Annual General Meeting 2013 To be held at: Lawrence Graham Solicitors 4 More London Riverside London SE1 2AU Thursday 21st November 2013 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 1 04/11/2013 14:14 Vision Statement “To create a meaningful image of our Association, credibility and delivery in support of all our members and external opinion formers.” Contents 3 2013 Notice of Annual General Meeting 4 Governance and Membership 5 Chairman’s Report 6 Director’s Report 8 Code Administrator’s Report 10 Financial Statement 14 History of the DSA 15 List of Members 2 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 2 04/11/2013 14:14 2013 Notice of Annual General Meeting NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 47th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (“AGM”) of THE DIRECT SELLING ASSOCIATION will be held at 12.00 midday, on Thursday 21st November 2013 at the offices of LG (Lawrence Graham) Solicitors, 4 More London Riverside, London SE1 2AU for the following purposes:- Agenda 1. To receive the Chairman’s report. 2. To receive and adopt the Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th June 2013. 3. To elect Council Members. 4. To re-appoint auditors to the company and authorise the Directors to fix their remuneration. 5. To approve changes to the DSA Code of Practice for Consumers to reflect changes resulting from the implementation of the Consumer Rights Directive. 6. To consider any other business. Dated 30th October 2013 By Order of the Council PAUL SOUTHWORTH Director General Election to Council 1. Under the DSA Constitution, one third of Council retires annually by rotation. This year Bob Parker, Mimi Bogelund and Chris Fenna are due to rotate but all offer themselves for re-election which Council recommends. Also this year Ric Hobby, Jamie Stewart, Scott Schlackman, Shaun Charity and Tony Chaplin resigned from Council and were replaced by Gavin Aley, Andrea Slater, Vicky Beckett, Lisa Burke and Ben Woodward. 2. Under the DSA Constitution, the Chairman shall be elected each year. Andy Smith has been the Chairman for the last year and offers himself for re-election. Council recommends this re-election. 3 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 3 04/11/2013 14:14 2013 Direct Selling Association Governance and Membership 2013 Governance The Council is elected annually by members to control and manage the business and affairs of the Association. It is comprised of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and not more than 15 members. The Board is assisted in its role through the appointment and delegation of authority to the Director General and the contribution of member advisory committees. The Board adopts modern governance standards in its contribution to Association business. Council Members and Advisors Andy Smith Amway (UK) Limited Chairman Bob Parker Forever Living Products (UK) Limited Vice Chairman Chris Fenna The Pampered Chef (UK) Limited Gavin Aley Herbalife Europe Limited Mimi Bogelund Captain Tortue Group Andrea Slater Avon Clive Norton Cambridge Weight Plan Eric McClenaghan Oriflame Mike Roberts Mary Kay Cosmetics Vicky Beckett Arbonne Lisa Burke Kleeneze Penny Farish Morinda Simon Burke EllaPure Ben Woodward Nikken Paul Southworth Director General, DSA Lynda Mills Deputy Director, DSA (non-voting) Marinda Chaplin VideoPlus Europe Supplier Chairman (non-voting) Advisors Joanne Stevens Treasurer Paul Dobson Independent Code Administrator Legal Affairs Committee Paul Dobson Chairman Claudine Olney Secretary Forever Living Products 4 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 4 04/11/2013 14:14 2013 Direct Selling Association Chairman’s Report When I was elected as your Chairman twelve months ago, I have to confess I was not totally aware of the task ahead, however I can honestly say I have enjoyed the added involvement and commitment as it has been an honour to serve you in this capacity. 2012/2013 has again been a challenging year but thankfully we see the economic recovery from recession finally gathering pace. Despite these challenges it continues to be a great source of satisfaction that our industry goes from strength to strength as we see recruitment, sales and customer levels growing along with the overall profile of direct selling. Our PR strategy continues to be effective with increased media coverage. The website brings increased volume of traffic along with our social media network through Linked In, Facebook and Twitter. We received great feedback from our seminars and annual conference and have achieved the many objectives we set ourselves for the year. I would like to welcome our new Members and Supplier Members who joined us during the year and add my thanks for the support I have received from the Council Members old and new, who continue to give their time and commitment in representing you on Council. Finally, I would also like to thank