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LegalShield: Record-Breaking Levels for Memberships, App Downloads

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LegalShield recently announced record-breaking levels for both its memberships and downloads for its app.

The company’s membership grew to more than 1,756,000 at the end of 2018 and more than 1.5 million LegalShield apps have been downloaded.

“We are delighted by our strong membership growth and the popularity of our mobile app,” said Dave Coffey, senior vice president and chief digital officer at LegalShield. “We continue to invest in proprietary technology to make legal services affordable, easy, and accessible for everyone. We also partner with our dedicated network of law firms in the U.S. and Canada to improve customer service with training and technology. As a result, our legal network’s net promoter score (NPS) of 55 hit an all-time high, and rivals some of the most respected consumer brands. Our NPS is more than twice the legal services average.”

LegalShield recently updated its app with new innovative mobile features: users can snap a photo of a speeding ticket and send it directly to their provider law firm to start the dispute process, fill out and send a questionnaire to have a will prepared, and complete questionnaires to start prenuptial agreements, and uncontested divorce and personal bankruptcy.

The LegalShield mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices to download for free.

LegalShield also offers Spanish-language legal plans to serve a market of more than 58 million Latinos in the United States. Through its new provider network of U.S. law firms, LegalShield en Español taps into the largest network of Latino and Spanish-speaking lawyers in the country, providing members with all of the same benefits and services as the personal legal plan.

Tupperware Q4 2018 Net Sales Down 14%

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Tupperware Brands Corporation announced fourth quarter 2018 net sales were $505.9 million, down 14 percent (7% local currency) compared to fourth quarter 2017.

Emerging markets, accounting for 67 percent of sales, were down 15 percent (down 5% local currency). The emerging market operating units with the most significant local currency sales growth in the fourth quarter were Argentina, China, CIS and Tupperware Mexico, more than offset by significant decreases in India and Indonesia.

Established market sales decreased 13 percent (11% local currency). The local currency sales decreases were most significant in France, Germany and Italy.

In North America, Tupperware United States and Canada sales were down 8 percent driven largely by lower recruiting and average active sellers. Tupperware Mexico sales were up 2 percent (8% local currency) due to strong productivity, partially offset by lower average sellers. Fuller Mexico sales were down 13 percent (9% local currency) from a lower active sales force.

“While we achieved our earnings per share expectations in local currency, our sales and segment profit results in the fourth quarter were not what we expected, leading to our desire to accelerate the business transformation to capitalize on our Global Growth Strategy.” said Tricia Stitzel, president and chief executive officer. “We continue to operate with a sense of urgency and remain confident that, over time, our initiatives will ensure our major units deliver consistent sales and profit growth and create enhanced value for our shareholders.”

To view the full Q4 2018 Tupperware report, click here.

DSA Issues Statement Regarding LuLaRoe Lawsuit

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Last week, Washington state Attorney General Robert Ferguson filed an injunction against LuLaRoe, Inc., which the Attorney General described as an unlawful pyramid scheme.

The complaint alleged that the LuLaRoe plan violated the Washington state Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme statute, made false and misleading earnings claims to potential and existing participants, and otherwise violated the state’s consumer protection laws.

Direct Selling Association President Joseph N. Mariano said, “DSA members, through their membership, are committed to the highest level of consumer and salesperson protection. In addition to our DSA Code of Ethics, DSA and its members have vocally supported the enactment of strong anti-pyramid laws consistent with the provisions of DSA’s Code, including Washington state’s anti-pyramid law now cited by Attorney General Ferguson.

“Sadly, not all companies in the direct selling channel are DSA members,” Mariano continued, “and non-members like LuLaRoe do not accept, as members are obliged to, the requirements of DSA membership and our Code. That’s why we have just announced the establishment of our new Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) in partnership with the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

“The DSSRC will monitor the marketplace, accept competitor challenges, and otherwise consider patterns of consumer salesperson complaints for DSA members and non-members alike,” said Mariano.

“The DSSRC, working in tandem with the DSA Code, is intended to help ensure the marketplace is free of the types of consumer harms, particularly deceptive income and earnings claims, that Attorney General Ferguson’s complaint alleges in this case,” Mariano said. “We wholeheartedly support prosecution of operations that flout the law and disregard the legal and marketplace standards reflected in the DSA Code.”

Direct Selling News has reached out to LuLaRoe to see if they would like to comment on these allegations, and will update this story if they choose to do so.

4Life Names Ross Terry VP of Business Development and Training

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4Life Research President and CEO Danny Lee announced that Ross Terry has been appointed the new vice president of Business Development and Training.

In his new role, Terry will report to Senior Vice President of Global Operations Jeff Kalinin as he works with 4Life markets around the world.

“I look forward to taking his attitude of excellence to all our markets,” said Kalinin. “Our Global Operations team gets better every day.”

Terry joined 4Life in 2012 as part of the Customer Service department. He has served as Spanish customer service representative, Spanish customer service supervisor, call quality supervisor and director of Customer Service and Training. According to the company, throughout his tenure at 4Life he has helped streamline existing processes.

