Latest News

Last week I was guest in the Interview Podcast Series for the branch magazine Network Karriere. The topic was "recruitment and personnel decisions in direct sales". I am pleased to make my contribution with insights into our daily work. Click here for the short version: https://youtu.be/_GurJBrzGQU

You can find the full interview here: https://youtu.be/hdvwCrZz17E

The direct selling industry met in Wiesbaden this year for the Annual Conference of the German Direct Selling Association, Bundesverband Direktvertrieb (BDD).

Company representatives, recommended business partners and guests from politics, business and science come together once a year and value the speakers, presentations, workshops and networking opportunities at the congress. Industry news and future trends are the focus of the event, as well as awards given to companies for innovation, sustainability, science and cooperation.

During the "Tour of the experts" participants discussed at the booth of Meridian Germany the topic "How do I keep my company on the path to success?".

The outcome was that the human being should always be in the focus of our "people's business". Social media and artificial intelligence are tools and can never replace a human being. They should always be used in addition. You can see this very well in successful companies.

A big 'Thank you' to the BDD team and the Executive Board for a very successful and well-organised Direct Selling Congress 2024.

Like last year, Meridian Germany would like to express its recognition and appreciation to the people in charge at the BDD. Meridian is pleased to support the event with this contribution.

Owners and CEOs of well-known direct sales companies were guests at the so-called SCREEN TALK, which took place online in a new, contemporary style based on the former "DINNER TALK".

Dr. Torsten Staab, an American specialist in the field of cyber security, imparted knowledge on the highly controversial topic of ZERO TRUST SECURITY "never trust, always verify" in short and concise sentences. He provided many impulses for further‚ food for thought‘.

It is important to highlight that the talk was conducted in German language and especially in an easy and understandable way for 'non-computer scientists'.

The focus of the event was to raise the sensitivity and awareness of this topic using practical, everyday examples and to integrate mechanisms for identity and integrity checks into existing security systems.

Zero Trust is an ongoing strategy that requires regular checks and monitoring, where every data request or access, regardless of origin, should be considered a potential threat. Basics and possible implementation steps were illustrated, practical examples to read up on and tips on cyber security services & tools were provided.

Meridian Germany received a lot of positive feedback from the participants after the event:

• ... thank you very much for the invitation, Ms. Staab,
  It was very interesting and I was able to gather a lot for my practical work!
• ... thank you very much for the documents you provided!
  I was very pleased to be able to take part in the extremely interesting presentation.
• ... thank you very much for the invitation and the documents.
  I found the topic highly interesting and the presentation style extraordinarily successful for such a complex topic. The issue will certainly be on the agenda in the near future, so that I may approach you again with specific questions.
• ... thank you very much! It was really very informative yesterday.

Already in March Meridian Germany started together with a dedicated team a collection campaign for relief supplies, such as warm clothes, blankets, toys, personal hygiene items, etc. for a truck transport to Ukraine

It was so good to see how the virus of helpfulness spread. Everything arrived well and was urgently needed on site.

At the end of April there will be another transport to the Ukrainian border with urgently needed goods, including canned food, coffee, tea, first aid materials and personal care products.

Many thanks to all people involved.

Meridian Germany supported the campaign "Wonder bags for 200 homeless people at Frankfurt Airport“ initiated by the Airport Club Frankfurt.

Life in an airport terminal is not easy. There are no emergency shelters, food spending organizations or daytime rest facilities. Nevertheless, many homeless women and men spend day and night there, some for years already. Under Covid conditions, life in the airport terminals has become even more difficult.

To bring a little joy to these people at Christmas time, the Airport Club Frankfurt asked its members and guests to donate all kinds of useful items for everyday needs for its Christmas campaign "Wonder bags".

We were attracted by the idea right away and bought everyday products such as toothpaste/-brushes, washcloths, shampoo, shower gel, etc. In addition we enclosed 200 personal and handwritten Christmas cards. Furthermore, we inspired our customers from the direct selling industry as well as friends to participate in this great project. We received a very positive response. Many companies contributed with packages full of products for daily hygiene, clothing and nutritional supplements such as e. g. power bars.

Thank you to all our associated partners (JUST, Mary Kay, Melaleuca, PAM, proWIN, RINGANA, Tupperware, Union Investment and Abenteuer Osten) who participated.

On December 17, 2021, the donation bags and many additional boxes with useful items as well as monetary donations, were handed over to the two street workers Kristina Wessel and Malgorzata Zambron (both from Diakonisches Werk for Frankfurt and Offenbach) at the airport.

