“Our sales offshore are more than 80 percent of our revenue today. It’s amazing. We talk a lot about how Amway became an $8.5 billion global company when people weren’t looking.” – Amway CFO Russ Evans

I couldn’t help but think that the above quote is revealing in the sense that even today, with our globally-minded workforce, people tend to pay closer attention to businesses when they’re local. However, in the case of Amway, what was local now resides largely in the past.

The company widely known for its direct-selling, or multilevel marketing, model was first founded in 1959. It reportedly first moved offshore to Australia in 1971 and then to Europe in 1973. However, its latest offshore chapter and the one that has been largely authored when “people weren’t looking” begins with its move into China in 1995. Today, China is the company’s largest market, generating about 60 percent of its overall revenue.

“We’ve been in China for a little over a decade. And it’s a market where social networking and business networking are strong, but the retail infrastructure isn’t very strong,” explains Evans, while touching upon the direct-selling approach that involves independent networks and door-to-door sales techniques.

It’s perhaps no coincidence that two of the largest direct-selling businesses that first established themselves in the second half of the 20th century are now finding traction in emerging markets. Amway’s offshore growth is today being mirrored by container giant Tupperware. Today, emerging markets — places like Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia — account for 54 percent of the container maker’s sales.

“The countries where we operate today -– and we’re very strong in China and India — didn’t experience a downturn,” says Evans, who joined Amway 18 months ago after executive tours of duty with Boeing and General Electric Corp.

While topline growth appears to dominate the business narrative Evans puts forth these days, it’s clear that the private company is also keeping an eye on costs.

“We have embarked on a dual path of identifying global processes and finding ways to optimize them and where possible consolidate them, which is what we have done through the centers,” says Evans, while alluding to two shared services centers being operated by Amway in Krakow, Poland, and Costa Rica.

Asked to compare his latest consumer-oriented company with the others that dot his resume, Evans says: “Of all the businesses I’ve been in, I like the consumer business the best. If you’re an operations-minded finance person, it’s a great opportunity.” ###