“It has been a pleasure having Ross on my team for the past six years,” said Vice President of Customer Service Jaime Pierce. “His contributions have significantly impacted our success, and I look forward to his continued success in all our global markets.”4Life has offices in 25 markets to serve a global network of independent distributors and their customers.

Tupperware Brands Adds Chris O’Leary to Board of Directors

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Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) recently announced that Christopher D. O’Leary has been elected to the company’s board of directors, effective immediately.

“We are pleased to have Chris join our board,” said Executive Chairman Rick Goings. “He brings more than 37 years of operational and leadership experience to Tupperware, having served in several strategically important executive positions at major global consumer product companies including General Mills and PepsiCo. We believe the combination of his deep industry knowledge, broad international experience and strong, proven leadership skills will be invaluable to the company as we continue to execute our global growth strategy.”

O’Leary is the former executive vice president and chief operating officer, International, for General Mills, Inc. He previously spent 16 years at PepsiCo, Inc., where he held numerous roles, culminating in serving as chief executive officer and president of Hostess, Frito-Lay, Inc. O’Leary currently serves as a partner at Twin Ridge Capital, a private investment firm, and previously served on the board of Newell Rubbermaid Inc., now Newell Brands Inc., a leading global consumer goods company with a portfolio of well-known brands. He also currently serves as a non-executive director of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. and CARE, Inc. (a global nonprofit organization).

“Tupperware Brands is a great company with a renowned brand and strong global presence, and I’m pleased to join the board at this important time,” said O’Leary. “I look forward to working closely with board members and the management team to provide new insights and perspectives as Tupperware continues to take aggressive steps to advance its performance and drive enhanced value for shareholders.”

Nick Burton Appointed Avon VP Digital Development

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Avon Products, Inc. has announced the appointment of Nick Burton as vice president of Digital Development.

Nick Burton

Nick Burton

Burton will report to Chief Digital & Information Technology Officer Benedetto Conversano and will be based in Chiswick. The appointment is effective January 28.

According to the company, Burton will play a pivotal role in Avon’s transformation, driving its digital sales model, e-enabling its Representatives and opening up access to more consumers around the world. He will be primarily responsible for providing the right tools and solutions to unlock the power of digital technology, a cornerstone of the company’s strategy to open up Avon as it digitizes the business, rejuvenates the brand and e-enables its millions of Avon Representatives to become online beauty entrepreneurs by selling through e-commerce and social networks.

“I’m delighted that Nick is joining the team,” said Conversano.  “He’s a strong strategic leader and will support Avon’s growth by building on our existing talent and infrastructure and taking our digital sales proposition into the future. This is a tremendous opportunity as we revolutionize Avon’s service model and unleash the power of our Representatives through digital.”

Burton brings 20 years of experience in delivering IT strategy and driving change initiatives in multinational consumer-focused businesses.  Before joining Avon, he served at Belron, known for brands such as Autoglass, where he led the IT and digital function and served on the Group’s Commercial Executive team. Prior to Belron he worked in IT at Procter & Gamble as well as in IT consultancy.

“It’s terrific to be joining such an iconic brand at such an exciting moment in the company’s transformation,” said Burton. “The power of the Avon model is tremendous: six million Avon Representatives and their customers. That’s six million micro-influencers and online beauty entrepreneurs. Our role is to deliver the tools and service they need to build and grow their businesses online.”

Mary Kay Inc. Appoints New Manufacturing, Scientific Officers

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Photo: Chaun Harper and Dr. Lucy Gildea

Mary Kay Inc. announced the appointments of Chaun Harper as senior vice president, chief manufacturing officer and Dr. Lucy Gildea as senior vice president, chief scientific officer.

In their new roles, Harper and Gildea will join the global cosmetics company’s executive team. Harper will assume responsibility for global manufacturing operations, global inventory control, supply planning, transportation and global quality. Gildea will continue to lead Mary Kay Inc.’s research and development operations.

“In a relatively short period of time, both Chaun and Lucy have made significant contributions and proven to be instrumental in Mary Kay’s research, development and supply chain operations,” said Deborah Gibbins, chief operating officer for Mary Kay Inc. “In their new roles as members of the company’s executive team, Chaun and Lucy will work to ensure global and regional alignment of strategy and plans for Mary Kay® products.”

Harper joined Mary Kay Inc. in 2014 as director of Production Operations. According to the company, during his tenure he has been instrumental in creating a culture of continuous improvement at Mary Kay’s manufacturing facility, including dramatically increasing production efficiency and implementing key development opportunities for employees to elevate technical skills and advance their careers. Prior to joining Mary Kay Inc., Harper worked for L’Oréal where he held several positions within both the operations and quality functions.

Gildea has worked to execute the company’s global product strategy and innovation pipeline. She will be key in leading the company innovatively into the next generation. Prior to joining Mary Kay Inc., Gildea spent 15 years at Procter and Gamble, working in health care, oral care, beauty technology and beauty/skin development.

Plexus Auctions $375,000 Sportscar to Raise Money for Charity

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Plexus Charities is donating a large portion of the $375,000 sale of a rare Lexus LFA to Feeding America to help fight domestic hunger.

