MLM Blog – Network Marketing Blog

If Amway doesn't mention U.S. numbers, you can be pretty sure that they are down.  Amway training systems like WWDB have shown declining numbers in meeting attendance and new diamonds....here is the press release from Amway:

ADA, Mich., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Amway's parent company, Alticor Inc., announced record sales of more than US$8.4 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2009, which was a 2.3 percent increase over 2008. Sales were negatively impacted by foreign currency fluctuations, which in local currency grew 5.9 percent.

"Our focus on using innovation to transform the Amway business is showing results," said chairman Steve Van Andel. "The global economy challenged every business in 2009. Our continuing investment in products, technology, and connecting with consumers helped us weather the storm."

Said president Doug DeVos: "Our distributors around the world deserve a lot of credit for persistence in a difficult economic climate. We put a lot of effort into improving our product offerings and building consumer awareness; the distributors put in the work to drive sales to our customers."

The company also made gains in another key measure. Said Van Andel: "In 2009, we increased our market share in the direct selling industry, and continued to drive improvements and adjustments to our business that will help us, and our distributors, succeed over the long term."

I recently saw some interesting numbers about a handful of Network Marketing compensation plans. The comparison took a business built in the suggested method with 5,000 points of volume. You will see that most companies do not pay very well on the front end (if at all). Feel free to do your own research evaluating the compensation plans listed here. 

By Ty Tribble, MLM Blog Founder

I was listening to a recent podcast from MLM Expert, Len Clements and he said something about the Amway compensation plan that I found very interesting.  Mr. Clements is a court certified expert in MLM/Network Marketing and founder of Market Wave Inc,  in case you were wondering about his credentials.

So here is a quote from Mr. Clements about the Amway Compensation Plan:

Hmmm.  That sounds really familiar.  Oh yeah, that's what I have been saying about the Amway/Quixtar plan for years.  Here is a link to the podcast where Len makes the statement.  The podcast is one hour and forty minutes long and the quote is near the end .

Back to Amway Global...

Amway is an $8 Billion company, but my guess is that only 10% (roughly $800 Million) of that volume comes from the U.S., down from an estimated $2 to $3 Billion in the 90's.

Is Amway Global a good business opportunity in the U.S.?

Let's answer that with a couple of questions...

1. Can you name a Network Marketing company that has a worse reputation than Amway/Quixtar?

2. Can you name a company that has a worse dollar to volume ratio than Amway/Quixtar? In other words, how much does it cost you to do your 100 points?

Amway Global has a Stairstep Breakaway Plan (not a Unilevel Plan like some folks at MonaVie claim).  The Stairstep Breakaway plan is typically considered as a plan that is disproportionately weighted towards the back end.  In general, top earners typically (not always) do fairly well and the mid to low ranks suffer.

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - March 10, 2009) - EIRO Research, a Dallas-based nutritional company, held its prelaunch convention in Dallas on March 6-7. At the convention, the company launched its official packaging and branding, as well as EIRO Energy, a natural, healthful alternative to conventional energy drinks.

"Attendance was phenomenal," said CEO, Chris Hausman. "We had twice as many attendees as we expected. It was standing room only." EIRO's official branding was designed by Pentagram Design, an award-winning design firm whose clients include Tiffany and Co., as well as Saks Fifth Avenue. DJ Stout, a partner of Pentagram, was at the event to reveal the new look.

"This new packaging is first-class," said Liz Goldreich, a Dallas-based independent associate for EIRO. "The owners of EIRO have aligned themselves with some of the classiest companies in the country. They are setting new standards and raising the bar in network marketing."

In addition to launching new packaging, videos, and marketing materials, the company revealed it would be featured in the August issue of Your Business at Home Magazine, a publication that appears on national newsstands. Other speakers at the event included, Darren Hardy, publisher of Success magazine, and Elizabeth Showers, a jewelry designer who heads the Elisa Project, which raises awareness on eating disorders. Founding partners Bo Short, Ty Tribble, and Chris Cucchiara also spoke at the event.

"EIRO is providing an incomparable platform for its independent associates," said EIRO founding partner, Ty Tribble. "No other company in network marketing has launched such a broad and comprehensive suite of products and materials in such a short amount of time. The opportunity at this company is unparalleled."

EIRO Research is a Dallas-based network marketing company specializing in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of premium, properly formulated nutritional products For opportunity information, please visit www.eirorevolution.com. For media inquiries, please visit www.eiro.com.

Amway Triple Diamond Greg Duncan, a leader in Worldwide Dreambuilders - WWDB and owner of XS Energy Drink has filed bankruptcy.

Get the details here: WWDB Greg Duncan Bankrupt

My former upline in Amway/Quixtar is bankrupt....

Amquix.info:

World Wide Dreambuilder's Triple Diamond and former IBOAI board of director Greg and Laurie Duncan have been in bankruptcy court  since Sep. 11 2007!  A site visitor notified me of the bankruptcy after checking up on their numerous houses that were in foreclosure last year. 

The Duncan's listed assets of $63 million and debts of $8.4 million.  Despite having millions in net worth, the Duncan's cannot service all their debts.

The Duncan's owed $1.7 million to the  IRS for back taxes and penalties and $452,000 to the State of Montana for back taxes.

