Amway: Only our first few years were tougher than this year

Current problems are reminiscent of the years 1998-2000, when big foreign investors were only starting to enter the Romanian market, believes George Popescu, branch manager of Amway Romania, a company present on the direct sales market and number two on the direct sales cosmetics market after Avon.

"Perhaps only the early period of Amway, from 1998 to 2000 was tougher than this year. In the summer, the sales curve deepened because the austerity measures imposed by the government overlapped with the holiday period, when people are no longer willing to buy or do any other activity that direct sales entail," George Popescu told ZF.
The company estimated a 23.8 million-euro (100 million-RON) turnover for this year. In 2009, the company posted 27.7 million euros (116 million RON) in turnover, down by around 25% on the previous year, partly because of the euro depreciation.
"It is true that 2009 was the first year of financial crisis, but the measures taken then were latent, their effects showed as late as 2010. On the other hand, the effects of the measures taken this year - the salary cuts, the VAT hike - were faster to reflect in the economy," Popescu says.