News Headline
Amway India ups revenues by 17% to Rs 7.38 bn for 2006
MUMBAI: Amway India, the direct selling FMCG company, has announced that it closed the year January – December 2006, at Rs 7.38 billion, up from Rs 6.33 billion in the previous reported 12 month period. This represents a growth of almost 17 per cent.
Amway MD and CEO Bill Pinckney attributes this growth to the top-class quality of Amway products as well as the consumers confidence in brand Amway. “We have had an over seven-fold increase in the eight years we have been in the Indian market. Amway clocked its first year in 1998 with a turnover of Rs 98 crores. With close to 80 products being sold across the country by Amway distributors, it is only a question of time before we breach the magical figure of Rs 1000 crores.”
According to Pinckney, the trend in the Indian market mirrors that of the Amway experience, overseas. “Amway is known as a health and beauty company worldwide. It does not surprise us that the 30 cosmetic and 16 health-care products in the Indian market, account for over 60 per cent of our turnover.”
Amway has presence in four product categories – (i) Nutrition and Wellness (ii) Cosmetics (iii) Home care and (iv) Personal care products. Amway’s greatest achievement has been in helping establish the direct selling (DS) industry in India, informs an official release.
“The Direct Selling industry was in a nascent stage when we entered the market. Today, this industry is a thriving Rs 3000 crore industry.” However, Pinckney added that the DS industry still had some distance to cover, essentially as industry was still not very well understood.
Director – marketing and distributor relations Stephen Beddoe said, “Amway had started business with six products and from five offices: today we have around 80 products and 74 offices across the length and breadth of the country, with home deliveries to over 2500 towns and cities.” According to Beddoe, the Amway business was driven by the 450,000 active distributors providing them an income earning opportunity. Amway contributed more than Rs 175 crores to the Government exchequer in 2006 by way of direct and indirect taxes and duties.
“85 per cent of all Amway products sold in the country, are manufactured at the facilities of our five contract manufacturers to whom state of the art technology has been transferred free of cost with the plant at Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) having the capacity to produce bulk of the Amway products,” adds Amway director – operations and supply chain Jerome Varman. “Amway contributes close to 2500 jobs directly and indirectly at its own offices, at the vendor facilities as well as at that of our service partners and C&F agents.”
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
