Executive Connection with Lia Keeping, VP of Sales for North America, Jockey Person to Person

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

In this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming speaks with Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America at Jockey Person to Person, about leadership, growing a business and adding that personal touch with employees and the field.

DSN: What is the one thing you enjoy most about being the one of the top executives at Jockey Person to Person?

LK: Being able to give the women in North America a future in Jockey Person to Person—helping our Comfort Specialists and leaders benefit. Growing the business is my No. 1 passion. It’s personally so rewarding to see some of the incomes that these women are making. The second thing I enjoy is just working here at Jockey. The culture at Jockey is incredible. We have very open people. It’s a fabulous place to work, and it’s because of Debra and Ed [Jockey CEO Debra Waller and International President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Emma]. Some people at Jockey have been here 30 and 40 years, and their parents were here before them! Once you become part of the Jockey family, you can see why that is. It’s a very kind and gentle place to work. Friendly, open, helpful. It’s just been an amazing experience.

DSN: What has been your proudest accomplishment?

LK: One of my proudest accomplishments has been when the Executive Committee and The Board of Directors for Jockey International realized that Jockey Person to Person and direct selling was a viable business option. From 2008 to date our sales have quadrupled and we are the “fastest growing division” at Jockey International.

DSN: What do you tell Jockey Person to Person’s Comfort Specialists to lead and inspire them?

LK: I show them living examples of what is possible. We have women who in a short period of time have become very accomplished and are making amazing commissions. I tell them never to let fear stop them from being successful. And I use my own example: When I started in direct selling years ago, I did so because I needed grocery money. I was so shy and nervous, I broke out in shingles. I didn’t sell to people. I sold to shoes. I couldn’t look people in the eye. And look what happened over the years! I find generally speaking that people are good and want to help each other. I tell them that they have nothing to fear, so get out of your own way.

DSN: What is your vision for Jockey Person to Person?

LK: The top level of our compensation plan is Group Vice President. Right now we have four of them. I want to see hundreds of women at that level! It’s totally possible, and it’s starting to happen. I want Jockey Person to Person in every state. We’re not yet represented that broadly. We’re not a brand-new direct selling company, but this is still a ground-floor opportunity.

DSN: If you could relive one period of time—a year, a week, whatever—since you’ve been at Jockey Person to Person, what would it be? You could choose a great time to relive or a period where you’d change something.

LK: I think it would be when my husband and I moved from Canada to the U.S. and how wonderful we found it to be—not just at Jockey. We’ve only lived here four years, but this has really become our home and we’re very happy here. Even though companies are similar, you’re never sure whether you’re going to fit in, but we’ve loved the experience. Also, the first convention we held here. We did a small conference where we brought the Canadian team to meet the U.S. team in late October 2008. We already had emerging leaders, and they got to meet their U.S. counterparts. It was rewarding to see the two countries coming together as one company. There are no borders in how we treat the women.

DSN: What’s been the most fun?

LK: In my former position I traveled every nook and cranny in Canada. Now I’m getting to explore the U.S. and see lots of new cities—places I’ve never been before. It’s also been a lot of fun to work with the design team on the collection.

DSN: Is there one basic principle which has governed your leadership at Jockey Person to Person?

LK: No matter how big we get, I want it to feel like we’re a small company. I really believe in the personal touch. I do a lot of personally recognizing women with phone calls, emails, Facebook postings. I really believe in making every sales person feel that they matter.

DSN: What do you see as our industry’s greatest challenge?

LK: One of challenges in the party plan part of direct selling is competing for women’s time. It’s one of our biggest challenges. Women are busier now more than ever. The time crunch is a challenge, but we’re a very resilient industry, a very innovative industry, and we’re working to help women be successful through things like online ordering, virtual parties and casual parties.

DSN: In your years in direct selling, what lesson have you learned that has proved to be especially useful?

LK: My most valuable lesson—well, there are two really. First, never prejudge anybody. That’s just critical in life but also very much so in our business. I always like to say that direct selling is an equal opportunity for everyone. It doesn’t matter where you come from; you can have success in direct selling if you work the plan. Second is the value of making everyone you come in contact with feel important, that they matter.

DSN: What do you like to do when you just want to relax?

LK: I relax on the golf course. My husband and I are avid golfers. I like the sport because you can’t be a good golfer and think about anything else. In winter, it’s working out at the gym.

Service with a Smile

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

The services side of the direct selling industry has plenty to smile about. Providing services from energy to travel and everything in between, these distinctive direct selling businesses are booming—even in the face of a sluggish economy.

In fact, the entire U.S. service sector is experiencing a surprising upsurge. Service companies, which employ roughly 90 percent of the American work force, enjoyed their 29th straight month of expansion in May 2012, according to the Institute for Supply Management survey. (The I.S.M. survey covers all service sectors outside of manufacturing, including financial services, health care, hotels, construction and retail.)

“I would say that the direction of today’s economy in general is toward a service economy,” says Glenn J. Williams, President of Primerica Financial Services. “We see that more and more, and the direct selling industry is just a reflection of that.”

How are service businesses gaining steam despite a struggling economy? “Regardless of what is going on in the economy or in the world around us, consumers aren’t willing to give up services such as wireless, television, gas and electricity. It just doesn’t happen,” explains Greg Provenzano, President and Co-Founder of ACN Inc., a direct selling telecommunications company that spans 23 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

“I would say that the direction of today’s economy in general is toward a service economy.”
—Glenn J. Williams, President, Primerica Financial Services

The statistics certainly prove him right. Recent studies show that even in today’s tumultuous economic environment, service companies in an array of fields continue to develop, expand and grow. For example, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that the travel and tourism industry will directly contribute $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs to the global economy in 2012. Mike Azcue, Co-Founder and CEO of the travel company WorldVentures, says he is committed to providing a “one-of-a-kind experience” for those millions of travelers, combining the experience with convenience and value. Azcue says, “WorldVentures has become the world leader in the growing global market for curated group travel—thoughtfully pre-planned excursions.”

