Herbalife, the California-based weight-management, nutritional supplements and personal care products group, has announced that it has received a direct-selling licence from China’s Ministry of Commerce.

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The licence will permit Herbalife to conduct a direct selling business in Suzhou and Nanjing in the Jiangsu province.


The company already has 42 stores and 17 service centres in 25 provinces in China, where it operates a direct-selling model in China in accordance with local regulations. These regulations allow for independent distributors, who are employed by the company, to conduct business in retail locations owned by Herbalife. The stores are open to both consumers and distributors. With the new licence, however, distributors will be allowed to conduct business outside of the stores in those areas where the licence has been granted.


“It is an honour for Herbalife to receive this licence,” said CEO Michael O. Johnson. “We have worked closely with China’s Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration Industry and Commerce over the past year and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in the direct-selling industry.”


Percy Chin, Herbalife’s senior vice president and managing director for the Greater China region, added: “We can help set an example for the direct-selling industry on how our industry can improve the wellbeing of our Chinese distributors and their customers.”

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Suzhou is China’s fifth largest city in GDP terms with a population of 6m, while approximately 8m people live in Nanjing, the second largest commercial centre in East China after Shanghai.