YESTERDAY was the deadline for door-to-door sales companies to apply for licenses after China lifted a seven-year ban on the business practice on December 1 last year.
As the Ministry of Commerce hasn’t yet released the batch of licenses for November, major foreign applicants including Amway (China) Co Ltd and Mary Kay (China) may still be phased out of the direct-sales business.
“We are very confident this time that Mary Kay will be in the last batch of door-to-door sales companies with its years of experience and practice in the field,” said Zhou Liyu, spokesman at Mary Kay’s China unit.
Officials at Amway said the company’s application was being reviewed and it expected results to be released soon.
Legitimate door-to-door retailers suffered on the Chinese mainland as the government cracked down on all forms of direct sales in 1998 in an effort to rein in rampant fraud involving pyramid schemes.
Sales firms wait on doorstep
