MLM Blog – Network Marketing Blog

...their old arena. = )

OK, I couldn't resist the headline.  One would think that it might be a good idea to remove your corporate logo from a building before it is demolished. Just sayin'...

Amway has actually been on a growth tear internationally so maybe is wasn't a bad idea to leave the logo up on the building.  Got me to say Amway on the front page of this blog...

Amway has been on a lawsuit settling rampage lately. Here is a lawsuit related to expired Gift Cards and Quixtar.

Consumers Will Be Able to Redeem $20 Million Worth of Expired Gift Cards

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - March 8, 2011) - The Superior Court has approved a settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit alleging Amway Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and its related companies Quixtar Inc., a Virginia corporation, and Alticor Inc., a Michigan corporation, sold and marketed gift cards that contained a notation instructing consumers to "redeem before" a certain date, which plaintiffs contended violated numerous state laws prohibiting or restricting the expiration of gift cards. The settlement provides that consumers will soon be able to redeem or replace more than $20 million worth of expired gift cards.

In Adell v. Quixtar Inc. et al., plaintiffs alleged that as a result of Amway's improper placement of a "redeem before" date on its gift cards, many consumers believed their cards had expired and either disposed of them, or never redeemed them for merchandise. Through a sales force of Independent Business Owners ("IBOs"), Amway marketed and sold various categories of "Ribbon Gift Cards" throughout the United States. Amway has denied that its use of "redeem before" dates constituted expiration dates in violation of any state law.

"Amway received millions of dollars from consumers for gift cards that were never redeemed and that contained 'redeem before' dates that have passed," said James Kawahito, class co-counsel of Kawahito, Shraga & Westrick LLP (Los Angeles). "In California and many other states, laws designed to protect consumers make it illegal for gift cards to contain any expiration date."

After more than two years of litigation, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Anthony Mohr granted preliminary approval of the settlement on February 16, 2011. Class-action notices informing consumers they can replace expired or discarded Amway gift cards by visiting www.giftcardsettlement.com will be sent out by April 10, 2011. Consumers will have until June 20, 2011 to obtain a new card.

"We are extremely pleased that Amway will no longer be placing 'redeem before' dates on its gift cards," said Lisa Brant, class co-counsel, Brant Law Offices, APC (San Diego). "Now our goal is to get the word out to as many consumers as possible to ensure they are aware of their ability to redeem or replace their gift cards, even if they have already thrown them away."

Additional Settlement Benefits to Consumers Include:

* Class members will have the opportunity to redeem expired gift cards or exchange gift cards for new cards that do not have expiration dates.
* Class members who discarded expired gift cards can receive new gift cards.
* Amway will cease using the words "redeem before" preceding dates on gift cards or any language that specifies a particular date or time period by which redemption must occur.
* Amway will make a $200,000 product donation to a charitable organization.

About Brant Law Offices, APC (San Diego)

Brant Law Offices is a litigation boutique dedicated to providing its clients with efficient, result-oriented representation of the highest caliber. Brant Law Offices specializes in a wide array of litigation areas, including consumer and employment class actions. For more information, please go to www.brant-law.com.

About Kawahito, Shraga & Westrick LLP (Los Angeles)

Since 2008, the law firm of Kawahito Shraga & Westrick LLP has obtained over $25 million in relief for consumers and employees in California and nationwide through class-action lawsuits. For more information, please go to www.kswlawyers.com.

Here's Eva Cheng, Amway China Chairwoman on doing business in China:

Planning to do business in China? Prepare to dance. Waltz, actually. You know: Step forward, step sideways, step back, repeat with a little spin.

Cheng should know. She helped guide the direct sales giant from 1998's government shutdown of direct selling in the country to bring in $3 billion of Amway's $8.4 billion in 2009 sales.

"In this waltz we took one step backwards," Cheng told hundreds of attending her a speech, "Dancing Between the Dragon and the Eagle," Wednesday for West Michigan's chapters of InForum and the World Affairs Council.

By breaking with tradition and opening retail stores in China to support local salespeople, "we also took two steps forward. We very boldly asked for the right to set up our own Amway shops in all of the provinces and cities where Amway operates."

That step in the dance reopened the door for the company, she said, which continued a rhythmic and, ultimately, profitable relationship full of whisks and turns.

Keeping that in mind, Cheng said Americans need to understand three key factors when looking at doing business in China:

* It's never easy because China is complex, volatile and often difficult to understand.

* Approaching the market only as a way to make money is a recipe for failure.

