ACN Korea aims to become Asia's direct selling hub

In September 2010, ACN first landed in Asia with its headquarters in South Korea. ACN Korea posted 200 percent annual growth in the following three years, and its annual sales surpassed 100 billion won in 2016, just five years after its debut in the country.

ACN Korea is partnering with local businesses ranging from telecommunications to security service firms and continues to look for new opportunities in the cosmetics and health food sectors. ACN Korea is currently under contract with telecommunications companies such as KT and LG Uplus, offering customers mobile services at lower costs.

Starting this year, the company also began to work together with local security service companies ADT Caps and KT Telecop.

Early this year, ACN Korea signed an exclusive contract with local cosmetics firm Globon to acquire the exclusive sales rights to Globon‘s cosmetic brand Rue Kwave. Together with Globon, ACN also launched its own skin care products line D’Color, the company added.

While diversifying its business portfolio, ACN in August 2016 also entered the Japanese market.

As of July, ACN Korea has finished the groundwork to export electricity by signing contracts with Japan’s major utility companies in charge of providing electricity in their regions.

According to ACN Korea‘s spokesperson, the company is currently planning on launching its services in Taiwan and the Philippines as well, with the aim of increasing its market presence in Asia further.

“ACN’s success will continue in other Asian countries as it has been proven by its success in the Japanese market,” said Danny Bae, vice president of Asia sales at ACN.

In 2016, ACN Korea held a convention and invited local business persons and customers to share its vision in Asia. ACN President and co-Founder Greg Provenzano participated in the convention, along with some 15,000 attendees.

ACN began as a reseller of long distance services in the US but has since grown to offer diverse services to customers. Their independent sales agents, known as independent business owners, can recruit new people as sales agents. Their job includes acting as sales agents for service providers, reselling services from providers to customers and selling ACN-branded services.

Leading ACN Korea

At the center of ACN Korea‘s success in the regional market is ACN Korea Senior Vice President Park Chang-gu.

Joining the ACN business in 2011, he has become one of the most successful ACN persons not only in Korea, but around the globe. Within just nine months, Park was promoted to regional vice president, then to senior vice president in 2014. In the following year, he also became the first Asian to be part of the ACN Circle of Champions, a group of people eligible to discuss the company‘s policies and vision with the founders of the company.

Behind the success is his effort in seeking advice from the people who became successful before him, the company explains. Park said he sought out people who could advise him on how to be successful and gained knowledge that could not be received through school or at the workplace.

Park spoke of Woo Won-gyun as his life mentor. Woo is ACN Korea’s other senior vice president, and drew Park into the business. Park also recalled his first meetings with Bae, who shared the visions of the company with Park. Meeting with them, as well as with ACN, became life-changing opportunities, he explained.

“Above many things, I gained people,” Park emphasized. ACN is not a single-person business, but requires teamwork, he added. He said he believes that everyone could achieve more if they gather and work together.

Starting in 2014, Park spent his own money to open centers in Ulsan and Busan to consult with potential business partners and better prepare ACN Korea services launching in the Japanese market.

“I want to provide dreams and opportunities to more people,” Park said.

Upon serving as a good example of entrepreneurship, Park was awarded first prize in the marketing sector by The Herald Business in 2016.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)