But travel isn’t the only service industry that’s burgeoning. The global legal services industry will mushroom to $647 billion by 2015, according to a 2012 report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. Also, worldwide telecommunications services revenue is projected to increase from $2.1 trillion in 2012 to a whopping $2.7 trillion in 2017, according to The Insight Research Corp. And driven by growth in energy-efficient buildings, the global energy service company market will more than double to $66 billion by 2017. The list goes on and on.

“The services side of the direct selling industry provides a ‘product’ that everyone still needs or uses, regardless of the economic situation.”
—Angela Chrysler, President and CEO, Team National

Of course, this explosion in the service sector is directly fueling service businesses in direct selling. “The services side of the direct selling industry provides a ‘product’ that everyone still needs or uses, regardless of the economic situation,” says Angela Chrysler, President and CEO of Team National, a direct selling company offering a wide variety of services, including benefits packages, financial services and telecommunications.

The down economy has actually fostered the growth of the service sector, according to Craig Jerabeck, CEO of 5LINX Enterprises Inc., a direct sales provider of security systems, telecommunications, energy, credit card processing and a range of other essential home and business services. “We offer essential products and services, such as telecommunications, Internet, energy and many more services home owners and businesses need every day, and we do it at or below market prices,” he says. “In an era of belt-tightening, consumers cannot afford to pay a premium for products that they can buy at discount retailers, which hurts the product-oriented companies.”

Kerry Breitbart, Co-Founder and CEO of North American Power, adds that consumers simply cannot live without certain services in this day and age. “The product side of the [direct selling industry] offers many wonderful and unique products, but more often than not, they’re not products people really need to have,” he explains. “And they’re certainly not a purchase that consumers would be making anyway. Nine times out of 10, in the services industry—and particularly in ours, where we’re selling electricity and natural gas—these are bills that the consumers have to pay anyway. So it’s a much easier sell if you’re offering savings, particularly in this economy.”

Chrysler points out, “Services are widely used so they have mass appeal.” She explains that consumers are less likely to cut many of these must-have services, even when they’re on a shoestring budget. “Consumers are more likely to decrease the use of other items or activities before services.”

Provenzano, reflecting that sentiment, says, “The products and services ACN offers aren’t about luxury or indulgence; they are absolutely essential—and most consumers simply won’t live without them.” Because ACN is offering indispensable services, Provenzano says they haven’t had to adjust their model based on the economy. “In fact,” he explains, “now more than ever, consumers simply aren’t settling for the incumbents’ same old rates and lack of personalized service anymore; they are going in search of a better alternative. And ACN is that alternative.”

Tony Petrill, Vice President of Sales with LegalShield, a direct selling company that provides professional legal counsel to its members, believes that today’s tough economy is actually contributing to his company’s growth. “The thing that’s interesting and unique about our service is when the economy is tough, two things continue to happen: one, people are faced with issues they were never faced with before, such as real estate challenges; and two, identity theft continues to rise,” he explains. Because LegalShield offers a range of legal services as well as an identity theft protection plan, an increasing number of consumers are turning to the company for professional counsel in these uncertain times.

Petrill says the average income per LegalShield sales associate has practically doubled in the past year—a sure sign that business is on the rise. “New sales associates with our company are 50 percent more successful this year than they were the same time last year,” he says.

Need a Job? At Your Service.

Thanks to the nation’s soaring unemployment rate, the services side of direct selling has also enjoyed a deluge of job-seeking entrepreneurs in recent years.

“The economy always affects people,” says Chrysler, “but in a positive way it can make people more open to direct selling in general because of the opportunity for part-time income.”

“I think people want to make more money, and if they can get behind a service that they can feel good about, it just makes sense.”
—Tony Petrill, Vice President of Sales, LegalShield

Petrill points out that in a bad economy, people either decrease their expenses or increase their income. “And I’ve always voted for increasing income,” he adds. “The reality is that the average household is looking for more income, and because there is no inventory, the servicing industry is attractive to many people. I think people want to make more money, and if they can get behind a service that they can feel good about, it just makes sense.”

Not only are millions of Americans currently out of work, but many disgruntled employees are struggling with shrinking salaries, fewer hours and rock-bottom morale. As a result, thousands of these downtrodden professionals are searching for alternative employment options. “Direct selling typically sees a spike when the economy is struggling because people are looking for a plan B,” says Provenzano. However, he adds that job seeking entrepreneurs won’t settle for just any new business opportunity. “What good is a business opportunity in a down economy if you are trying to sell people products they don’t need or can’t afford?” he asks.

Jerabeck agrees, noting that widespread corporate downsizing and downward wage pressure has driven thousands of discontented professionals to the direct selling industry. “This has led to significant growth in our representative base, and we continue to expand the service offerings to bring more customers into the 5LINX tent.”

To top it off, the majority of job seekers can’t afford to pay a hefty fee to start up a direct selling business. “I think people are open to opportunities to earn money on a part-time basis outside of their normal working environment, and in our case [at North American Power], a no-investment, no-risk opportunity has particular appeal,” Breitbart says. “I’m a fan of direct selling, but fee-based entry is not necessary in a services model. I think our success is, in part, based on the fact that we don’t ask anybody to write a check.”

