Direct selling companies have taken a direct hit from ecommerce in India. Distributors of Amway, Oriflame and Tupperware in India are selling products online through Flipkart, Snapdeal, eBay and Amazon, disrupting the direct-sales business model.
Even about a year after issuing notices to online marketplaces to halt the sale of their products, direct selling firms have little control over such transactions. While Amway and Tupperware continue to resist the ecommerce onslaught, some others have taken to collaborating with the online marketplaces.
Hindustan Unilever has shut its direct-to-home model, HUL Network. Instead it has relaunched its Aviance beauty products and Ayush remedies on portals such as Amazon. Eureka Forbes, which sells water purifiers and vacuum cleaners, has launched specific models to sell on Flipkart and Snapdeal.
An HUL spokesperson said the company reviewed the business in 2014