Four Times Year-On-Year Growth…Expansion to Central Asia and Eastern Europe

The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Russia is its massive territory. With an area of 179,825,000 hectares, it is more than 170 times the size of the Korean peninsula. The Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok, the closest Russian city to Korea, to Moscow is 9,334 km, and it takes seven nights and eight days to get there. The country spans Europe and Asia and borders the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and Eastern Europe, Norway, and Finland to the west. The population is about 140 million, and its GDP was $1.6998 trillion in 2019, which is a little higher than that of Korea’s GDP of $1.6463 trillion in 2019.

Atomy Succeeds in the Shrinking Direct Sales Market
In December 2018, Atomy opened in Russia. It was once the leader of the Soviet Union, which was heavily opposed to capitalism. Could that be the reason? The direct sales market, which was a capitalist distribution method, declined by 6.2% in 2019 and has not recovered. And the impact of COVID-19 in the following year was hard to measure. Despite this, Atomy is making a blast in the Russian direct sales market. As of late 2020, two years after the launch of the Russian branch in December 2018, Atomy Russia is expecting sales of 2.8 billion rubles (approximately 40 billion KRW). It is growing at a very rapid pace, despite the vast land, relatively weak infrastructure, and unpopularity of direct sales. Jae-Hyung Shin, the Russian Branch Director, said, "Despite the skeptical perspective on the Russian market, we established a strong foundation based on the principle-oriented attitude. Thanks to the support of our members and the tireless efforts of the Russian branch employees, we achieved beyond our expectations."

Since the opening, Atomy Russia has indeed moved quickly and efficiently. Russia is so big that you can experience the time difference while having a trip within the country. Likewise, because there are 11 time zones, the nationwide simultaneous offline seminar was impossible from the beginning. Seminar business trips require at least one night. These difficulties, however, were only difficulties. The website and the first center opened in December 2018. In April 2019, a new warehouse was built in Novosibirsk, the middle point between Moscow and Vladivostok, increasing accessibility for members. Finally, in May, the Russian branch had its grand opening ceremony.

At the end of last year, Atomy Russia had a general review of its one-year business activities. They stated that they would focus on improving distribution confusion and relatively low phone response rates, along with positive results such as achieving annual sales exceeding the expected 10 billion KRW, holding 27 seminars a year, opening 338 Centers, producing Star Masters, and launching corporate social responsibility activities. In addition, the target of the year 2020 was product expansion, increase in new members, and acceleration of entry into adjacent countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.
COVID-19, which no one had expected, had maximized the potential of Atomy Russia this year. With a short history of just over a year, Atomy Russia has adapted to the On-tact business faster than anyone else. While there were 27 seminars in 2019, It held offline seminars just four times at the beginning of 2020, and all other seminars were replaced by online seminars. Still, the number of registered members increased three times from approximately 170,000 in 2019 to approximately 460,000 as of the end of September 2020. Sales are expected to exceed 40 billion KRW, a quadruple increase compared to 2019.

In addition, entry into neighboring countries is looking very plausible, as Atomy Uzbekistan is scheduled to open in the first half of 2021.

First Korean Direct Sales Company in Europe
Another thing that Atomy Russia can boast of is that it is the first Korean direct sales company to do business in Europe. As a matter of fact, most of Atomy’s overseas offices are the first Korean direct sales companies in their respective markets. Atomy Russia is not out of that category. This fact does not, of course, diminish how great of an achievement it is for Atomy to be the first direct sales company in Europe. Entry into the EU market, the political and economic community in Europe, can be a touchstone for Atomy in the future.

Although Russia is not a member of the EU, it is a country that spans both Asia and Europe. Most of the economic power of Russia is concentrated in regions that are, by definition, in Europe. From the perspective of both culture and arts, it must be said that Russia is a European country more than anything else. It is also a notable achievement in that access to direct sales markets in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), an emerging market, has become easier thanks to Atomy Russia. For reference, the Eurasian Economic Union consists of five countries centered around Russia, including Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. Staff from the Russian office commented, “In 2019, we focused on stabilizing our business in Russia. This year, our focus was on growth and expansion. We will do our best to become a major direct sales company of the Eurasian Economic Union, including Russia, by focusing on the spread of direct sales in 2021."

Member Interview 1
Tatiana Izmaylova
Star Master
A Korean Company Carrying Korean Cosmetics is All I Needed to Convince Myself…

Success is to Achieve Satisfaction from My Work

After hearing from an acquaintance that Atomy was a Korean company selling Korean beauty products, Star Master Tatiana Izmaylova made the decision to register without any hesitation. She did not know anything about the products or even the compensation plans, but she used her intuition that was honed by her network marketing experience of over 20 years. “Normally, network marketing companies would explain the compensation plan first, but Atomy focused on explaining the products instead.” It was so different that she even wondered whether choosing Atomy had been the right choice. Though she did not even know anything about the compensation plans, she decided to trust the products and give it a go.

