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Euromonitor ranks Nu Skin #1 At-Home Beauty Device System Brand

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Nu Skin has been ranked the world’s number one at-home beauty device system brand for 2017 and 2018 by Euromonitor International Ltd.

“Nu Skin has differentiated itself in the rapidly growing at-home beauty device market with Device Systems that combine powerful serums and solutions with beauty devices to become the leading brand,” said Ryan Napierski, president of Nu Skin. “This combination of scientifically proven formulations with patented technology addresses a range of consumers’ top skin care concerns such as cleansing, firming, hydrating, acne and the appearance of lines and wrinkles.”

Nu Skin offers a portfolio of beauty devices—including Galvanic Spa®, Body Spa, Facial Spa, ageLOC Me®, LumiSpa® and LumiSpa Accent—that come with a variety of treatment products. ageLOC®LumiSpa has been the newest addition and recently reached the milestone of more than 2 million units sold in just 18 months. The Euromonitor ranking adds to several global product and innovation awards for ageLOC LumiSpa, including the Global Pure Beauty Awards, Cosmo Reader’s Choice Award, Glamour magazine Glammies, The Techies, A’ Design Awards and Spark Design Awards.

“One of our strengths at Nu Skin is listening to the voices of our global consumers and developing products and devices that enhance their skin care routines,” said Napierski. “As the beauty industry evolves and the popularity of at-home beauty devices continues to increase, we will continue to innovate in this dynamic space and are primed to lead the way in bringing a spa-like experience into the home.”

Euromonitor publishes comprehensive market research on the skin care industry.

SimplyFun’s Newly Released Games Win PAL Awards

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SimplyFun, LLC. recently announced that it received PAL Awards for its two newest Reading and Language Arts games, Wake Up Stars and Lily Pond.

The PAL (Play Advances Language) Awards recognize outstanding toys, games and books that through their design, content, quality and character promote play that advances language. They were established by respected speech and language expert Sherry Artemenko.

“SimplyFun has done it again,” said Artemenko. “They’ve created a delightfully fun way to learn to read.”

Wake Up Stars is a storytelling game for two to four players, ages three and up. Players take turns spinning the spinner to collect stars and share stories about what makes them feel the emotions found on the faces of the stars. Through game play kids practice empathy and build social relationships by talking about how someone else might feel based on the expression on the star they have chosen.

Lily Pond helps build preschoolers’ foundational reading skills. Players hop their frog around the pond on the gameboard landing on or jumping through the lily pad letters needed to complete their word cards. The first player to hop through their letters in the correct order and then hop back to the center wins the game.

LR Health & Beauty Launches “LR MyOffice”

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LR Health & Beauty recently announced it has launched a new tool, LR MyOffice, to support sales partners with their work in the digital LR world.

The Ahlen, Germany-based company teamed with American software provider Exigo to develop the tool, which can be used on Pcs, tablets and smartphones. With LR MyOffice, sales partners can get information on all relevant business figures and activities at a glance. The data, which is continuously updated, allows partners to see sales achieved for the month and how team members are developing. The tool also works as a personal assistant, alerting partners to team member birthdays and anniversaries with the company.

“The program helps LR partners to better understand their business figures and to control their business activities,” said Andreas Friesch, CEO and management spokesman of LR.

A special feature of LR MyOffice is the ability for each sales partner and team members to see at first glance what is needed to reach the next bonus or career level.

“We were very pleased to partner with LR to leverage our technical expertise and platform, and to create the new tool for LR’s partners,” said Ed Jarrin, president of Exigo.

The prelaunch phase for LR MyOffice began in February and ended May 14. The tool is now available for all LR sales partners. According to the company, over the next few months new functions will be added to the program.

New Amazon Initiative Helps Employees Start Their Own Businesses

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Amazon recently announced the expansion of its Delivery Service Partner program in the US with a new incentive for current Amazon employees to start a small business owning and operating a package delivery company.

The new incentive will fund the startup costs, up to $10,000, as well as the equivalent of three months of the former employee’s last gross salary so employees-turned-business-owners can more easily get their package delivery companies off the ground.

“We received overwhelming interest from tens of thousands of individuals who applied to be part of the Delivery Service Partner program, including many employees,” said Dave Clark, senior vice president of Worldwide Operations. “We’ve heard from associates that they want to participate in the program but struggled with the transition. Now we have a path for those associates with an appetite for opportunities to own their own businesses.”

Amazon will take an active role in helping interested employees launch their own package delivery businesses. An employee will leave their role at Amazon to build their business knowing they will have consistent delivery volume from Amazon, access to the company’s sophisticated delivery technology, hands-on training and discounts on a suite of assets and services, including Amazon-branded vans customized for delivery, branded uniforms and comprehensive insurance.

