Direct sales are booming worldwide.

Direct Selling Booming Worldwide While retail is stagnating on a broad front, the direct selling business is booming worldwide. The sales volume generated in direct selling was around 183.729 billion US dollars in 2015. Officially, there are 103,277,493 million business partners worldwide engaged in direct selling or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) either full-time or part-time on a self-employed basis. Germany's Direct Selling Industry Ranks 4th Internationally In international comparison, Germany's direct selling industry ranked fourth in 2015 with over 15 billion US dollars (excluding financial and construction services). A product is sold in direct selling every two seconds, with 65% of them being sold at sales parties in a social setting. The industry leader in Germany's direct selling sector is the Vorwerk Group, founded in 1883, with over 612,000 independent consultants operating in more than 70 countries. In 2015, Vorwerk generated a group turnover of 3.5 billion euros. Other significant German direct selling companies include PM-International (Fitline supplements and cosmetics), LR Health & Beauty, Energetix magnetic jewelry, proWIN International cleaning products, Cellagon food and cosmetics, Emmi-Club ultrasonic toothbrushes, etc. Product Categories in Direct Selling The major product categories in direct selling include supplements/food, cosmetics/wellness, household goods/cleaning products, energy/wine, communication services, financial services/insurance, jewelry, construction products, textiles, and erotica. Over 820,000 sales partners in Germany According to a study by the University of Mannheim, the number of independent sales partners rose to approximately 823,188 by the end of 2014. In 2014, the number of sales partners working for direct selling companies, 37% full-time and 63% part-time, increased from 724,000 (2013) to 823,188 (2014). Looking at future projections, the number of sales partners is expected to exceed 1,025,414 by 2019. The average annual growth rate of sales partners is around 4.4%. Structure of Sales Partners In direct selling, women account for 58% of the sales partners. The average age of sales partners is mostly between 36 and 57 years, with an increasing number of young people aged 20 to 28 entering the industry in 2016. The main reasons cited by sales partners for joining include enthusiasm for the product, earning opportunities both full-time and part-time, and the flexibility of working hours. For more information on direct selling, visit the online profile:http://www.excellente-unternehmer.de/redner/bernd-seitz.html