‘Direct selling biz in India is growing’

EDYTA KUREK, senior vice-president of Oriflame India and Indonesia, is the first woman to lead the Swedish beauty brand's operations in India. In a conversation with Veenu Sandhu, conducted both in-person and virtually in New Delhi, Kurek discusses Oriflame's commitment to the direct-selling model, its plans to expand its women-led sales force. Edited excerpts:

- EDYTA KUREK

As the first woman to lead Oriflame in India, is there a specific area you want to focus on?

India has made notable progress in terms of women's participation in the workforce, but it's still only 37 per cent of women who leave home every morning to go to work. Along with my company, I want to help change this. I think it is great when women make decisions based not on their dependency but on their independence, and that includes financial independence.

Oriflame completes 30 years in India in 2025. It was one of the first international companies to introduce the direct marketing model here. Has that strategy changed?

It is not possible to avoid digital, so our brand partners have learnt to work online as well. Face-to-face meetings are now screen-to-screen meetings. That said, relationships are something unique in our business.