Tag Archive for Amway

Government Accuses Amway India To Be A Scam

About $100 million frozen.
According to a press release of the Enforcement Directorate of India:
“Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs.757.77 Crore belonging to M/s. Amway India Enterprises Private Limited, a company accused of running a multi-level marketing scam.
The attached properties include land and factory building of Amway at Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu, Plant & Machineries, vehicles, bank accounts and fixed deposits.
ED had provisionally attached immovable & movable properties worth Rs 411.83 Crore and bank balances of Rs 345.94 Crore from 36 different accounts belonging to Amway.
A money laundering investigation by the ED revealed that Amway is running a pyramid fraud in the guise of direct selling multi-level marketing network.
It is observed that the prices of most of the products offered by the company are exorbitant as compared to the alternative popular products of reputed manufacturers available in the open market.
Without knowing the real facts, the common gullible public is induced to join as members of the company and purchase products at exorbitant prices and are thus losing their hard earned money.
The new members are not buying the products to use them, but to become rich by becoming members as showcased by the upline members. Reality is that

Read more...

Amway Appoints Milind Pant As New CEO

Direct sales giant Amway has tapped an executive from Pizza Hut to serve as its next CEO.
Milind Pant, who lives in Dallas, Texas, and most recently served as president of Pizza Hut International, takes over the position on Jan. 2.
In a news release, Amway said the position is a first for the company. Previously, Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos served as co-CEOs. Both men will now serve as co-chairs of the company’s board of directors.
Pant will oversee “overall management and leadership” of the business, which was started in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos.
Amway, the world’s largest direct selling company, today announced Milind Pant as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pant joins Amway from Yum! Brands where he was recently president of Pizza Hut International. Mr. Pant will report directly to and hold a seat on Amway’s Board of Directors effective January 2, 2019. This is a new position for Amway, a business that has been family run since its beginning in 1959.
“Milind brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to help lead Amway to even greater heights,”
Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel said.
“We’re confident his leadership and strong track record of driving growth and transformational change

Read more...

Amway USA 15% Retail Sales Not Compliant With The FTC Business Guidance For MLM?

The FTC consider any USA company with a network marketing compensation plan and retail sales below 51% as a Pyramid Scheme and regular attack smaller companies who are not compliant with the FTC Business Guidance For MLM.
In 2012 a Wall Street Journal reporter asked Doug DeVos and Steve Van Andel,  in an interview:
What percentage of the products that Amway sells to the distributors, are resold to end-user customers who are not also distributors?
The Amway co-CEO’s  told the Wall Street Journal that 50% of the sales that are made to distributors are resold to actual retail customers. The other half is not resold by the salespeople to anyone.
That seems to be not true, at least not for the USA…
Amway nowadays release the retail numbers at their achievers conference every year and have not gotten over 15% in the USA market.
Average is around 12-13% and Amway tries to improve those retail figures. International retail sales might be higher.
I am not after Amway, I am not trying to poke a bear, however as an international Direct Sales reporter in my opinion it’s a strange situation the FTC goes after smaller MLM companies and let a Network Marketing giant get away with minor retail sales for the past 25+ years.
Its measuring

Read more...

Richard DeVos Co-Founder Amway Dies At 92

Richard DeVos, who co-founded Amway and was one of the area’s biggest philanthropists, has died.
Spokesperson Nick Wasmiller says Rich DeVos’ death was caused by complications from an infection, but that the icon was surrounded by family as he died peacefully at his home in Ada Thursday. He was 92 years old.
DeVos’ wife of some 65 years, Helen DeVos, died in October 2017. They had four children, 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Rich DeVos’ family released the following statement shortly after his death:
“Our father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Rich DeVos, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on September 6, 2018, at age 92. 
“Dad spread positivity everywhere he went and encouraged everyone he met.  He did that for his children and grandchildren, and for countless others around the world.  His positivity was a constant, motivating force that inspired many others to make meaningful changes in their own lives and communities.  He was a visionary leader, builder, life enricher, motivator, and a champion for people from all walks of life.”Rich DeVos was many things to many people, but to us he was simply “Dad,” “Grandpa,” “Bumpa,” or “Papa Great.”
We are deeply grateful and blessed beyond measure to have been loved unconditionally, raised,

Read more...

Amway 2017 Sales Up 3% to $8.6 Billion

Amway has announced sales of $8.6 billion USD for the year ending Dec. 31, 2017.
The company achieved sales gain in several key markets, including South Korea, Thailand and India. Total sales in the second half of 2017 grew by 3 percent, compared to same period of the previous year, led by China and the United States. The company forecasts year-over-year sales growth in 2018.
“We have weathered a challenging period for our business in China that, combined with less than favorable exchange rates, have impacted our sales for a few years,”
Amway President Doug DeVos said.
“That downward trajectory has leveled off and now, with our China business rebounding faster than expected, we are forecasting sales growth in 2018.
Several factors further support the company’s 2018 forecast, including steady growth in bellwether markets like South Korea and Thailand, expanding investments in digital platforms and distributor tools, and new product launches that are exceeding expectations.”
The company’s significant investment in digital platforms is considered a key sales driver in 2018 and beyond.
“Technology is evolving at a rapid pace and we are evolving and investing right along with it,”
said Steve Van Andel, Amway’s Chairman of the Board.
“The next-generation entrepreneur wants to run his or her

Read more...