* Doing business will be far easier with an good understanding of cultural differences.

That's the way to long-term business prosperity, according to Eva Cheng, chairwoman of Amway China.

Source: MLive

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Amway has appointed PHD Singapore to head up their first advertising campaign in the region featuring Nutrilite.

Managing Director of PHD Singapore, Howard Smith, said"“We are very excited to be working with Amway. They have an exciting range of products and we are eager to start getting involved across all aspects of their media business and help them achieve their ambitious plans in Singapore.”

Amway's Singapore Country Manager had this to say...""We are very excited about our very first Nutrilite campaign, which will break in mid October on TV, MRT, outdoor and online. We have heard a lot about PHD and trust that they will be an effective partner to help us achieve our plans in Singapore."

Watch out Singapore! Here comes the American Way!

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Daily MLM Book Recommendation: The Zen of MLM

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Here's the latest Amway Thailand news:

The new top management of Amway (Thailand) will be officially announced in the near future, whose priority task will be not only to promote the Amway brand's image of quality but to sustain its reputation as the largest direct-selling company in the country.

Over the past two years, candidates for the top job have been processed by both the parent company in the United States and the regional office to ensure that the most qualified person is named.

So far, the heir apparent is Kittawat Ritteerawee, currently general manager. He was promoted as the company's No 2 last year to allow him to learn more management and leadership skills before taking the helm.

Amway (Thailand) is currently headed by managing director Preecha Prakobkit. The parent company extended his term for three years in 2009 and his tenure will end next year.

Preecha said Kittawat's most important priority if he is appointed to the No 1 position would be to sustain business growth. In addition, he had to proceed with building the brand, becoming the new "Mr Amway".

Source: The Nation

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Amway India’s social arm – Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) along with Amway distributors of Madurai, have helped set up a computer centre at the Indian Association for the Blind (IAB) campus at Sundararajanpatty, in the outskirts of Madurai. Inaugurated by District Collector, Thiru C Kamaraj (IAS), this is the 13th such computer centre AOF and Amway distributors have donated for visually challenged children. The other Computer centres are at Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Narendrapur, Kolkata, Patna, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad & Thiruvananthapuram. Each computer centre is equipped with 8-10 new computers with the ‘SuperNova’ software which enables the visually challenged (blind) to use computers.

“It is heartening to see the corporate sector coming forward and supporting local institutions carrying out humanitarian work, and we appreciate Amway’s initiative,” said Thiru Kamraj. “We would like to see greater number of Corporate houses doing what Amway has set out to do with IAB.” Mr Jinnah, Director IAB, echoed the Collector’s sentiments. “It is indeed nice that Amway distributors of Madurai and AOF have volunteered to set up this computer centre – over 100 children will benefit,” he said. AOF had donated 10 Dell OptiPlex 380 DT computers with DVD writer, installed with SuperNova – a software that enables the visually challenged to use computers.

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There's an interesting article about Amway in Advertising Age today. I read 'em all for you! Here's an excerpt:

CMO Matthews Claims 100% Awareness in China,
Leadership in U.S. Online Beauty
ORLANDO, Fla. (AdAge.com)---Many Americans still equate Amway with evangelical Christianity and distributors through whom they could find hard-surface cleaners, moisturizers and God at the same time.

The reality of Amway today is a global direct seller primarily of beauty products and nutritional supplements with $8.4 billion in sales -- about the size of Nivea marketer Beiersdorf -- 90% of which come outside the U.S., said Candace Matthews, CMO of Amway Corp., in a talk at the Association of National Advertisers conference in Orlando Oct. 16.

She didn't directly address Amway's legacy image in the U.S. other than mentioning the oblique "knowledge gap" the brand faces where "people over 40 think one thing about us" and people younger know little about the brand.

In part, that stems from Amway's since-disregarded effort to create a second brand last decade, Quixtar. In part, it also stems from so much of the company's focus being overseas, particularly China, now its largest market.

Despite a difficult start that included a ban on direct selling by the Chinese government up to 2005, China is now Amway's biggest market through a combination of more than 200 stores opened prior to the ban being lifted and a growing direct-selling organization, she said.

Ms. Matthews claimed Amway now has 100% awareness and 85% favorability in China through a highly successful market-development effort that focused first on government relations.

In the U.S., she said, Amway is now the No. 1 online seller of health and beauty products and has increasingly expanded awareness of itself as a beauty retailer through TV ads and sponsorship, such as acquiring naming rights for the Amway Center in Orlando, where the NBA's Magic plays.

