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Hendrik Pelafu Appointed General Manager of 4Life Indonesia

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4Life Research, a Sandy, Utah-based immune health company, has appointed Hendrik Pelafu as the new general manager of 4Life Indonesia. In his new role, Pelafu will work closely with key leaders and distributors and oversee day-to-day operations for the market.

“We are so excited to have Hendrik join the 4Life family and the Indonesia team,” said Vice President of International Steve Apple. “We believe that his vision, combined with the wonderful people of Indonesia, will help us continue to move forward in the market at an accelerated pace.”

Pelafu has a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine and more than 15 years of direct selling experience. Before joining 4Life, Pelafu served as managing director for a prominent regional direct selling company and as national sales manager for a global direct selling giant, where he achieved top sales growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Hendrik has an outstanding track record,” said 4Life President and CEO Danny Lee. “He brings a wealth of industry knowledge to 4Life Indonesia. We are excited to welcome him and to have his expertise throughout the market.”

4Life has 24 offices around the world to serve a global network of independent distributors and their customers.

doTERRA Announces Co-Impact Sourcing Initiatives in Kenya

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Photo: Corey Lindley, doTERRA’s founding executive, president and CFO.

doTERRA, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based global essential oils company, has announced its social impact and community building initiatives in Kenya.

Since launching operations in rural Kenya two years ago with its partner, Fairoils, doTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing® initiative has partnered with smallholder farmers in southern Kenya to create hundreds of jobs and is expected to create more than 5,000 rural farming jobs by 2020. The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation® also has provided funding and resources to complete nine community projects that have benefitted the health and well-being of thousands of Kenyans, with more in the pipeline.

“As doTERRA’s demand for essential oils continues to grow, so does our global supply chain, which now extends to more than 40 countries,” said Corey Lindley, doTERRA’s founding executive, president and CFO. “We’re very pleased to improve the quality of life in this area and bring ethically responsible employment in essential oil production to low-income Kenyan communities. From rehabilitating dilapidated schools for Kenyan children to training farmers to increase their capacity and earning potential, our initiatives have already made a significant social impact in two short years. We look forward to expanding these initiatives to create positive impact on an even larger scale in the coming years.”

Through its strategic partnership with Fairoils, an expert organization in farming and essential oil production, doTERRA has helped form cooperative farming groups within various communities across Kenya to produce CPTG® quality essential oils. Key initiatives in Kenya have included the Lunga Lunga Project, a 300-acre model farm, distillation facility and a small-scale farming cooperative producing essential oil crops; and the Mount Kenya Project, a small-scale farming cooperative of initially 250 smallholder farmers, a training center and a distillation facility. doTERRA plans to expand this group to more than 2,500 farmers by 2020.

In the past two years, the following community projects in Kenya have been funded through donations from the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation: construction of a new community center, kindergarten, community water tower and river bridge; improvements to two primary schools; creation of a water maintenance trust fund; indigenous culture and health trainings for more than 2,000 school-aged children; and education and reforestation of indigenous trees.

In addition to donations from the doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation, doTERRA has established a Community Development Fund in Kenya. For every kilogram of essential oil produced by its farmer cooperatives, a portion of that revenue is set aside in a fund overseen by the cooperatives themselves to finance larger development projects at their discretion.

4Life Announces New Appointments, New Department

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4Life Research, a Sandy, Utah-based immune health company, has appointed Ivan Huang as general manager of 4Life Taiwan and Daniel Taylor as senior director of the newly created business intelligence department.

Ivan Huang

Huang, who has an educational background in international trade, started in network marketing as a distributor. Since 2004, he’s held a variety of corporate titles in sales, training, marketing and operations within the channel. This is his first position with 4Life.

“Ivan arrives at 4Life with solid industry experience in a variety of operational and creative roles,” said President and CEO Danny Lee. “His determination to partner with distributors will take Taiwan to new heights.”