Tightening the Belt

Though it appears it’s all smooth sailing for the services side of direct selling, these companies are certainly not immune to economic slumps. Much like the product side of the industry, the service sector has faced its fair share of challenges in recent years.

“The economy impacts all types of businesses, and clearly it’s been a difficult environment for us,” Williams admits. He says Primerica mostly serves the middle market—consumers with a household income of $30,000 to $100,000 a year. This is precisely what separates Primerica from the majority of financial service companies, who generally target more affluent households. “When the middle market is strained financially and disposable income is limited, people begin to prioritize, and even important priorities, such as financial services, life insurance and their savings for the future, are impacted when dollars become scarce,” he explains. Williams says many of these strapped consumers continue to do business with them, but they buy less. “So they still buy life insurance, but they buy a smaller policy because money is scarce. They continue to invest for the future, but the average amount they have available to invest is less. So the transaction sizes have gotten smaller.”

Breitbart says that, from its inception, North American Power has done business in the shadow of an unhealthy economy. “We’ve only been in business for a few years, and we’ve been in business in the same kind of rock-bottom economy from Day One,” he says. Despite the challenges, the company continues to blossom. “I think it’s because we offer a product that the consumer has to buy anyway at a cost savings,” he says. Combine that with the fact that North American Power reps don’t have to pay a fee, and it’s a recipe for success. “I believe our no-fee model has had a positive impact on our business and the growth of it.”

Troubled times can also motivate individuals to look for a way to escape. WorldVentures provides a combination of great experiences with financial opportunity that can fulfill the dual need of extra income through the opportunity, and a way to escape the pressures of life—all at a bargain. Azcue says, “Our DreamTrips club memberships delight consumers with life-changing experiences at guaranteed below-market prices.”

Selling Intangible Products

“The services side of direct selling has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years, yet the surface has barely been scratched.”
—Greg Provenzano, President and Co-Founder, ACN Inc.

Unlike product companies, service-focused direct sellers are marketing a “concept” that consumers cannot touch, taste or smell. Obviously it can be a daunting task to get potential customers pumped up about an intangible product—not to mention that some of the more complex services are difficult to explain in layman’s terms.

“This is always the biggest challenge!” Chrysler says. “We explain the concept in general terms and use stories to share some specifics and generate excitement. We have a PowerPoint presentation, a video and a printed brochure for our independent reps to use.”

However, Breitbart insists that North American Power’s product isn’t really all that intangible. “Customers touch and feel that power bill they pay every month, whether they want to or not,” he points out. “And they certainly have a real profound experience when the lights go out. I really don’t think it’s that intangible because it’s a bill they have to pay. There’s no option to buy our product—it’s just whether they buy from us or they buy from the utility at a higher price.”

Provenzano echoes that reasoning. “To some, ACN’s products and services may not appear tangible but we believe they are,” he says. “Think about how many times a day you use your cellphone, send a text message, check your Facebook status or pick up your television remote. It really doesn’t get more tangible than that. Consumers are using our products and services every day without even thinking about it. Using a wireless phone is as effortless as breathing for most people. With that said, our products and services truly market themselves.”

Plus, because service direct sellers never have to deal with inventory, selling an intangible product is often a blessing in disguise. “You don’t have to have 30 attorneys in your garage to market LegalShield,” Petrill says with a laugh.

“There are tremendous advantages to not having a tangible product,” Williams adds. “We’re not dealing with inventory that goes unsold or becomes dated or stale in our warehouses. We have complete elasticity in meeting the needs and demands as they grow and shrink in our marketplace. The advantage of being a service provider is that we can flex to the demand of our marketplace.”

Breitbart points out, “I think the service industry is a solid business. There’s no product inventory and there’s no waiting for it to come in on time, so it’s easier from the company standpoint and easier from the rep standpoint.”

A Blindingly Bright Future

As service-focused direct selling businesses look into the future, they may need to slip on their shades. “The future is bright for service-based direct sellers, and with the deregulation of gas and electricity sweeping the nation, I mean that quite literally,” Provenzano says.

Breitbart says service businesses are an increasingly important part of the direct selling industry. “I don’t know this for a fact, but many people out there say that this industry has created more millionaires than any other industry,” he says. “I think the stature of it is continually rising. I can’t speak to every other company’s policies and procedures, but I know with ours, people truly own their own business. So it’s an opportunity to really own a business, not just get a part-time job—and I don’t think the appeal of that is going away anytime soon.”

There is no question that the services side of direct selling will continue to expand, but Williams stresses that only the businesses providing a truly valuable service will flourish. “The businesses that offer legitimate, long-term value will do well,” he says. “You can have a great sales process, but if there’s no value or credibility, clients are going to eliminate that service a month or two later. Unless you have a service that truly meets a long-term need—not just a need that you can get a customer excited about at the point of sale—then the future of that is going to be very bright.”

Plus there is plenty of room to grow. “The services side of direct selling has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years, yet the surface has barely been scratched,” Provenzano says. “There are still millions of consumers who simply don’t know they have an alternative when it comes to who provides their essential services. And there is no better, more effective way to reach those customers than through the proven, person-to-person direct sales model.”

Basic Training? Not So Much.

When we asked a few service direct selling businesses how they prep their reps for the sales world, we discovered these companies’ training and marketing programs are anything but basic. Here’s what they had to say about it:

ACN Inc.

“ACN has an incredibly robust training and support system,” says Greg Provenzano, President and Co-Founder. “I could fill pages talking about this alone.” During regularly scheduled live webinars, regional events and quarterly international events, ACN provides its independent business owners (IBOs) with all the tools they need to be successful. “But when the rubber meets the road, our business is really all about talking to people—whether recruiting other IBOs or acquiring customers,” adds Provenzano. He points out that virtually every person in the nation is already using the services ACN provides, and their friends and family are using them too. “Our business opportunity is as simple as that—offering the people you know, and the people they know, and so on, an alternative to the services they are already using anyway.”

