Herbalife strives to standardise Asia services with opening of new Malaysia centre

By Tingmin Koe

- Last updated on GMT

Herbalife has opened a new shared services centre (SSC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Herbalife has opened a new shared services centre (SSC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Herbalife has opened a new shared services centre (SSC) in Malaysia, with the direct-selling firm stating it will support the growing demand for nutrition products in the region, and help standardise its services.

The centre, in Kuala Lumpur, is the fifth such facility the American outfit has opened globally.

Neil Spiers, vice president of Herbalife’s global business services, said at the launch that the newly added SSC will provide “faster response​ and “better service​to their independent members and customers across the region. 

The other four centres are located in Guadalajara and Querétaro, Mexico; Krakow, Poland, and Bangalore, India.

Herbalife has been expanding its reach and focus on the region in recent months.

Just three months ago, Herbalife launched a new personalized nutrition programme Gene Start​ in South Korea. It gives customers a detailed analysis of their genetic makeup, related lifestyle habits, and personalised nutrition plans.

The company has even received monetary support of more than $90 million​ in matching grants from the Chinese authorities.

According to CEO Rich Goudis, the funds will be used to further its operations within the country, and also help find ways to combat the country’s growing obesity trend. 

These developments followed a forced restructuring that it had undergone last year. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probed the US-based company for allegedly running an illegal pyramid scheme.

The company was required to relook the way it accounted for its sales. Its compensation structure was also revised to place emphasis on sales to end users, and to downplay how much distributors were rewarded simply for signing up additional new distributors. 

The company also agreed to pay a $200 million fine.

As a result of its restructuring, its US business fell 19% in the second quarter of last year, but slowly recovered in the subsequent months.

The company reported net fourth quarter sales of $1.1 billion, which represented an increase of 4.6% on a reported basis and an increase of 3.4% on a constant currency basis compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.

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