its headquarters is located in Washington DC, USA.

The key objective of WFDSA is to promote organic and well-structured development of the direct selling industry, by monitoring and maintaining the highest level of ethical conduct. WFDSA holds the World Congress once every three years. During the congress, participants make joint efforts to improve the overall organization of the direct selling industry, by consolidating their industry experience, streamlining the code of ethics and discussing the direction for future development.

Learn more about WFDSA: https://wfdsa.org/operating-group/