Primerica Financial Services

Primerica is unique in that it works in a regulated industry. The company’s representatives therefore have the option to become life insurance licensed—and if they qualify, they also have the opportunity to become securities licensed at no additional cost. “So, when you think about training, it’s not simply making sure people get certain sales skills and product knowledge; there are regulatory requirements in place for licensing, for continuing education and for certain levels of proficiency, which I think adds some credibility and legitimacy to our business,” explains Glenn J. Williams, President. “One of the things I think we’re good at is accommodating that on a large scale. We can train people, we can license people, and we make sure they have access to the appropriate continuing education. That’s part of the service we provide—and that expertise makes us attractive to those who want to build a business at Primerica.”

North American Power

“Because we’re free, in essence there’s no difference from a customer and a rep,” explains Kerry Breitbart, Co-Founder and CEO. Every new North American Power customer receives their own website, and they have the opportunity at any point to become a rep. If they choose to become a rep, North American Power offers web-based training and in-person live training around the country. Breitbart believes the company’s no-fee model has served them well when it comes to recruiting new reps. “Having been in business for 32 years, it never occurred to me in any industry other than this one to charge the salesforce to work for me,” he says. “I like to think we’re kind of a vanguard company.”

Team National

Team National offers its independent representatives a wide variety of training opportunities, including person-to-person training, online training, education through their own TV network and a variety of live events. “Relationship building is an important part of our training,” says President and CEO Angela Chrysler, explaining that their reps generally target friends, family and businesses. “We teach them to work a warm market and to make a cold contact a warm contact.”

LegalShield

LegalShield offers a basic training class, an online training course, an employee benefits training class and a small-business training class. “We’re really excited about our Dallas Learning and Leadership Conference this fall, which is a shift to more training than ever,” says Tony Petrill, Vice President of Sales. Additionally, in 17 states LegalShield associates are required to become licensed. In 2011, LegalShield (formerly known as Pre-Paid Legal Services) was acquired by private equity firm MidOcean Partners. Since then, the company has completely revamped its marketing and sales materials for associates. “We’re equipping our associates with more and more tools.” Perhaps the most exciting new tool is the company’s recently launched national television advertising campaign. “After just one week of airing, we received reports from associates that people were coming up to them and saying, ‘Hey, I knew you were with LegalShield, but I just saw the TV ad during the Olympics. Tell me more about it,’ ” Petrill says. “It’s a whole new ballgame with national advertising.”

Jusuru International: Success Begins from Within

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Jusuru Independent Representatives on a manufacturing tour at Jusuru’s headquarters in Anaheim, Calif.

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

Company Profile

Founded: January 2010
Headquarters: Anaheim, Calif.
Founder: Asma Ishaq, President
Products: Joint and Skin Health Nutraceuticals

Asma Ishaq describes her job as “helping wonderful people to see the wonder in themselves.”

Asma Ishaq

As the President of Jusuru International, she has instilled this conviction into every aspect of her company. Not only can it be seen in how Jusuru’s revolutionary products work within the human body, but it is evidenced in the way that Ishaq has built the company.

“We have a slogan at Jusuru: ‘Begin from within.’ That guides everything we do,” says Ishaq. “Our patented science starts at the root to help your body, joints and skin heal. It takes time but it will create some permanent and long-term benefits. Same goes for our distributors; we tell them to start within themselves if they want to see their team and sales grow. Both concepts are intentionally similar—success starts within you. My job is just to bring out the best in people.”

The word jusuru means “to live” and was inspired by Ishaq’s belief that her company’s purpose is to encourage people to live their best possible life.

A Product That Works from the Inside Out

Most skin health products work from the outside in, such as ointments and creams designed to smooth the skin and eliminate wrinkles. But Jusuru’s multi-patented BioCell Collagen takes the opposite approach—a liquid form distributed in a package that looks more like a bottle of wine than the medicinal package you’d expect from a dietary supplement.

“We have several human subject, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials showing that BioCell Collagen improves joint health significantly, and reduces wrinkles from the inside out,” says Ishaq, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs who had previously achieved remarkable success in the nutritional supplements industry.

Jusuru was launched out of the science behind BioCell Collagen, which was discovered, patented, researched and licensed as a novel dietary ingredient. According to David Ciemny, Vice President of Business Development for Jusuru, “if you’ve been to a GNC, Vitamin Shoppe or Whole Foods, you’ve probably experienced the credibility behind our product.”

Before launching Jusuru, Ishaq had spent the prior decade with BioCell Technology in marketing this multi-patented ingredient, which included serving other direct selling companies. As she witnessed several of her friends’ companies prosper over the years, she realized that direct sales could be a powerful mechanism for rapidly and profitably distributing a product such as BioCell Collagen.

Jusuru was launched out of the science behind BioCell Collagen, which was discovered, patented, researched and licensed as a novel dietary ingredient.

“Particularly with a product that is proven to be so effective, people naturally have something to share with others. I am passionate about empowering people with personal development and education, which is inherent in direct sales,” Ishaq says.

In addition to possessing scientific studies providing the impact of their products, Frost & Sullivan awarded BioCell Collagen® as the best product in joint and bone health. The company also earned recognition from the Nutricosmetics Summit as the exemplary U.S. brand. According to Ishaq, “We are drawing the connection between ingestible nutritional supplements and effects on beauty, and pioneering this emerging category.”