Daniel Taylor

Taylor started at 4Life as a laborer in the manufacturing department in 2001. In 2006, he transitioned into the international department as a manager before becoming the director of Europe. He was promoted to senior director of Latin markets in 2013. As senior director of business intelligence, he will establish key performance indicators, create company-wide data protocols, and define the criteria of business intelligence that 4Life will use to measure its success.

“Daniel started at 4Life in the warehouse, and now he is senior director of business intelligence,” said Lee. “He personifies the kind of opportunity available to all 4Life employees. I am excited for Daniel and confident in his abilities to direct this new department.”

4Life has 24 offices around the world to serve a global network of independent distributors and their customers.

LifeVantage Revenue Up 1.1% for Q2 of Fiscal 2018

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LifeVantage Corp., a Sandy, Utah-based health and wellness company, reported financial results for its second quarter ended December 31, 2017. For the quarter, revenue increased 1.1 percent to $49.5 million year-over-year and 0.7 percent sequentially.

“We continue to execute on our key initiatives for fiscal 2018 and generated both year-over-year and sequential revenue growth during the second quarter,” stated LifeVantage President and CEO Darren Jensen. “The recent launch of our highly anticipated Vitality Stack Packets is a key aspect of our product strategy initiatives. We are also pleased to have successfully completed our commercial test of the new business model supporting our entry into China and formally launched in this promising new market on February 1, 2018. As we enter the second half of our fiscal year, we are focused on accelerating revenue growth as our transformational initiatives take hold across LifeVantage’s growing global footprint.”

For the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2017, the company reported revenue of $49.5 million, an increase of 1.1 percent as compared to $48.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Revenue in the Americas for the second quarter decreased 1.9 percent compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2017, while revenue in the Asia/Pacific and Europe region increased 11.0 percent compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Revenue in Japan increased 9.3 percent compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2017.

Active independent distributors and active preferred customers decreased 1.6 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively, year-over-year and decreased on a sequential basis 1.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

For the first six months of fiscal 2018, the company reported net revenue of $98.6 million, a decrease of 5.0 percent compared to $103.8 million for the first six months of fiscal 2017. In the first six months of fiscal 2018, revenue in the Americas decreased 6.0 percent and revenue in Asia/Pacific and Europe decreased 2.1 percent.

To read the full LifeVantage Q2 2018 report, click here.

ARIIX Promotes Kunio Miyagi to Japan General Manager

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ARIIX, a Bountiful, Utah-based company that promotes healthy, toxin-free living, has promoted Kunio Miyagi to general manager, Japan. Miyagi most recently served as sales and marketing executive director.

“I could not be more proud to promote from within the ARIIX family,” said COO and Founder Riley Timmer. “Kunio has more than proven his capabilities to grow teams and increase sales, and we’re looking forward to witnessing what he’s going to do with our fastest-growing market in 2018. Our Representatives in Japan are young and energetic, and Miyagi has the tenacity to keep up and support their continued success.”

Miyagi joined ARIIX at the beginning of 2017, bringing with him an extensive history in direct selling, including 22 years of management experience with seven companies in the channel. He dedicated his time in 2017 to supporting the field with new marketing and sales initiatives, while building strong relationships with Representatives. Due to his initiatives in 2017, title advancements increased by 27 percent over the previous year.

“ARIIX is changing lives,” says Miyagi. “Everyone who gets involved with the company—from Representatives to employees—and experiences the products, compensation plan and corporate culture is having their life transformed in one way or another. Seeing this tells me that I made the right choice a year ago, and I know others who have joined feel exactly the same.”

USANA Up 8% for Q4, 4.1% for Full-Year 2017

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USANA Health Sciences Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah-based cellular nutrition company, has reported financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full-year ended December 30, 2017.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, net sales were $273.1 million compared with $252.9 million in the prior-year period, or an 8.0 percent increase year-over-year. The weakening of the U.S. dollar positively impacted net sales by $7.4 million for the quarter. The company’s total number of active customers increased modestly year-over-year to 565,000.