During the official handover on site, we were very impressed by the huge amount of donation bags.

Together with about 160 additional participants from the management levels of the direct selling companies, Meridian Germany took part in the congress as a service expert in Executive Search and Management Consulting in direct sales.

As one of the BDD’s first "Recommended Business Partner", Meridian Germany, together with the association, is pleased that till today the association counts 60 members. "A strong voice with which the BDD can stand up for the interests of the direct selling companies and in Berlin and Brussels one can lobby for the interests of the industry," emphasizes Jochen Clausnitzer, BDD Managing Director.

Meridian Germany counts many of the attending companies already to its customers. Accordingly high was the frequency at the Meridian info booth in the network breaks. Long-standing corporate representatives as well as new business partners and interested parties had a lively exchange with each other.

The BDD had a special idea with the campaign „Bäume Durch Direktvertrieb“ (Trees Through Direct Sales), a cooperation with the organization Plant-for-the-Planet. The BDD donates one tree for a documented conversation between companies and Recommended Business Partners.

During the presentation of the campaign Meridian announced to participate in the project with two own actions.

On the one hand, 100 trees will be donated by Meridian for each recommendation of a member company submitted to the BDD regarding Meridian as a “Recommended Business Partner”. Through this action already about 2000 trees can be planted.

On the other hand, for the first time Meridian displayed a Guest Book at the booth. Here one could leave a message and therefore Meridian donates additional 10 trees per message. At the end of the day you could already count 400 trees here.

The campaign will run until next spring. We look forward to further recommendations at the BDD by our customers as well as entries in our guestbook.

Seldia celebrated its 50th anniversary!
Meridian Germany participated as Service Provider in this annual “must-be-event” in the European Direct Selling arena.

Key people from the industry, top speakers and policy makers came together from all over Europe to share insight knowledge on latest news and future trends in the different direct selling markets.

Meridian’s consistent participation in these educational and valuable annual conferences is always under the headline “Bridging the Gap”. As a resume for Meridian Germany, many barriers have been overcome in the European direct selling field in the past. The conference is a perfect networking platform to meet well-known as well as new business partners to strengthen and develop relationships.

Meridian Germany participated as Recommended Business Partner also in this year’s Annual Meeting of the BDD in Willingen, Germany.

This annual event is always a highlight in the world of the German direct selling.

The direct, personal contact with members of the board, CEOs and guests from the large direct selling family always allows participants anew -despite from the intensive intercommunication-, to enhance extensive market and industry knowledge, to gather topics and trends and to receive first-hand news on innovations and amendments related to our branch.

A first of its kind in the MENA region, the Middle East Direct Selling Forum sets out to be the major regional force to mobilize, promote, and protect the direct selling industry and to contribute to its prosperity in the region.

Hundreds of regional government-level dignitaries, international direct selling industry executives, leaders and decisions makers will gather in this pivotal event to exchange ideas and discuss an official framework for the industry in the region for the generations to come.

Renate and Joachim Staab of Meridian Germany participated as exhibitors in the Forum with a Strategic Supplier Membership to learn about the region, to share industry knowledge and to attract companies to start in direct selling.

More information can be found at http://www.directsellingforum.me/en/home/.

Picture from left side to the right:

• Ali Shabdar, General Secretary DSA UAE
• Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director General, Department of Economic Development
• Renate und Joachim Staab, CEO Meridian Deutschland

Renate Staab was asked to be a panelist at the above conference. The discussion topic was “International Market Expansion” - Doing Business in the UK, France & Germany: Observations on Business Climate and Market Entry. Renate Staab shared her expert knowledge regarding Germany.

For direct selling, many European markets present lucrative opportunities for expansion. The podium provided practical guidance for navigating the European market landscape marked by varied regulations, jurisdictional nuances, legal issues and specific cultural proclivities, as well as a spectrum of consumer purchasing trends.

Please contact us for more information regarding the presentation on Germany (available as Powerpoint-presentation and as video-sequence).

Panelists from left side to the right:

• Tamuna Gabilaia, Executive Director, World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, USA
• Jacques Cosnefroy, Director General, The Federation of Direct Sales of France
• Vanessa de Froberville, Partner, Gowling WLG (UK) LLP (left side on the photo)
• Renate Staab, CEO, Meridian Deutschland (middle on the photo)
• Dr. Markus Knell, Attorney, Meridian Germany (right side on the photo)