All of this emphasis on proven results is no accident. Ishaq says that scientific validation is very close to her heart, and explains that “it’s very important [for a company like ours] to support our claims, to provide a product that is indeed effective, and to offer something that is worth every penny that someone is spending.” She believes that this differentiates them from their competition.

“I think differently,” Ishaq says. “We arrived at a scientific breakthrough, and thereafter, chose this distribution model because we believe in it. It was our product that drove that decision, not the other way around.”

Jusuru corporate headquarters in Anaheim, Calif.

Jusuru President Asma Ishaq in Haiti contributing donations as part of Jusuru’s Giving Back Program shortly after the 2010 earthquake.

A Company Built from the Bottom Up

Despite the natural fit, Jusuru was not originally envisioned as a direct selling company. In fact, its signature product was originally marketed as an ingredient in other companies’ products.

“I spent a decade communicating the benefits of this ingredient to the nation’s largest nutritional brands and educating their sales teams and marketing departments about the science, clinical data and efficacy of our product,” Ishaq says. “We received an overwhelming number of requests from potential clients about developing this particular ingredient to work in a liquid application. After years of R&D, we finally discovered the possibility in 2007.”

That was when she felt the calling to reach for her own dream.

“This company aligned all of my passions and interests into what I had always envisioned as my life’s course.”
—Asma Ishaq, President

“I wanted to have the exclusive opportunity to market it in a finished product,” Ishaq says. “I stepped back from my other roles with the other companies, and we started Jusuru International. This company aligned all of my passions and interests into what I had always envisioned as my life’s course.”

Having a background in the nutritional and manufacturing industries, Jusuru is able to leverage their strategic relationships. This not only provides Jusuru with exclusive access to its multi-patented products and scientific research, but it also supports Jusuru with manufacturing, product development and formulating capabilities. Ishaq describes this advantage as positioning Jusuru as a “pioneer in the nutritional industry, beyond the direct sales industry.”

She describes Jusuru International as a “values-driven” company that “inspires people who are thirsty for an ethical company that lives up to its word, so that they can do what they do best—sell our product and change the health of their customers.”

The company’s distributors—which it refers to as iReps, for Independent Representatives—can join for a low annual fee. Thereafter, Jusuru charges a smaller annual renewal fee to maintain a wholesale partnership, through which they can purchase Jusuru Life Blend™ at wholesale and sell at retail price, yielding a 30 percent retail profit. Bulk pricing is also available for up to a 40 percent profit. The company does not require iReps to register for an autoship to earn income.

David Ciemny, VP of Business Development, speaking at Jusuru’s annual convention, Rise To Enterprise.

Jusuru’s flagship nutraceutical, Jusuru Life Blend.

Jusuru Life Blend bottles on the manufacturing line at Jusuru’s corporate headquarters.

A Marketing Program Based on Serving

Jusuru has experienced significant growth since it launched, which Ishaq credits to a combination of their unique products and the servant-leadership model they employ within the company.

“I learned and fell in love with this concept when I saw it happening before my eyes with mentorship from Mike Hannigan and Sean Marx,” she says. Ishaq had previously worked with Hannigan and Marx at Give Something Back, a company that sells office supplies online and donates around 75 percent of its net earnings to charity—compared to the 1.1 percent national average for corporate giving.

Describing how this model guides her leadership at Jusuru, Ishaq says, “I report to our management, the management reports to their teams, and their teams report to our customers and iReps. We have a very unique culture.”

Jusuru’s iReps come from a wide range of backgrounds. They share a bond of wanting to look and feel younger, to be active and enjoy a high quality of life. The field distribution is about 60 percent women and 40 percent men, but they come from every variety of professional and educational background. According to Ishaq, “We have everyone from business owners to retirees to students, as well as lawyers, doctors and engineers—all of whom find the time to work their business and share their Jusuru story.”

With such a diverse field, she greatly emphasizes the value of listening to iReps’ input. She explains that Jusuru’s corporate responsibility is to provide the field with the tools and training that works for them, not just for the corporate team. Within the past two years Jusuru has tweaked its messaging, its website, its technology and even its new product introductions in response to input from the field.

“I say this in the office all the time: Our role is to serve our field. That’s it,” Ishaq says. “Our weekly webinars allow us to verbally discuss our week’s news and company updates, and includes an iRep Feature segment interviewing an iRep. We also send out our Success Weekly newsletter, which surveys have indicated is our highest-rated tool.

“We know that our business grows sharply when everyone is engaged in more activity. Activity equals results.”
—Asma Ishaq

“We know that our business grows sharply when everyone is engaged in more activity,” Ishaq continues. “Activity equals results. The more in-homes, conference calls, three-ways and guest speaking opportunities we have, the better it is for our business. Similarly, events drive business. Whether over the phone, a webinar or in person, they accelerate business growth. Our company puts on an annual event, incentive trip and a regional event. We also support many local events in each region and an open house event at our corporate office each month.”

Among all of the tools in Jusuru’s training cabinet, Ishaq believes that their brief, engaging videos are among their most important. Social media also has an increasing relevance for engaging their field, more so than as a sales tool.

“Videos facilitate the duplication process. They’re an invaluable tool so long as they deliver the message that the field wants. Social media is important, but not as a source of new business. We use social media to keep our field abreast of updates and announcements, but most important, to develop a bond and, overall, a community. Our Jusuru Pet Blend Facebook page is a perfect example of animal lovers coming together to admire just what we love: our pets. It inspires and strengthens a bond. We do not use social media to recruit or solicit any business.”

Ishaq is very direct in the rationale for this strategy: “This is a relationship marketing business, not an Internet marketing business.”