Amway Made China A Billion-Dollar Market Now It Faces A Crackdown

As first published in the New York Times:
Feng Gang stood in front of 150 people in a conference hall in Beijing that Amway, the American marketing giant, calls its flagship “experience center.”
Introduced endearingly as Big Brother, he pitched the company’s newest product to an audience of recruits — men and women, young and old, one a street sweeper still in his orange municipal jumpsuit.
Mr. Feng said Amway’s energy drink, XS, could reduce blood-alcohol levels by as much as 70 percent. It could cure depression, he went on, or help someone who is drunk drive home. His aim: to get the crowd to go out and sell the products.
For more than a decade, scenes like this represented a financial salvation for Amway and other companies that use sales representatives to recruit others below them in what’s called multilevel marketing.
Facing declining fortunes in the United States and elsewhere, they turned to a ballooning consumer class in China hungry for new products — and susceptible to promises of the riches to be had by selling them.
Now, the future seems less promising. The giants of multilevel marketing have come under a dual assault, from regulators here and in the United States.
Two companies, Herbalife and

Read more...

Amway Names Nick Thole As Chief Financial Officer

Amway, the $8.8 billion USD direct selling leader, announced the appointment of Nick Thole to the role of Chief Financial Officer.
As a member of the executive team, Thole will provide broad financial oversight and will be responsible for developing strategic financial objectives to ensure the company’s continued financial performance.
In this position, Thole will have direct responsibility for Amway’s balance sheet, capital structure, and the overall financial reporting and control process with broad responsibilities for Tax, Treasury, Accounting and Corporate Financial Reporting and Business Planning.
Thole previously served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company’s Europe, India and Africa region, Vice President of Internal Audit, and Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis. He joined Amway in 2008 as Manager of Mergers and Acquisitions.
Prior to Amway, Thole worked in the capital markets as an investment banker and investor relations consultant. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and an MBA in Finance from Michigan State University.
About Amway
Amway is an $8.8 billion direct-selling business based in Ada, Michigan, USA. Top-selling brands for Amway are Nutrilite™ vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, Artistry™ skincare and color cosmetics, eSpring™ water treatment systems and XS™ energy drinks – all sold exclusively by

Read more...

Helen DeVos, Wife Of Amway Co-founder Rich de Vos, dies At 90

Helen J. DeVos, a philanthropist from western Michigan, USA known for her support of children’s health, Christian education and the arts, has died at age 90.
Her family says in a statement that she died Wednesday of complications from a stroke following a recent diagnosis of myeloid leukemia.
DeVos was the wife of Rich DeVos, who co-founded direct-sales company Amway and owns the Orlando Magic. He says she was “a wonderful wife and the heart of our family.”
She was also the mother-in-law of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Helen DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, USA where a children’s hospital is named after her.
An Amway spokeswoman says in an email Helen DeVos died in the Grand Rapids-area community of Ada Township and funeral arrangements were pending.

Read more...

Amway – Not A Feasible Option For Students

The Gateway is the Online magazine of Nebraska’s university (USA)  and has published the next controversial article about Amway:
“It seems like more and more these days our Facebook feeds are filled with multilevel marketing. Your high school acquaintance is selling Mary Kay. Your friend’s mom is selling Avon and Plexus. But the granddaddy of all multilevel marketing schemes?
Amway was founded in 1959 in part by Richard DeVos. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he is the father-in-law of current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Last week on Sept. 5, the Daily Nebraskan published an article in their news section that may have misled students into believing that Amway is a great way for college students to make money.
In the article, the support for Amway was expressed more than the drawbacks to the company.
Although the comments directly on the article were mostly positive for Amway, the commenters on Facebook took great exception to the tone of the article, to say the least.
“How much did Amway pay you to publish this sponsored advertisement posing as journalism The Daily Nebraskan?” Facebook user Daniel Baer wrote.
While Amway was cleared of being an official illegal “pyramid scheme” by the Federal Trade Commission in 1979, their recruitment and

Read more...

DeVos Family Seeks Deregulation Of Amway So It Can Beat Herbalife

According to an article in the New York Post:
Betsy DeVos’ well-connected family wants Amway to get a leg up on Herbalife — and it’s pushing Congress to make it happen.
The US education secretary’s Michigan-based family, which is the controlling shareholder of privately held Amway, is backing a little-noticed amendment to the US House spending bill that would limit regulatory oversight of so-called multilevel marketers, or MLMs.
Specifically, the rider would curb the ability of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether MLMs like Amway are pyramid schemes — potentially protecting Amway from costly regulations that have recently ensnared its archrival Herbalife.

“Of course, Amway is supportive” of the amendment,

said Joseph Mariano, president of the Direct Selling Association, which represents MLMs and counts Amway as its biggest member.
Meanwhile, Herbalife Senior Vice President Ed Rosen asked several US Congressmen in a July letter to tack added consumer protections to the bill — the kind that Herbalife will be forced to implement whether Amway’s bill passes or not.
Under a 2016 settlement with the FTC, Herbalife agreed to fully restructure its US business operations, and distinguish customers, who sign up to purchase products at a discount, from distributors, who resell the products to earn commissions.

“[The] compensation

Read more...