This program is the latest example of Amazon initiatives aimed at encouraging employees to develop and advance their careers. Across the US, more than 12,000 people have already taken part in Amazon’s Career Choice program where Amazon pre-pays up to 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, up to $12,000, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

Since the launch of the Delivery Service Partner program in June 2018, Amazon has enabled the creation of more than 200 new small businesses that have hired thousands of local drivers to deliver packages to Amazon customers. This year, the company plans to add hundreds more new businesses, starting with employees-turned-business-owners. Additionally, the program offering has expanded to employees in the UK and Spain.

Q1 Results: Reliv Down 5%

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Reliv International, Inc. (NASDAQ: RELV) recently reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2019.

Net sales of $9.5 million for the quarter compared with net sales of $10.0 million in the first quarter of 2018. Net sales in the United States decreased to $7.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, which represented a 7.3 percent decline in net sales when compared to the prior-year quarter. Net sales in Reliv’s foreign markets increased 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the prior-year first quarter. Increases in net sales in Asia and Mexico were 57.9 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of 2019, offset by a decrease in net sales in Europe of 19.4 percent, along with decreases in other regions.

On January 1, 2019, Reliv entered into a purchase agreement with Nutracom, LLC that included the sale of its manufacturing equipment and most of its raw material inventory.  In addition to the purchase agreement, Reliv entered into several other agreements with Nutracom, including a product supply agreement and a lease agreement, under which Nutracom will lease the manufacturing and warehouse space of Reliv’s headquarters building, along with a portion of the office space.

“We believe 2019 represents a year of innovation and growth,” commented Ryan A. Montgomery, chief executive officer. “With our agreement with Nutracom and the Hastings family to operate the production facility, Reliv continues to enjoy the same high level of service, quality control, flexibility and efficiencies prior to the transition, but it allows us to focus solely on our core business—providing an outstanding line of nutritional supplements through our independent distributors. We look forward to a number of transformational changes to Reliv this year, including a new product line on the horizon.”

To read the complete Reliv Q1 2019 financial report, click here.

Q1 Results: NHT Hit Hard by 100 Day Action in China; Down 63%

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Natural Health Trends Corp. (NASDAQ: NHTC), which markets premium quality personal care, wellness and “quality of life” products under the NHT Global brand, recently announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Total revenue of $19.3 million decreased 63 percent compared to $52.4 million in the first quarter of 2018 primarily due to a decline in Greater China revenue. The number of Active Members decreased 11 percent to 87,340 at March 31, 2019, compared to 97,840 at December 31, 2018, and decreased 8 percent compared to 95,040 at March 31, 2018.

“As we previously disclosed, in response to the Chinese government’s announcement of its 100-day campaign in January, as was the case with many peer companies, we voluntarily suspended our member activities,” said Chris Sharng, president of Natural Health Trends Corp. “The suspension covered more than 90 percent of the number of days in the first quarter, which also included the Chinese New Year holidays. We have made it our priority to fully cooperate with the government and to proactively ensure we continue to conduct our business in compliance with all applicable laws in China. While our financial performance was adversely impacted by this initiative during the quarter, we strongly support the actions taken by the Chinese government to root out bad products and deceptive practices in order to protect Chinese consumers.”

Mr. Sharng further commented, “While the 100-day campaign expired in late April, there has been no official conclusion to end the program. We have great confidence in our ability to navigate the business through uncertain times and to renew growth once the macroclimate improves. While we are cautious as it relates to our overall performance for the remainder of 2019 given the uncertain trade and regulatory environment, we were pleased with the outcome of our successful major event in Hong Kong at the end of March and ongoing support of our market leaders. We were also thrilled to have launched NHT Global in India and remain encouraged by the continued growth we have been experiencing in Latin America, led by Peru.”

On April 29, 2019, the company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC stating that the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of all required periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter was sent to confirm the company’s compliance with the rule following the April 26, 2019 filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

To read the complete NHT Global Q1 2019 financial report, click here.

Retail Giant Walmart Announces Next-Day Delivery

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Walmart, the biggest retailer in the world, will now offer shoppers the option to have their online orders delivered the next day.

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Amazon announced plans to spend $800 million for one-day delivery for all Amazon Prime members.

Walmart said it is rolling out next-day delivery in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California over the next few days and will expand it to reach roughly 75 percent of American consumers by the end of 2019, including 40 of the top 50 major metros. Amazon hasn’t yet detailed a timeline for its own rollout of next-day shipping.

Walmart isn’t disclosing the cost of its latest delivery push. But the company says it has been working on it for quite some time.

“We have been working on this for the past several years,” Marc Lore, head of Walmart’s e-commerce business in the U.S., said about the move toward next-day shipping. “We’ve been investing … and now we are in the position to reap the benefits.”