A Focus on Giving

Ishaq would much rather talk about how much she is giving away than how much she and Jusuru are earning. In an industry that has occasionally been known to attract people looking for a get-rich-quick opportunity, her perspective brings a refreshing change of pace.

“We are a socially responsible business that is focused on improving its community, customers, employees and all stakeholders alike. That is my why for starting this business. I wanted to start a business where people came first and a portion of the proceeds was contributed to noble causes. At Jusuru, there are no challenges in carrying out this mission; I have support from the management team, my family, our customers, our iReps and our employees. If anything, we have more work in this regard ahead. To help others is at the core of our mission.”

Ishaq says that she began Jusuru as a vehicle both to create wealth and to give back. This philanthropic spirit not only leads the company to provide donations to the local drug rehabilitation center as well as to international relief efforts in Haiti, but it also guides their efforts to empower, motivate and educate their iReps on a daily basis. As Ishaq explains:

“Giving hard-working people an opportunity to achieve financial success is one thing, but we work to challenge them to find something deep inside themselves that can show them that they can do anything they put their minds toward. It’s been a pleasant challenge and a rewarding way of life.”

A Vision Beyond the Company

With their patented and scientifically substantiated products, Ishaq believes that the company’s challenge has never been competition with its product. Rather, as she looks to the future, she sees Jusuru’s biggest challenge as avoiding hasty decisions.

The company is currently evaluating opportunities to launch into 10 countries and create nearly 20 more new products.

The company is currently evaluating opportunities to launch into 10 countries and create nearly 20 more new products. Jusuru’s management team is also focused on technology upgrades and additional clinical research. This growth can be particularly challenging to delay when it is being requested by iReps in the field.

“What I know is to go slow,” says Ishaq. “Have a strong foundation and expand when the timing is right. I have the responsibility of thousands of people’s livelihoods. All decisions are made to protect that.”

Ishaq confesses that she has learned quite a bit from her mistakes over the last several years, but she is grateful that she went through it. In fact, she embraces the uncertainty of the future along with the challenges it presents:

“The commonality between our company and the individual reps that sell our product is that we are not perfect. We will all make mistakes. It’s about how you bounce back from them that counts. And it’s also learning the lessons that come from those mistakes that matter. As we pursue international expansion and new product launches, we also look forward to taking our iReps along with us on this journey—they deserve it. With every milestone we achieve, it brings us closer to creating more wealth for our iReps, for our employees and for the causes in the world that are ever-deserving.”

PartyLite: The Fragrance of Giving

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

PartyLite presented its 2012 donation to honored guest Dr. Susan Gapstur, Vice President of the ACS Epidemiology Research Program and principal investigator for the Cancer Prevention Study-2.

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

Company Profile

Launched: 1973
Headquarters: Plymouth, Mass.
Presidents: Worldwide, Robert B. Goergen, Jr.; North America, Michael Norris
Products: Candles, candle accessories, fragrance

The gift of a candle over 100 years ago ignited a culture of charity that still permeates the PartyLite philosophy today.

Whether it’s at a conference, a marathon or a Ronald McDonald House, you can find PartyLite consultants and employees giving. They may be fundraising, but they also may be cleaning, cooking or holding bake sales in order to assist those in need of help in their time of illness. These seeds of generosity were planted early in the life of PartyLite through the foundation laid by the original founder, Mabel Baker, in the early 1900s on Cape Cod.

Baker’s original product was a bayberry candle she made for friends and family. The candle became popular among its recipients, inspiring Baker to create a business making the candles available to anyone for purchase. A woman-owned business was a rare entity in those days, but Baker persisted and when she died in 1965 at age 94, what had begun with a single bayberry candle had become a business worth $6 million.

The company has changed hands but has maintained the integrity and entrepreneurial spirit of its early founder.

In 1973 the current company name was created and the leaders of the business adopted the direct selling model as its mode of marketing. According to Director of Communication for PartyLite North America, Joyce Elven, PartyLite was acquired by its parent company, Blyth Inc., in 1990, and the Plymouth, Mass.-based company was given the boost it needed to reach its potential. For the last four years PartyLite has been listed in the DSN Global 100, and in 2011 was ranked No. 22 among the world’s top revenue-generating direct selling companies.

In 1997, PartyLite adopted the American Cancer Society as its charity of focus. “Lighting a candle has a lot of different meanings to people, including ambience and favorite fragrances,” says Michael Norris, President of PartyLite North America. “One of the special meanings for us is to shine a light on the needs of others.” He mentions that a majority of the employees and consultants working with PartyLite are women and some have been affected by breast cancer or know someone who has been affected by another form of cancer. “It’s easy for them to support the Society because it gives them a tangible way to combat the disease that has affected them personally.”

“Lighting a candle has a lot of different meanings to people, including ambience and favorite fragrances.”
—Michael Norris, President, PartyLite North America

This season, PartyLite is helping in the fight against cancer by donating a portion of proceeds from the sale of its pink GloLite by PartyLite® Jar Candle in a customer favorite, Strawberry Rhubarb fragrance. “You might say it’s the ‘fragrance of giving,’ ” says Norris, who expects the item to raise significant funds during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

PartyLite North America President Michael Norris was among nearly 250 to participate in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 during the July conference.

PartyLite Consultants raised $4,400 for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in a conference 5K event.

The bucket pass at its conference kicks off a new year of PartyLite giving to the American Cancer Society.

Walk, Run, Give

Shining a Light in the Community

PartyLite has worked with the Department of Children and Families’ Family-to-Family Program in Plymouth, Mass., for the past 13 years. “PartyLite staff members have sponsored more than 600 children at Christmastime fulfilling their Christmas wishes,” says Joyce Elven, Director of Communication for PartyLite North America. “Gifts are purchased, wrapped and delivered with the hope that these children will have a happier holiday.”

