Fighting back: Amway India aims to hit 90% of pre-lockdown business by next month
Last month, shops and markets reopened, excluding those in malls, and public transport such as buses and taxis were allowed to operate according to guidelines.
E-commerce firms could also make home deliveries of non-essential goods.
And since June 8, the country has moved to the ‘Unlock 1’ stage, where shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, places of worship could be opened but social distancing remains in place.
“With the second phase of the lockdown (lockdown 4.0) starting on May 18, plus the government’s direction on labour reforms and factory operations etc, we are hopeful to achieve 80 - 90% level of business by July 2020,” Budhraja said in response to queries from NutraIngredients-Asia.
The firm had previously been granted by the government to resume manufacturing operations.
In the past few months, the firm’s sales have been driven by online sales, especially for its herbal SKUs within its flagship Nutrilite portfolio. Examples of its top-selling herbal tablet products include tulsi and ashwagandha.
“The category’s contribution is expected to grow faster with current contribution of 56% is expected to increase to 65%,” he said.
The public health emergency also led to a shift to online shopping for supplements, even during the initial stage of the crisis.
He said that in February alone, online ordering had shot up from 33.6% to 90%. These days, the firm said that online sales were expected to contribute 80-85% to the overall sales.
To meet the sudden increase in online orders, the firm had to work with new vendors for product deliveries.
Foreseeing continued digital transformations at every level of the firm’s operations in the days to come, he said the firm would strengthen its online capabilities.
Its traditionally offline training sessions for the direct sellers have shifted online and over 2,500 online trainings for over 550,000 direct sellers.
“A new consumer will emerge”
Budhraja said the firm believed that “a new consumer would emerge in the post-COVID-19 era”, and this would lead to new business models and innovative products.
The firm said it was inching towards the food segment and this was evident in its recently announced partnership with FMCG and beverage firm ITC.
Under the deal, Amway will distribute ITC’s B Natural+ fruit beverages that come in the orange and mixed fruit flavours. The duo also claimed that the fruit juice could support the immunity.
“The new fruit beverages range along with Nutrilite All Plant Protein, positions it as a great daily breakfast immunity strengthening option,” Budhraja said.
He added that they would be deploying resources and science-based research to further strengthen the partnership.
In-house products wise, he said the firm would focus on the “immunity-boosting” products under the Nutrilite range, such as its Natural C tablet and the All Plant Protein Powder.
“At least in the medium term, we expect that these products will remain in grocery shopping lists and become key revenue drivers for the company in the space,” he said.