In January 2017, Walmart started offering free, two-day shipping for orders totaling more than $35, lowering its minimum purchase threshold from $50. It had already bought Jet.com for $3 billion in 2016 to juice its online business and compete with Amazon. That deal helped it reach shoppers in bigger cities, like New York, in less time.

To start, next-day delivery will be available for about 220,000 items “most frequently purchased” online, Walmart said, including toys and electronics. The company said it plans to make more items available to ship next day over time. And the option is only free for orders over $35. Amazon, for comparison, has no minimum purchase threshold for free, next-day delivery but requires customers to have a Prime membership, which costs $119 annually.

When Amazon made its one-day shipping the new standard for all Prime customers last month it sent shares of Walmart and Target tumbling, as investors worried bricks-and-mortar retailers would now have to spend more money to match the e-commerce giant’s steps. Walmart’s stock price was up 0.5% in Tuesday’s premarket. Amazon shares were 1% higher.

Q1 Results: Mannatech Down 8%; Oriflame Down 6%

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Flower Mound, Texas-based Mannatech, Incorporated (NASDAQ: MTEX) recently announced net sales of $38 million for the first quarter of 2019.

The net sales represented a decrease of $3.4 million, or 8.2 percent, as compared to $41.4 million in the first quarter of 2018. Income from operations increased to $1.1 million for the first quarter 2019, from a loss of $0.9 million in the same period in 2018.

The approximate number of new and continuing independent associate and preferred customer positions held by individuals in Mannatech’s network and associated with purchases of the company’s packs or products as of March 31, 2019 and 2018 were approximately 203,000 and 210,000, respectively.

To read the complete Mannatech Q1 2019 report, click here.

Oriflame

Stockholm, Sweden-based Oriflame also recently reported financial results for the first quarter of 2019. Local currency sales decreased by 6 percent and Euro sales decreased by 7 percent to €309.2m (€330.8m), of which 2 percentage points are related to a one-off IFRS effect. The number of registered actives decreased by 5 percent and amounted to 2.9 million.

“Despite a weaker sales development and changed geographical mix, we are pleased to report a stable profitability for the quarter and continued healthy cash flow generation,” said CEO Magnus Brännström. “While we are encouraged by the positive development in Latin America, Africa, Europe and most of the CIS markets, we continued to see a sales decline in Asia and Turkey impacted by challenging market conditions as well as governmental and legislative initiatives in China and Vietnam. Oriflame has a balanced geographical footprint, and we will continue to take responsible steps adapted to each respective market to drive sales and healthy margins.”

To read the complete Oriflame Q1 2019 report, click here.

Nature’s Sunshine Reports 4.5% Q1 Net Sales Growth

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Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: NATR) reported its net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 were $91.3 million.

“We are pleased to report a strong start to fiscal 2019 with continued net sales growth and significantly improved earnings,” said CEO Terrence Moorehead. “Growth continues to be driven by sustained positive sales trends in NSP China, Synergy Asia Pacific and NSP Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as positive growth in Synergy North America during the first quarter. We are seeing an enhanced profit profile, reflecting the benefits of our cost control initiatives that contributed to a more than an 81 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA during the first quarter.”

Net sales of $91.3 million increased 4.5 percent compared to $87.3 million in the first quarter of 2018. Net sales were also negatively impacted by $2.3 million of unfavorable foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

On a local currency basis, net sales increased 7.1 percent compared to 2018. The increase was primarily related to growth in Synergy Asia Pacific, NSP Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and NSP China offset by a $3.2 million decline in net sales in NSP Americas and a $0.9 million decline in Synergy Europe.

To read the full Nature’s Sunshine Q1 2019 report, click here.

LifeVantage Launches in Ireland

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LifeVantage recently launched its third European market in the past eight months with the addition of Ireland last week.

“The opening of Ireland is something that has been highly anticipated among many of our leaders in the UK in particular, and we expect it to be a productive asset in our larger European strategy,” said LifeVantage CEO Darren Jensen. “We’re excited to take this next step and grow our biohacking community in a part of the world that is key to our success.”

With select LifeVantage products having been offered in Ireland for approximately a year as part of the company’s Global Customer Acquisition Program, the country has already distinguished itself as a viable market.

“Ireland already has a solid base of customers who love our products and has proven itself a successful customer market in a relatively short period of time, so opening it up for distributor enrollments is the next natural progression,” said LifeVantage Chief Sales Officer Justin Rose. “We’re excited about Ireland’s prospects as our newest market.”

LifeVantage has operated in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, since 2016 and has a European presence in Germany, Netherlands, Austria and Spain, in addition to Ireland.

The company anticipates further expansion in Europe to support growth in the region, including in Belgium, which is currently scheduled for launch next month. With the addition of Ireland, LifeVantage now serves 14 markets in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

9 Direct Selling Companies Honored with Stevie Awards

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Nine direct selling companies were recently selected as 2019 Stevie® award winners by the American Business Awards for outstanding performances in the workplace.