And check out the new MLM Blog Page on Facebook. Just click the banner below...you know, the one that says Facebook. And don't forget to click "Like" when you get there...first 1000 fans have a chance to win free advertising on the MLM Blog!

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- Dan Mitchell, MLM Blog Correspondent -

Note the choice of words below.  "No signing bonus or guaranteed "position"."   Does that mean Xango isn't paying him a monthy income on top of his commissions?

I don't know if this is a huge blow to Amway, but it is interesting given Amway's prior tendency to sue as soon as you leave.  We'll see if the lawsuits fly given the recent ruling on non-competes.

I also know a lot of people who have left Xango because of the lack of income.  Is it better than Amway?  Probably.  If you've eaten tofu all your life and someone gives you a McDonald's hamburger, it will taste pretty good...but you might not have known about that steakhouse that serves a 12 oz. rib eye steak. 

Xango is a bit of an old-school unilevel plan without any check matching or hybrid qualities.

Clean start at XanGo comes without signing bonus or guaranteed position

LEHI, Utah, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- XanGo, LLC, a global health and wellness leader in the direct sales industry, announced today that worldwide network marketing icon and recognized business leader Lennon Ledbetter has joined the ranks of XanGo's more than 1 million independent distributors in 35 countries. Ledbetter, founder of Team Builders Global, is among the highest-earning and most well-known network marketers in the world.

"We're thrilled, in our eighth year, to have a dynamic, incredibly accomplished leader such as Lennon joining XanGo without a signing bonus or guaranteed position," says XanGo Founder and Chairman Aaron Garrity. "Lennon's achievements stand at the pinnacle of our industry, due in large part to his unique ability to inspire others and help them realize their potential. In XanGo, he can count on a strong partner with extraordinary executive leadership and a commitment to supporting our distributors in a way that accelerates their growth now and well into the future."

Ledbetter is among the very elite achievers in direct sales, his team having consistently generated many millions in annual revenue as a heralded leader in one of the three largest companies in the industry. Among his accomplishments at his former company, he reached its highest ranks and consistently earned among the top sales growth checks worldwide. A sought-after motivational speaker and trainer, Ledbetter has wowed audiences in dozens of cities domestically and internationally in front of packed stadiums. Remaining humble, he's also been known to spend considerable time offering one-on-one mentoring to his downline.

MLM Blog's sister site Amway Blog has been keeping up to date with the goings on at WWDB (World Wide Dream Builders), an Amway training system.  I have been keeping that stuff out of the MLM Blog because most people really won't understand much of it unless you participated in Amway at some time.

I got my Network Marketing start in WWDB.  I learned a lot and paid a lot for what I learned.  I grew fast in the beginning and then worked hard spinning my wheels for years.

18 months after leaving WWDB with the help and mentorship of Bo Short, I was earning a six-figure income from home. While WWDB has stagnated with roughly the same number of Diamonds today that they had in the 90's, Bo and I have helped over 40 people earn BMW's and just in the last 2 months we have the equivalent of one new Diamond and a half dozen new Emeralds in our business, that is just under 2 years old but debt free and backed by investors worth hundreds of millions.

Anyways, here are some links to recent updates about WWDB if you are interested:

Brad Duncan talks about his brother (Greg Duncan's) recent bankruptcy, mentioning that this is the 3rd time he has lost everything.

EDC Dean Kosage Leaves WWDB to start his own line of affiliation, called "Freestyle".

Double Diamond Brad Wolgamott Leaves WWDB and starts his own line of affiliation called VSix.

Older news:

Greg Duncan Bankruptcy, Diamond Jim Harstad leaves, David Shores Foreclosure, River House for sale, etc.

Mlive:

SAN FRANCISCO -- A lawsuit alleging Amway and its upper level distributors operate an illegal pyramid scheme is headed back to court after an appeals court struck down company efforts to force plaintiffs into arbitration.

A federal appeals court this week upheld a decision from a 2007 lawsuit against Amway that invalidated a requirement that disputes with the company be resolved through a mediation process rather than in court.

The appeals judges agreed with a U.S. Circuit Court decision that said Ada-based Amway's mandatory "Alternative Dispute Resolution" process was so slanted in the company's favor that it was "unconscionable."

The ruling relates to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California by three former Amway distributors, which the company refers to as Independent Business Owners.

In a statement provided to The Press this morning, Amway said it expected the ruling and it continues to believe the allegations have no merit.

"The Ninth Circuit historically has been skeptical of contract arbitration," the statement read.