Not everyone could relate to Atomy’s concept of putting its products first. However, Izmaylova and her partners were satisfied and felt accomplished just by seeing the joy from the people who tried Atomy products. It was not long after she started at Atomy. Ten potential businesspeople came together and talked about their reviews on Atomy’s products. Everyone shared a deep sense of empathy watching each other's presentations. “I think success is achieved by achieving complete satisfaction in what I do. I plan to achieve my goal of success with my partners who are satisfied with what they do.”
Recently, Star Master Tatiana moved from the small one-bedroom apartment where she had lived for 22 years to a large house, saying, “I can’t remember a time that I have ever felt happier in my life. That happy moment came at the thought of working with Atomy to change everything and continue to work hard to achieve my dreams.”

Member Interview 2
Nikolai Lementov
Star Master
Atomy–The Pinnacle of a Field Where People Achieve a Common Goal by Collaboration;

The Moment You Choose, You are Already Working with Many People

Star Master Nikolai Lementov cannot forget the day when the grand opening of the Atomy Russia took place in Moscow in May 2019. Without anyone's introduction or opportunity to be introduced to a product, he found Atomy only through internet search, and even before the Russian office opened, he visited Korea and attended a Success Academy. “All of the businesses that I was running were sparkling for a while and then fell into a standstill. To achieve my dream, I needed to find a new network marketing company that would continue to grow.”

Lementov emphasizes that real success can be achieved only when he can fully demonstrate his abilities. In that sense, Atomy Russia offers the best opportunity. This is because it can connect not only Russia but also the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe.
He plans to focus 100% on this and contribute all of his time and ideas to it. For him, success is the reward after putting all his might without regret. “Atomy, in my opinion, is the highest peak of a business that works together to bring results. If you have decided on doing Atomy business, there are already so many people running together to help you achieve your success.”

The Goal is to Provide the Best Business Environment
To Prepare a Bridgehead for Entry Into Not Only Neighboring Countries But Also Eastern Europe
Jae-Hyung Shin
Atomy Russia Branch Director

“Thanks to the support of members and our employees who have worked tirelessly since the opening, we have come this far. I’m fairly proud, looking back at our fruits.” This is the first statement from Atomy Russia Branch Director Jae-Hyung Shin. The feelings of the grand opening have not gone away yet, but it is already being celebrated for the second anniversary. He seemed quite overwhelmed. This year, even with the COVID-19 pandemic, Atomy Russia is growing at an exponential level with annual sales of 40 billion KRW. And the growth potential of the Russian office, with the potential to enter Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as well as Eastern European countries, is regarded as number one among all Atomy regional offices. “Thanks to the consistent support of all Atomians worldwide, we are growing far more rapidly than we expected,” says the branch director. “We will officially start our entry into the neighboring countries of Russia, such as Uzbekistan, and also prepare a bridgehead into Eastern European countries, such as Belarus and the Baltic countries.”

Russia is a far but close country that shares borders with the Korean Peninsula. Because of its territory that spans both Europe and Asia, there are many cultural connections to be made with Korea as well. In other words, if you can find a common denominator such as community culture, experiences, or interests, you can become closer far faster. In addition to this, the response of Russian consumers to excellent products is not at all different from the rest of the world. Atomy’s mottos of “Cherish the Spirit” and “Serve in Humility” appealed to the Russian people.

Shin said, “Our culture of serving has greatly impressed our members in Russia. And the increasing interest in the quality products of Korea has brought about synergy effect, and has allowed us to achieve results beyond anyone’s expectations,” he added."

Even the pandemic crisis that came just a year after the opening of the office has become an opportunity for Atomy Russia. As Russia has the largest territory in the world and is the country in which 11 time zones coexist, it makes sense that online seminars are far more efficient than offline seminars in Russia. Branch Director Shin said, "As we strengthened our online seminars and used COVID-19 as the opportunity to do so, COVID-19 has actually become a great opportunity in a large country like Russia. All of our employees brainstormed strategies and methods every day, such as weekly seminars and Instagram Live.”

Shin says that the goal of the Russian branch is to provide the best business environment possible for its members. To this end, Atomy Russia will be establishing plans to enter not only the CIS but also Eastern Europe as well. Also, due to the nature of Russia’s large territory, the efforts to optimize shipping are being continued as a priority. Furthermore, efforts to improve employee benefits have been made while seeking various ways to register and launch various products and approaches to supplement the online seminars. These efforts are evidenced by various performance indicators such as sales and zero-level employee turnover. Branch Director Jae-Hyung Shin said, "Externally, our goal is to become the best direct sales company in Russia. Internally, our goal is to become a company that fully supports our members to succeed."

Editor _ YoungMin Lee