The license, granted by the China’s Ministry of Commerce, covers an area in Yunnan province that includes 12 cities, including the provincial capital Kunming, and 16 districts and counties. The license is effective immediately. Recent estimates put the population of the Kunming metro area at about 6 million and the whole of Yunnan Province at about 46 million.
The Yunnan license joins Herbalife’s list of licenses in the following provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hubei, Anhui, Shangdong, Henan, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Chongqing, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hainan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Beijing, Shanxi, Tianjin and Hebei.
Herbalife has been posting accelerating sales in recent years. In its most recent earnings statement for the second quarter of fiscal 2013, the company reported $1.2 billion in net sales in the quarter, a year-over-year rise of 18%. China was the fastest growing market, with volume growing by 49% in the quarter.