4Life Research, ARIIX, Jeunesse Global, Kannaway, LifeVantage, Medifast/OPTAVIA, MONAT Global, USANA Health Sciences and Vivint Smart Home were among the companies chosen. The winners will be presented with their awards at the 17th Annual American Business Awards banquet to be held on Tuesday, June 11, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

The American Business Awards are the premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the United States are eligible to submit nominations. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations.

The Stevie® award-winning nominations for direct selling companies were:

COMPANY / ORGANIZATION AWARDS

Company of the Year – Consumer Products – Non-Durables – Large 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • USANA Health Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT

SILVER STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL

Company of the Year – Health Products & Services – Medium 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Kannaway, San Diego, CA

Company of the Year – Health Products & Services – Large 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL

Company of the Year – Retail – Large 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • MONAT Global, Miami, FL

Most Innovative Company of the Year – Up to 2,500 Employees 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT

Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year – At Organizations With Up to 2,500 Employees 
SILVER STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse Kids – Giving Children a Brighter Future

Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year – At Organizations With More Than 2,500 Employees

SILVER STEVIE®:

  • Vivint Smart Home, Provo, UT: Vivint Gives Back

Fastest Growing Company of the Year – Up to 2,500 Employees 
SILVER STEVIE®:

  • Medifast, Baltimore, MD: Medifast OPTAVIA

BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT

ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS

Founding Team of the Year – Consumer Products Industries 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse® Executive Leadership: Growing the Family Business

Entrepreneur of the Year – Retail 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • MONAT Global, Miami, FL: Ray Urdaneta, CEO and Co-Founder

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AWARDS

Information Technology Team of the Year 
BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse® IT Team Provides Award-Winning Solutions

Information Technology Executive of the Year 
SILVER STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: Wenhan Zhang, Chief Information Officer and Founder

MANAGEMENT AWARDS

Achievement in Management – Consumer Products – Non-Durables 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • USANA Health Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT: Kevin Guest, USANA CEO

SILVER STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: ARIIX 2018 Management Team Achievements

Management Team of the Year – Consumer Products Industries 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse® Executive Leadership Growing the Family Business

Maverick of the Year – Consumer Products 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: CVO Scott Lewis: Contrarian Strategist

Woman of the Year – Consumer Products 
SILVER STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: Deanna Latson, Chief Product Officer, Co-Founder
  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse® Founder Wendy Lewis: Entrepreneur with a Heart for Giving Back

Lifetime Achievement Award – Consumer Products Industries 
GOLD STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jeunesse® CEO Randy Ray: Successful Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: ARIIX President Mark Wilson Lifetime Achievement

MARKETING AWARDS

Marketing Team of the Year 
BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: The Jeunesse® MarCom Team Delivers Success

Marketing Executive of the Year 
BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: CMO Mark Patterson

MOBILE WEB & APP AWARDS

Productivity 
BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL: Jmobile – A Fresh User Experience

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT & NEW PRODUCT AWARDS

Consumer Products 
SILVER STEVIE®:

  • LifeVantage, Sandy, UT: TrueScience Hair Care System Product Launch
  • USANA Health Sciences, UT: USANA Celavive Sheet Mask

BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • 4Life Research, Sandy, UT: PRE/o Biotics: University Validation of Delivery & Results
  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: Giving Greens New Product of the Year
  • Kannaway, San Diego, CA: Kannaway Cannabis Beauty Defined

VIDEO AWARDS

Sales: Product Sales 
BRONZE STEVIE®:

  • ARIIX, Bountiful, UT: ARIIX Seal of Approval Video

Avon Products, Inc. Launches “Avon On” App for Representatives

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Avon Products, Inc. recently announced the launch of “Avon On,” a mobile app to support millions of micro-entrepreneurs to manage their businesses on the go.

This first wave roll-out includes Mexico, Russia and Philippines, with a further 25 markets from across Europe, Latin America, and Africa launching the app beginning July 2019.

According to the company, the app will help Representatives increase their productivity and manage their business easier and faster, while harnessing the power of their own networks through enhanced social sharing capabilities. Key features include latest product and promotion notifications, order placing, easy access to support features including FAQs and Avon contact centers, a shareable link to the instant messaging brochure and a social media hub.

The social media hub will support Representatives to reach and engage their audience with brand and product content, alongside tailored messaging that suits their own business and customer needs. It includes content from the new content studio, providing multi-platform outputs delivered directly to the app on a weekly basis for Representatives to share with their online communities.

“Avon has built the world’s largest network of female entrepreneurs and we are relentless in our focus on making Her successful,” said Nick Burton, vice president of Digital Development. “Providing our beauty entrepreneurs with a one-stop shop to boost their business from their mobile is key to unleashing the power of digital for our Representatives and increasing the flexibility of the Avon opportunity.”