The philanthropic organization of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Plexus Worldwide auctioned off the sportscar at the Russo and Steele event during Arizona Auto Week, which is known for showcasing some of the most luxurious cars in the world. The car, given to Plexus by a private donor, is one of only 500 in the world.

“We are thrilled with the outcome of the car auction,” said Christopher Pair, president of Operations and International at Plexus Worldwide and Plexus Charities board member. “A car auction is already an exciting atmosphere but knowing that a significant portion of the total was going to help children and families in need made it so much more exciting as the total climbed higher and higher.”

Plexus began partnering with Feeding America, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a network of food banks, in June 2018 after launching its Nourish One Initiative. The on-going commitment provides charitable donations, which are the financial equivalent of one meal for every serving sold of Plexus Lean Whey and Plexus Lean Vegetarian in the United States. The new donation from the sale of the car will be separate from the on-going tabulation of meals funded through the sale of Lean products.

“We rely on partnerships with organizations like Plexus to help our food banks get food onto the tables of families in Arizona and across the nation,” said Briana Crane, director of Development at Feeding America.

Michael Green Promoted to Young Living CIO

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Young Living Essential Oils recently announced the promotion of Michael Green to chief information officer.

In his new role, Green will be responsible for building scalable information technology systems that can handle the growing volume of product sales and infrastructure to support the company’s 6 million members worldwide.

“Michael has proved to be an important leader in our company and was instrumental in modernizing our systems to handle the record-breaking heavy traffic during last year’s holiday shopping season,” said CEO Mary Young. “Michael’s experience with other billion-dollar direct selling companies has been vital in helping us expand and support Young Living’s growing global business.”

Green, who joined Young Living in 2017 as senior vice president of Information Technology, has more than 17 years of experience with start-ups, direct sales and global consumer product companies.

“Michael’s commitment to building Young Living’s information technology systems aligns perfectly with our 5×5 Pledge, particularly his team’s focus on growing the web-based tools and network infrastructure that will empower us to expand into five new markets each year and add 5 million additional members over the next five years,” said Jared Turner, president and chief operating officer. “He’s a versatile team player and leader whose specialized skills and passion support Gary Young’s vision of supplying every home with essential oils.”

The 5×5 Pledge expands Young Living’s positive impact on the world through philanthropy, green initiatives, new farms and new markets and by bringing essential oils to every home in the world.

CEOs of Medical Marijuana, Inc., Kannaway to Speak at CBD Symposium

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Medical Marijuana, Inc. CEO Dr. Stuart Titus and Kannaway® CEO Blake Schroeder will speak at the CBD Symposium to be held Jan. 30 in Anaheim, California.

The symposium, which will take place at the Anaheim Marriott 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PST, is an invite-only event that will focus on direct selling market opportunities, as well as the many recent groundbreaking scientific advances of cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD).

In addition to addressing current legislative changes, hurdles and roadblocks for CBD in the U.S., speakers at the event will present on industry trends in product development and manufacturing.

“We are honored to be invited back to speak to discuss the benefits and challenges of entering the CBD market,” said Dr. Titus. “The event is a great opportunity for the company to network with other leaders in the CBD industry and showcase the many exciting projects and developments that our portfolio of companies is currently spearheading.”

“With the recent passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, we can only expect the U.S. hemp market to continue to grow, especially through direct selling enterprises,” Titus said.

WellStar Expands into Russian, CIS Markets

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WellStar recently announced that it has expanded into the Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets.

The Berlin, Germany-based direct seller of skin care and hair care products opened an office in Russia last October.

The company also announce that it is preparing an office in South Korea to allow for expansion into the North Asian market next month.

“The expansion into the Russian/CIS markets will help us serve potential customers who want to look and feel better,” said CEO Christian Wiesner. “Through modern, hi-tech devices, we help customers to look younger, get their dream body and even grow new hair.”

WellStar, which began in the food supplement sector, offers the Bionic Youth Activating System, which includes the FACE Natural Skin Rejuvenation System and the BODY Natural Body Forming System.

SeneGence Launches in New Zealand

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SeneGence International® announced that it has launched in New Zealand.

The opening of the new market for the global beauty brand featured a two-day event that included a welcome reception and meet-and-greet with founder and CEO Joni Rogers-Kante; Philippe Guerreau, president of SeneGence; and Chris Simonian, chief sales and development officer.

SeneGence’s top-level distributors from around the world were also in attendance offering presentations and product demonstrations. On the second day of the grand opening event, new distributors were offered hands-on training with Rogers-Kante.

“SeneGence’s global expansion is bringing our products and distributor opportunities to millions of women worldwide,” said Rogers-Kante. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the company. We have exceeded our registration expectations. I love that so many people came out to celebrate SeneGence New Zealand. I’m pleased to welcome distributors to our SeneSisterhood.”

SeneGence, which launched in Mexico last November, is known for LipSense®, the long-lasting lip color, as well as a full line of anti-aging cosmetics and skin care products formulated for a variety of skin types. The company recently launched its hair care line, SeneGence HairCovery™, which consists of a shampoo, conditioner and serum that the company says are designed to work together to revive dull, lifeless hair.