“Our fourth quarter topline results exceeded our expectations and provided a strong finish to the year for USANA,” said CEO Kevin Guest. “During the quarter, we offered a few targeted product promotions around the world that contributed to our sales results and overall momentum.”

Regional Results

Net sales in the Asia Pacific region increased by 12.1 percent to $216.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Within Asia Pacific, net sales:

  • Increased 14.0% in Greater China;
  • Increased 24.6% in North Asia; and
  • Increased 4.1% in the Southeast Asia Pacific region.

Sales growth in Greater China was primarily driven by 3.1 percent active customer growth and a successful product promotion in Mainland China, while sales growth in North Asia resulted from 19.2 percent active customer growth in South Korea. Sales growth in Southeast Asia Pacific was driven by 27.3 percent active customer growth in Malaysia. The total number of active customers in the Asia Pacific region increased by 3.4 percent year-over-year.

Net sales in the Americas and Europe region for the fourth quarter of 2017 decreased by 5.2 percent to $56.4 million, largely due to an 8.6 percent decrease in active customers.

“The Asia Pacific region continues to drive our growth,” said Guest. “Our performance in the Americas and Europe region is not where we would like to see it, but we continue to work on several initiatives for this important region that we believe will be a catalyst to improved performance.”

2017 Results

Net sales for fiscal 2017 increased by 4.1 percent, or $41.2 million, to $1.047 billion, compared with $1.006 billion in 2016. Net sales for the full year were negatively impacted by $6.3 million due to a strengthening of the U.S. dollar. On a constant currency basis, net sales increased by 4.7 percent during fiscal 2017.

“Fiscal 2017 was USANA’s 15th consecutive year of record sales, as well as a year of meaningful announcements and progress for the business,” said Guest. “At our annual International Convention, which marked our 25th anniversary, we introduced a completely new skincare line, Celavive, and announced the opening of four new European markets. During the year, we also made significant progress in improving our global IT infrastructure and continued to emphasize personalization through the expansion of our Incelligence technology. In 2018, the launch of Celavive and the rollout of our European expansion will be significant areas of focus for us throughout the year.”

Guest added that strategies for 2018 included growing the company’s Preferred Customer business around the world; introducing a robust social sharing platform; pursuing additional product and technology innovation; and continuing its investment in IT infrastructure to create a better overall customer experience for Associates and Preferred Customers.

To read the full USANA report, click here.

Tiens Group Launches Branding Strategy Targeting Younger Generation

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Tiens Group, the Tianjin, China-based seller of skincare, wellness and household products, has launched its new branding strategy and upgrades.

Group Chairman Li Jinyuan held a press conference at the Tiens Group headquarters in Tianjin to announce to more than 6,000 in attendance that the company’s new branding strategy, which focuses on the younger generation in their 30s, will integrate the themes of new beginnings, new methods, new business models and a new future.

Carol Huang, senior director of group brands and international public relations, explained during the conference that Tiens Group’s market research has led the company to shift its branding focus to young women around the age of 30. Tiens Group will step up its efforts to promote its new branding strategy, including a new logo, upgraded product packaging and new official website, all of which were unveiled at the conference.

Also publicly revealed for the first time at the event was Tiens Group’s new CELLES TIANE M&Y HYDRA series, which recently won the 2017 BEST TASTE AWARD – Annual Energy Skin Care Product Award, which was presented by SINA Corp., an online media company serving China and the global Chinese communities.

Huang added that the company’s new digital marketing strategy has been applied to every sector, providing global users interested in Tiens Group’s development and collaboration opportunities with clear implementation ideas, a friendly community with which to interact, and marketing materials.

With respect to the future of Tiens Group’s global development, Chairman Li emphasized that Tiens Group will adopt an international brand image with culturally unique characteristics and leverage advantageous policies to help implement the network integration and business synergy development strategy. Cross-platform marketing and service integration also will be employed to help promote Tiens Group’s philosophy of wealth creation for families throughout the world, achieving a diversified global alliance of businesses and creating a world-renowned Chinese brand.

