Oriflame has been in India for more than two decades. What are your plans now?
We will be celebrating 25 years in India next year. Globally , India is a strategic market for Oriflame and has been steadily expanding our network within the country in the last two decades. The result is a stable and robust business that’s growing in double digits.
Looking at the way India is continuously growing in the spheres of beauty and wellness, it is an opportune phase to accelerate operations and build on what we do well. In fact, this growth is the perfect time to change the game and take our India operations to the next level.
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The online market has been revolutionary with consumer behaviour undergoing many changes related to buying. How have you adapted to this?
I think it’s been a very positive change. Ever since online ordering became a full-fledged choice for Indian consumers, leading to delivery at one’s doorstep, we witnessed a change in the mechanics how our consultants are ordering and buying from us. And we are always in sync with change. So, we also strategized and transformed things inside the organization. We re-trained our consultants too. Today, a majority of our orders are placed online. We believe that no one should struggle to order online, either through Oriflame’s website or app; the process should be on the fingertips. Apart from paper catalogue, we also have a digital one which can be accessed through different digital platforms. There is an ease of ordering, whether you do it through our website or the app.
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What kind of changes did you make in your training?
We encourage our consultants to attend physical and digital meetings. There are several reasons for this. The first is that as new ones join, they need to be aware of the mission and vision of the company. Hence, we organize a number of webinars and Facebook Live, so that we can go to the people if they cannot come to us.
In Direct selling business person-to-person interaction is the key aspect, thus details and knowledge are crucial. We have skin and make-up experts who train our consultants on products & their application. Apart from product-specific training, there are workshops on how to build their business too.
What R&D practices do you have in place? Any new discoveries that define your products?
Global R&D and innovations are an integral part of our business. We have more than 100 scientists working at our Global R&D facilities in Dublin & Stockholm. They keep innovating and using natural extracts which are powered with science to create safe & effective world class products for everyone.