your great DSA team of Paul, Lynda, Chris and Ian who along with Paul Dobson, Joanne Stevens and Ashley Riley make it possible for our Association to thrive and prosper, whilst remaining financially sound, we owe them our thanks and appreciation. I wish each and every one of you every possible success for the year ahead. Andy Smith DSA Chairman 5 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 5 04/11/2013 14:14 2013 Direct Selling Association Director’s Report During the last year I am pleased to report further success and progress for our industry and the Association. Apart from maintaining a sound financial position, as you will see from the accounts section within this report, we have raised the bar in terms of our profile, PR activity, lobbying and general delivery of services and support. In addition to the contribution from our Member Companies and Suppliers, this has been made possible by the committed efforts of my team here at the DSA office. Lynda and Chris along with the two new members of the team, Ian and Ashley, plus the support of our Code Administrator Paul Dobson and Treasurer Joanne Stevens, have worked tirelessly on your behalf to ensure added value to membership and continuous progress. I am truly proud of them all. Highlights of the year DSAI This year saw us pick up the mantle of the management of the Direct Selling Association of Ireland. Gavin Aley became the Chair and Lynda was appointed as Director. The additional focus and support has had an immediate effect with membership growing for the first time in years and DSAI has now fulfilled full membership status in WFDSA. Also a very successful Annual Awards Dinner was held in Dublin on November 7th 2013. Annual Conference/Seminars Our own Annual Conference and Awards Dinner was held in May and voted by many as the ‘best ever’. The winning formula of good business content, fun, information, popular award winners and great evening entertainment is certainly one we intend to repeat next year. The Conference Committee are already organising the event which will take place on Thursday May 15th at Whittlebury Hall, Northampton (make a date in your diary now). More details will be released shortly. In addition to the Conference our Seminar series continues to be popular and throughout the year our topics included Social Media, HMRC, eBay, Destination Management, Incentives, and Legal. The round table discussion format has proven to be a great way of sharing and learning. Public Relations Together working closely with our PR Agency CubanEight, we continued to increase our media coverage with strong positive articles about our industry and the opportunities it provides. To this we have added some great case studies provided by the virtual PR group based in our Member Companies who do a great job in supplying their individual success stories. As a result we can accurately measure an up-lift in our profile with both journalists and opinion formers. 6 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 6 04/11/2013 14:14 Website/Social Media Ashley Riley added impetus to the team with ever increasing exposure through our website, Linked In, Facebook and Twitter activities. Our website now attracts over 10,000 visits per month and acts as the main portal for many seeking information on our industry and the companies within it, whilst many hundreds connect with us through other social media platforms. Lobbying Our lobbying activities are constant and challenging, as we try to convince the government that we are the industry who actually deliver their agenda on a daily basis. Helping people back into the work place, creating entrepreneurs and micro businesses is what they say they want and it is what we do!! We achieved a major breakthrough in September as we held a luncheon at the House of Commons hosted by the Shadow Minister for Small Businesses, who has committed to help us raise awareness of our economic and social contribution amongst Ministers. GenY A new focus for us this year has been to attract more under 25s into our industry and results show our efforts with Universities and media outreach are delivering results, with 19% of our total direct sellers now falling into the under 25 group. Trends Emerging trends for the year..... 29% increase in over 50s joining the industry 26% increase in men 25% increase in under 25s Finally our objectives and activities for the coming year will be the continuance of our strategy and constantly striving to raise the bar. My thanks again to the great DSA team, the support we receive from the Council Members and to all our Members who contribute so much to the success of the DSA and our industry. I wish you all every success for the year ahead. Paul Southworth Director General 7 DSA - 2013 AGM Booklet.indd 7 04/11/2013 14:14 2013 Direct Selling Association Code Administrator’s Report The Role A large part of my role is compliance related.