Tiens Group was founded in 1995. During its 23-year history, the company has grown from a small private enterprise into the international conglomerate. Currently, Tiens Group has locations in 110 countries and regions that cover markets in over 190 countries around the world in fields such as biotechnology, health management, hotel and tourism, education and training, e-commerce, international trade and finance. It also has formed strategic alliances with enterprises in many countries and has become a recognized Chinese global brand.

Avon Products Inc. Appoints Jan Zijderveld as CEO

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Avon Products Inc., the world’s largest direct selling beauty brand, has appointed Jan Zijderveld as CEO, effective immediately. Zijderveld, who succeeds Sheri McCoy, will also serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

Zijderveld joins London-based Avon Products from Unilever N.V./PLC, a global leader in personal care, home and food products, where he has had a 30-year career. He most recently served as a member of Unilever’s Executive Committee, and as president of Unilever’s $14 billion European business, where he was responsible for the company’s largest operating business, encompassing 34 countries and 25,000 employees. Under his leadership, the European business stabilized and returned to growth and improved profitability following several years of decline and during significantly challenging market conditions.

Zijderveld previously served as executive vice president in Southeast Asia and Australasia, where he drove substantial organic growth through a significant step-up in innovation, market development and in-store execution. During this time, he was also non-executive chairman of Unilever’s listed Indonesian business, with a market capitalization in excess of $20 billion. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Unilever Middle East and North Africa, where he refocused the food and personal care portfolio and created dedicated modern and traditional trade channels to meet the needs of the changing marketplace.

“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are delighted to welcome Jan to Avon, who we unanimously appointed from a very strong list of seasoned global executives,” said Chan Galbato, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Avon. “With his 30-year track record as a proven global leader, Jan has driven profitable growth in large, multi-channel, complex consumer businesses across emerging, developing and developed markets. In addition, Jan’s focus on strategic and operational excellence, while putting our direct selling representatives and consumers front and center, makes him ideally suited to lead Avon. The Avon Board looks forward to supporting Jan as he leads a deep and comprehensive strategic and operating review of all facets of the business and evaluates ways to significantly accelerate Avon’s path to profitable growth.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Avon at such an important chapter in the company’s turnaround,” said Zijderveld. “I strongly believe in the opportunity and relevance of direct selling for today’s representatives and consumers. Avon is an iconic brand with an incredible global footprint as the world’s leading direct selling beauty company, operating in the attractive and growing beauty category. With a dramatically changing consumer and competitor landscape, business as usual is not an option. Alongside continuing significant operational improvements in the near term, we will take a fresh look at the business, and deliver Avon’s next chapter with a sense of urgency. I am looking forward to working with Avon’s talented global team, while continuing to drive compelling opportunities for our 6 million representatives to do business with us.”

McCoy previously announced her intention to retire from the company and board. “On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sheri McCoy for her leadership and commitment to Avon,” said Galbato. “During her time as CEO, Sheri has ensured Avon representatives are at the forefront of all the company does.”

PM-International Reports 37% Revenue Increase for 2017

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PM-International AG, a Schengen, Germany-based direct seller of wellness and cosmetics products, has reported $632 million in annual sales for 2017, a 37 percent increase over 2016 sales.

Rolf Sorg, the founder and CEO of the company, announced the results to the more than 3,300 sales partners present at this year’s kick-off event. “My greatest respect to all of you,” he told attendees. “Unstoppable 2017—we really lived up to this motto last year!”

In 2017, PM-International opened its third warehouse in Speyer as well as two laboratories for competence pooling in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Technology (LIST). It entered into the India market. Its FitLine product line was launched in Thailand, and additional product launches included the Munogen and the D-Drink, which had more than 60,000 sold units in the first week. PM also was awarded the first bio-innovation prize in cooperation with LIST.

This year the company will celebrate its 25th anniversary. With a conservative estimate of potential premium customers, Sorg says he expects a current market potential of more than US$1.2 billion, and even more than US$36 billion worldwide.