PartyLite employees also help out the Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse. “In the last year we have donated nearly 500 pounds of food,” Elven says. “A food drive is held to support children during the summer months when they are out of school and another food drive before the holidays.”

PartyLite Canada Lights the Way for Children

In Canada, PartyLite Consultants and customers raise funds to support the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), which raises funds for research and life-saving equipment at 14 CMN hospitals across Canada. Donations stay in the community from which they come, ensuring that every dollar helps local kids.

At the 2012 PartyLite Canada National Conference in Ottawa in August, Country Manager and Vice President of Sales Tracie Graham helped present a check to CMN for $74,599.80, taking the 15-year total giving to $3,675,294.20. “We are grateful for the dedication and commitment of so many of our Consultants in Canada who inspire even the newest among them to sign up for the auto-deduction programme to donate earnings to the important work of the Children’s Miracle Network,” Graham says.

In addition to donations from product sales, each year funds are raised through ongoing initiatives involving the entire PartyLite family of leaders, consultants and customers who get involved in their communities, according to Judi Rogozenski, Executive Assistant to the President and PartyLite liaison with the Society. One of those initiatives is the annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life. Rogozenski says that, since 2008, PartyLite has fielded more than 1,700 teams with more than 15,000 team members participating in community Relay For Life events. These efforts alone have raised more than $2.4 million to date.

The Relay For Life website describes the relays as more than just a walk or run. Due to the fact that cancer never sleeps, they are actually overnight events held in the springtime. Teams camp at the track and team members take turns walking or running the track around the clock at these family-friendly events. Cancer survivors lead the walk, and later in the event candles are lit to memorialize friends and relatives who lost their lives to the disease. PartyLite donates candles to nearly all of the Relays in which PartyLite teams participate.

“In 2010 and again in 2011, PartyLite had 90 teams and raised more than $40,000 for [American Cancer Society’s] Making Strides.”
—Judi Rogozenski, Executive Assistant to the President and PartyLite liaison with ACS

The PartyLite family also participates in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks held every fall throughout the United States. “In 2010 and again in 2011, PartyLite had 90 teams and raised more than $40,000 for Making Strides,” Rogozenski says. The teams consist of consultants, family members, customers and anybody who wants to participate. “The teams enjoy great success throughout the country because people have a tendency to support what they help create.”

Funds raised through these events help in many areas of the fight against breast cancer. The Society reports that the money is used to help people stay well through education on the importance of regular screenings, free email reminders to get those screenings and a Breast Cancer Update newsletter. They also help people get well by providing transportation to treatments, free lodging for those who must travel far for their treatments, cancer education classes and various emotional support programs.

One of the easiest ways PartyLite customers can support the Society is through the PartyLite Change the World™ program. “We invite hosts and customers at parties and online to round up the purchase price of their PartyLite order to the nearest dollar or up to $10,” Rogozenski says. “This change goes directly to the Society.”

Comfortable clothes play a role in fundraising efforts at the PartyLite home office in Plymouth. “About four or five times each year, employees are given the opportunity to dress casually for an entire week at the office for a small fee of $5,” Rogozenski says. “The funds raised during casual weeks are donated to the Society, along with profits made from bake sales and various other fundraising efforts.”

It All Adds Up

The heartfelt efforts of the consultants, leaders, employees and customers involved in the numerous methods of raising funds for the Society culminate in the presentation of a check to the Society at the annual PartyLite National Conference. “It’s an exciting part of our conference as we witness the fruits of our labors and learn how we are making a difference in the fight against cancer,” Elven says. “In 2012, our $556,508 donation took our 15-year total contribution to nearly $14 million.”

When Norris was asked why his company is committed to raising such large amounts of money for the fight against cancer, he says, “We’ve raised millions because millions are needed.”

And those efforts do not go unnoticed by the Society. PartyLite is included in an elite group of corporations that have national teams participating in both the Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The Society also awarded PartyLite its Corporate Impact Award for Philanthropy in recognition of donations of $1 million or more in a calendar year for six consecutive years.

In 2010 PartyLite was also awarded the Corporate Impact Award for Employee Engagement, honoring a company that demonstrates outstanding volunteerism in support of the Society’s mission.

“We’re grateful to be able to offer a vital support system that reflects the Society’s principles of working together and helping people prevent and manage all aspects of cancer.”
—Michael Norris

In addition, Norris is a member of the New England Chapter of the American Cancer Society CEOs Against Cancer®. “We’re grateful to be able to offer a vital support system that reflects the Society’s principles of working together and helping people prevent and manage all aspects of cancer,” Norris says. “I’m eager to help further those principles by sharing with and learning from other CEOs whose companies are equally committed.”

A Deeper Commitment

In an effort to further assist in the fight against cancer, this year Norris and others did more than give money. They made a 20–30-year commitment to be part of the Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3). Enrollment took place at the 2012 PartyLite National Convention in St. Louis in July. “Michael was one of the first ones to sign up,” Rogozenski says. “Our goal was to register 150 participants and we ended up with nearly 250!” The researcher for the previous study, CPS-2, which determined the link between smoking and cancer, delivered a speech at the conference and was impressed with the depth of the commitment and concern of the PartyLite family and others who pledged to become involved for several decades.

In addition to supporting the American Cancer Society, the company and consultants are also extremely supportive of Ronald McDonald House Charities. “If there is a House in the city where we hold our annual convention, that is the House that receives our support for that year,” Elven explains. Over the years, seven of the conventions have taken place in St. Louis. “One of the Ronald McDonald Houses there has received so much financial support from us that they officially named one of their guest rooms the PartyLite Room.”