In April of 2008, the Duncan's filed a reorganization plan and  disclosure statement under court sealing that was later unsealed when it went into Chapter 7. 

Supposedly $9 million of Duncan's cash got drained away in a lawsuit over the rights to sell he XS energy drink.   I obtained documentation of a suit involving the XS energy drink brand with a company called Cetalon.   Cetalon claimed it was given marketing rights for the XS brand and was suing for its piece of the pie after Quixtar became a major buying.   Greg Duncan was named as a defendant, and  Cetalon went bankrupt when it lost the case.

All the bankruptcy documents are public record on Pacer.

A little housekeeping is in order...

When I launched the MLM Blog in 2003, the majority of my experience in Network Marketing was in Amway/Quixtar, so I wrote a lot about it.  To this day, I try to keep up with and report on the goings on with the company, but I now get the vast majority of my readers at MLM Blog from other subjects, not just the Amway/Quixtar rumor mill.

So, when I have big news about Quixtar such as the change back to the Amway brand, I will post it here. however for the most part, those who are looking for Amway news will find it at the Amway Blog.

Beginning with:

Where's WWDB Jim Harstad?

Update: Greg Duncan Bankrupt?

WWDB Triple Diamond, Greg Duncan actually owns one of the most popular product lines in the world of Quixtar, XS Energy Drink, according to an article in Beverage World.

The article lists the co-owners of XS Worldwide as  Josh Bradbury, Scott Coon, Greg Duncan, David Vanderveen. Scott Coon was once an Emerald, personally sponsored by Greg and I believe that David Vanderveen is a cousin to Amway/Quixtar owners, the Van Andels.

Here is the first thing that came to my mind: No matter how bad Quixtar's compensation plan is, I'm betting that Greg Duncan will be sticking around. He is probably making a lot of money when all of the other lines of sponsorship promote XS Energy Drink.

Now, speaking of XS Energy Drink and Greg Duncan, I found a bit more interesting news...

It seems that Greg Duncan is expanding his marketplace outside of Quixtar with a brand of energy drinks called, "All In". 

Here is a link to an article that calls Greg Duncan, CEO of All In Energy. So now, Greg Duncan, along with former World Wide Dream Builders diamond (current Emerald?), Rod Jao, who is Vice President of All In Energy are out selling a product that competes directly with XS Energy Drink.

"Competes directly with Quixtar" is probably the most important words to consider here if you follow the Quixtar non-compete rules that the company has been making waves over.

Just read this on former Quixtar Executive Diamond and founder of the TEAM, Orrin Woodward's blog:

My letter to Doug Devos clearly explains that over 600,000 people who speak English as a first language signed up into Quixtar in 1999 and 2000.  Out of these 600,000 IBO’s (misnomer?) only six achieved Founders Emerald or above by the end of 2004.  This is 4 to 5 years and only 1 out of 100,000 achieved $87,000 annual income from the plan with both the husband and wife working exhaustively.  Out of those six who achieved Founders Emerald by 2005, five were on the Team – Tim Marks (Founders Diamond), Doug Stroh, Mike Foos, Matt Abraham, Kirk Birtles were all founders emerald or above by the end of 2004. (I believe this is the five.)

If this is not true, Amway's legal team would be all over Woodward, leading me to believe that the statistics are true.

Your thoughts?

File this in the MLM Rumor Mill until further notice, but I have heard and noticed some interesting search engine trends that suggest that Larry Winters might be preparing to pack up and leave Quixtar.

Some are speculating that Larry was watching the Orrin Woodward/Team lawsuits to see what happens before he takes his team to another company.  The main reasoning behind the possible move is apparently Quixtar's change back to the Amway name.

Again, this is only a rumor at this point, but we have been pretty accurate in terms of Larry Winters in the past when we broke the story about Larry Winters leaving Britt World Wide for his own system, LTD.

Update:

To be more specific, I have noticed that people are finding my web site by searching "Larry Winters Leaving Quixtar".  That doesn't mean that Larry Winters is leaving Quixtar, it just means that people are curious about that subject.  In no way, shape or form am I reporting that Larry Winters is leaving Quixtar.  For all I know people could have Larry Winters confused with Orrin Woodward.

Update 2:

A couple of people seem to be threatening legal action over this post.  This is a very simple process.  If the rumor is untrue, Larry Winters, or someone that works for Larry Winters can send me an email: mlmblog@mlmblog.net, telling me that the rumor is false.  I will immediately update the post to reflect the statement.

Update 3 (final update?): 

After getting a couple of additional searches related to "larry winters new mlm", I did some additional investigation and found that Quixtar's IBOAI Board Blog has posted a response to this rumor (would have been neat if they had told me...oh well).

Here is the response:

Online rumors that Double Diamond Larry Winters is discontinuing his Quixtar business are completely false.  It's the kind of outlandish thing bloggers write when they have nothing substantive to say.

My response is that I can show proof that people are searching Google for "larry winters new mlm" and I am guessing that some of my readers think that is substantive. Again, I am not saying that Larry Winters is leaving Quixtar (or is it Amway?), just that I noticed search traffic and in that past, search traffic has been fairly accurate.