PM-International sells its products in more than 35 countries worldwide.

Groupe Rocher to Acquire Arbonne International

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Brittany, France-based Groupe Rocher has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arbonne International, a Irvine, California-based seller of botanically based beauty, personal care and nutrition products. The acquisition will complement and expand Groupe Rocher’s portfolio of strong brands and fulfill its growth objectives, particularly outside the European area.

Also part of the acquisition is Nature’s Gate, the personal-care brand of Arbonne’s holding company, Natural Products Group (NPG).

“This acquisition will be a real asset that will enable us to strengthen our positioning in the direct selling channel, which has seen an upturn over the past few years,” said Bris Rocher, CEO of Groupe Rocher. “We also have a heritage of providing employment opportunities, dating back to my grandfather, our founder Yves Rocher, who cared deeply about providing employment since he started his business. This, combined with our direct selling know-how, should foster company growth and longevity.”

Groupe Rocher is an independent family-run group, with more than 99 percent owned by the founder’s family. With a philosophy of “creative entrepreneurship” and original positioning (producer, harvester, manufacturer and distributor), Groupe Rocher sales from its nine brands dedicated to women’s beauty and well-being—Yves Rocher, Petit Bateau, Stanhome, Dr. Pierre Ricaud, Daniel Jouvance, Kiotis, ID Parfums, Flormar and Sabon—amounted to more than €2 billion euro in 2017.

With a production site and four integrated distribution sites, Arbonne is a global business with sales revenue in excess of US$550 million (€450 million). Founded in Switzerland in 1975 and brought to the U.S. in 1980, Arbonne was created to fulfill the vision of Founder Petter Mørck to develop botanically based skincare, cosmetics and nutrition products that are better for both consumers and the planet, while also providing an opportunity for people to become financially independent by joining a direct selling network. Today, approximately 800 employees and more that 250,000 active independent consultants contribute to the success of the Arbonne brand, whose products are sold in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Poland.

“We share with Groupe Rocher commitments to pure, botanically based products and sustainability, as well as a long-term business vision that is grounded in family values,” said Kay Zanotti, CEO of Arbonne. “We are particularly pleased with Groupe Rocher’s keen appreciation of the many benefits of the direct selling model in providing flexible income opportunities, and a positive community of professional growth for individuals.”

With the recent investment in the digitization of its direct selling network, Arbonne can help Groupe Rocher enhance the direct selling model. Arbonne has implemented a state-of-the-art IT platform that will facilitate the move from traditional direct selling to social selling.

This pending acquisition, the value of which has not been released, will round off the portfolio of Groupe Rocher brands. The company has been able to reposition its business over time due to its decisions regarding distribution channels and its commitments as an integrated company.

Tupperware Sales Down 2% for Q4 2017

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Orlando, Florida-based Tupperware Brands Corp. has reported operating results for the fourth quarter 2017. Net sales were $588.6 million, down 2 percent (4 percent local currency).

On a comparable basis, adjusting for the impacts of the 53rd week in 2016 and the closure of BeautiControl, local currency sales were estimated to be up 3 percent. Emerging markets, accounting for 67 percent of sales, were up 2 percent (1 percent local currency). On a comparable basis, local currency sales in the emerging markets increased 7 percent.

The most significant contributions to the fourth quarter growth in local currency sales were in Brazil, China and Tupperware Mexico, partially offset by India and Indonesia. Established market sales decreased 9 percent (14 percent local currency). On a comparable basis, local currency sales in the established markets decreased 5 percent. The local currency sales decreases were most significant in France, Germany and Italy.

“Our local currency sales came in one point under our October guidance range,” said Chairman and CEO Rick Goings. “Overall, our top line did accelerate on a sequential basis after adjusting for calendar shifts, in connection with having an additional week in the fourth quarter of 2016, and the closure of BeautiControl. China’s significant growth trajectory continued, while Brazil and Tupperware Mexico grew nicely, demonstrating resilience in the face of tough externals coming out of the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted earnings per share was 6 cents above the high-end of our range in local currency after a 1 cent drag from foreign exchange rates versus October guidance.

