15 December 2011 MALAHIDE GAZETTE 5
ENTERPRISE Man scoops prestigious DSAI title
FINANCE: SAVINGS
Getting ready for Euro ’12 M A L A H I DE C r e d i t Union (MCU) has announced details of its new savings plan for all local sports fans planning to travel to Poland and the Ukraine for Euro 2012. Ireland qualified for the championships last month, and plans are afoot for a strong legion of fans to travel to the highly-anticipated event.
Zoltan Varnai, from Amway Ireland, who was awarded the title of Direct Selling Entrepreneur of the Year at the Direct Selling Association of Ireland (DSAI) awards at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, shows his award to Bob Southworth (DSAI), judge Tina Leonard and Andy Smith (DSAI)
Local entrepreneur takes top direct selling title Q MIMI MURRAY
malahide@gazettegroup.com
A HUNGARIAN native, Zoltan Varnai, who has been living in Malahide since 2008, has scooped the prestigious title of Direct Selling Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 at an awards ceremony held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown. Varnai, who represents Amway Ireland, and lives on the Malahide Road, had no English on arrival in Ireland in 2008, and no experience in direct selling. But, having quickly mastered English, he took on the challenge of
building his Amway business single-handedly. In the past three years, Varnai has developed the most successful Amway business in Ireland by finding the perfect balance between retailing and sponsorship. This year, his group have generated €740,000 in sales – almost double the sales of last year, which were €400,000. Representatives from the Direct Selling Association Ireland’s (DSAI) 15 member companies attended the event, which also marked the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the association.
--------------------------
‘I also thought ... the direct selling market has huge potential and opportunities for success’
--------------------------
Zoltan Varnai
--------------------------
The DSAI announced at the award ceremony that there has been a 24% increase in the direct selling workforce in Ireland in one year. The announcement was made as the associa-
tion recognised the outstanding personal and professional achievements of Ireland’s leading direct sellers, the vast majority of whom run their business from home, at its annual awards ceremony. Commenting on his successful win, Varnai said: “There are many factors which I feel have contributed to my business’ success. “I researched the market thoroughly, and felt secure in the knowledge that the Amway products were respected against market competitors, economic conditions, and environmentally
www.gazette group.com All of your latest local news, sport, features and pictures are now just a click away
friendly. “I also thought, if I step back from the recession we are in, think positively and believe in the products and myself, then the direct selling market has huge potential and opportunities for success. “I realised we all still need basic daily consum-
er products, so I worked on a business and marketing plan utilising the USPs of the Amway products. “Also, because of the recession, many people are looking for a second income – therefore there was both a selling and recruiting opportunity,” said Varnai.
Preparations Speaking to The Gazette, MCU manager Vivienne Keavey said: “National sporting occasions can really lift the mood of the nation, and Malahide Credit Union is encouraging its members to begin their preparations now and give themselves the best opportunity to experience all the action from Euro 2012, live. “At Malahide Credit Union, we believe it is important to highlight the advantages to be achieved in saving and borrowing with the credit union. “The savings are bigger than ever. As banks try to recover from their difficulties, their loan costs have increased significantly. “A credit union loan still represents real value for money. We have a great savings plan in place to help our members save for Euro 2012,” said Keavey.