He continues, “Our re-engineering program to revitalize operations and improve the cost structure, primarily in Europe, continues to progress. Globally, we continue efforts to evolve our relationship-selling business model to include greater access to our powerful brands and innovative products through the use of digital tools, branded contact points and a relevant earning opportunity for our growing sales force of 3.2 million.”

Europe: Emerging markets in Europe were down 2 percent (3 percent local currency), mainly in Tupperware South Africa, down 7 percent (10 percent local currency), partially offset by CIS, up 18 percent (13 percent local currency). Established markets were down 4 percent (13 percent local currency), in part, due to service issues in connection with the pending closure of the French supply chain facility, most significantly in Germany, up 1 percent (down 9 percent local currency), France, down 6 percent (15 percent local currency), and Italy, down 12 percent (20 percent local currency).

Asia: Emerging markets in Asia Pacific were down 1 percent (3 percent local currency), reflecting sales in China, up 33 percent (28 percent local currency) on the strength of significantly more members and continued leveraging of the product portfolio, digital technologies and its 6,100 studios (11 percent advantage over 2016). India was down 19 percent (23 percent local currency), reflecting continued challenges with the salesforce size in light of the government direct selling guidelines, along with a negative 6 percent impact from the goods and services tax effective in July 2017. Indonesia was down 21 percent (20 percent local currency) from fewer active sellers.

North America: Tupperware United States and Canada sales were down 2 percent (3 percent local currency), including a negative timing shift. Tupperware Mexico sales were up 13 percent (10 percent local currency) and Fuller Mexico sales were down 1 percent (5 percent local currency), despite impacts from natural disasters at the end of the third quarter 2017.

South America: Brazil was up 4 percent (5 percent local currency), leveraging a 16 percent salesforce size advantage to overcome challenges in the consumer-spending environment. Sales in Argentina were even with 2016 (up 16 percent local currency). Local currency comparison mainly reflected price increases related to the highly inflationary environment.

To read the full Tupperware Q4 2017 report, click here.

LifeVantage Products Now Available Throughout China

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LifeVantage Corp., a Sandy, Utah-based health and wellness company, has commenced a cross-border e-commerce model that leverages social marketing in China, making LifeVantage products available for the first time throughout the country.

Select LifeVantage products will be available for purchase throughout China via a secure e-commerce website hosted in China. Products will be shipped directly from the U.S. to consumers.

“As an organization, it is a great source of pride to be able to formally offer our products nationwide in China,” said LifeVantage CEO Darren Jensen. “LifeVantage has a long and successful track record in Asia, and we are excited to be in a position to expand that footprint. We are thrilled about the entrepreneurial prospects this will introduce to the people of China and that they will now be able to benefit firsthand from our leading-edge products and begin their own biohacker’s journey.”

Initially, Protandim® Nrf2 Synergizer™, TrueScience® skincare products, and PhysIQ™ Protein Shake will be available in China on the e-commerce platform. They will be the same formulations that are sold in the U.S. and will be sold at U.S. retail prices. Other products will be rolled out strategically over time.

“This is a major milestone for our company,” said Courtland Pearson, LifeVantage senior vice president of global field development Asia Pacific. “We are pleased to be able to roll these products out to the people of China through this innovative model, which we believe has enormous growth potential. China is the fastest growing consumer market in the world, and we fully anticipate China being an important market for us moving forward.”

Those in China wishing to enroll as social marketers will be able to promote LifeVantage products to Chinese consumers through the e-commerce platform. Social marketers will be mentored and trained by LifeVantage marketing consultants—successful distributors outside of China who are trained on the e-commerce model and who are experienced trainers on LifeVantage products. This new social marketing model is separate from LifeVantage’s traditional network marketing model.

In addition to China, LifeVantage products are available to customers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Thailand and Germany.