Throughout the country, Consultants volunteer at Ronald McDonald Houses in their own communities, embracing the opportunity to help where they can. They do whatever is needed, from washing dishes to cooking a meal to sitting with a sibling of a child in the hospital who might need someone to talk to.

Philanthropy is so important to the PartyLite family that one of the unique aspects of its annual conference is the passing of the bucket. “After we present a check with our donation to the American Cancer Society from the prior year, we actually pass buckets to kick off the new year of giving,” Elven says.

In 2011, PartyLite participated for the sixth year in the TODAY Show Children’s Holiday Toy and Gift Drive by donating more than $2 million in products, taking its giving total to $16 million.

Of course, a company with such generosity in its DNA would have a hard time letting the Christmas holidays slip by without notice. In fact, PartyLite donates to the TODAY Show Children’s Holiday Toy and Gift Drive providing gifts that children can give to their parents. In 2011 PartyLite participated for the sixth year by donating more than $2 million in products, taking its giving total to $16 million, according to Elven.

When asked what the future of PartyLite philanthropy looks like, Norris says, “PartyLite has a culture of generosity and commitment to others that is so clearly demonstrated by our field leaders and consultants. Going forward, we will continue to rely on individuals in each PartyLite region to spearhead community outreach. And, for the first time, this fall we will organize a nationwide ‘day of service’ during which consultants in Canada can volunteer to help out the Children’s Miracle Network, and U.S. consultants can volunteer at an American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. Truly, the heart of PartyLite never stops beating, and there is no limit to what can be accomplished for good.”

Jockey Person to Person: A Comfortable Fit for a Direct Seller

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

Company Profile

Founded: 2004
Headquarters: Kenosha, Wis.
Top Executive: Debra S. Waller, Founder, Chairman and CEO
Products: Women’s coordinating sportswear and active wear

Debra S. Waller

Start small, work smart and embrace opportunities. That seemed to be Debra S. Waller’s philosophy when she founded Jockey Person to Person® in 2004. Today the mighty engine of direct selling has made the latest Jockey division the fastest-growing part of the company.

Waller is the third generation of her family to run Jockey International, but she wasn’t content with just continuing along her predecessors’ paths, according to Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America at Jockey Person to Person. One of the family traditions was for each company leader to make his or her own mark on the company. Waller’s grandfather was a financial genius who took a bankrupt Jockey predecessor company in the middle of the Great Depression and engineered a brilliant turnaround. While he was CEO, the Jockey brand was created, the men’s brief was invented, and the company achieved a global presence. When her mother took the helm, she introduced Jockey for Her, a full line of intimate apparel for women. When Waller reached her time at the top of Jockey, she completely embraced her family’s passion for innovation.

Lia Keeping

According to Keeping, as Waller considered what her own legacy might be, she remembered a short but significant branch of her own career path. She had been a Mary Kay consultant in college. That experience had shown her the power of the direct selling business model as well as the way it liberated women to create balance between their family and work life. And the fact that direct selling consultants have no glass ceiling was icing on the business model’s cake.

Jockey Person to Person was born. Its first products were Jockey traditions: women’s underwear and sleepwear, all marketed using the party plan by the company’s distributors, called Comfort Specialists®. But when it introduced active wear, customer response was immediate. They wanted more. Gradually the product mix included fewer intimate apparel items and more active wear.

Opportunity Doesn’t Knock. It Rings.

As Jockey Person to Person was gaining traction, a Canada-based direct seller specializing in fashion was losing theirs. When it closed its doors, direct selling veteran Keeping, who had been that company’s Canadian President, found herself unemployed. What concerned her at least as much as her own situation was her salesforce suddenly had no direct selling home. She did what she always counseled her distributors to do. She picked up the phone.

“I always told our salesforce that one phone call, one person, one recruit, can change your business and your life,” Keeping says. “Somehow I got Debra Waller’s phone number, and I called it. I actually got through to her personal assistant, who let me leave a voice mail message. I introduced myself, told her that I had a fantastic salesforce, and that we were looking for a home.”

Soon Michael Lapidus, President of Jockey’s Direct to Consumer Division, called her. They hadn’t been thinking of opening Canada just yet, he said, but “let’s talk.” Keeping became a Jockey Person to Person management contractor in July 2008, about a month after her first call. Her task: Open Jockey Person to Person in Canada. Keeping had helped her previous company expand internationally, and she certainly knew its distributors well, so she dove into the project. In October, the task was complete.

“It just shows what this company is made of,” she says. “They saw the opportunity, wanted to take advantage of it, and they wanted to help people. They moved mountains to prepare the back end of all those processes you never see.”

In December Jockey Person to Person hired Keeping in her current position and also hired her husband, Greg, as Vice President and General Manager.

Once Canada was humming, Keeping tapped into some of her fashionista expertise: coordinating a few items of carefully designed clothing to create many outfits. The idea was a perfect fit for Jockey, and the company added coordinating sportswear—all designed by the Jockey Person to Person design team, and all offered exclusively by its Comfort Specialists. There the company found its niche. Women still want to look good in their clothes, so active wear is an important part of the lineup. But Comfort Specialists get excited about the great line of mix-and-match sportswear, including jeans. The product lineup lets customers glam up their casual wardrobe, taking them from smart casual at the office to workout wear to comfy wear at home. The bonus: They get to shop with their friends in a private, social environment and avoid the hassle of shopping malls.

Must-Have Support

Keeping says that the support of other people who run Jockey’s various divisions has also been key throughout the process, and top executives have stood solidly behind the young division.

“Between Debra and [Jockey International President and COO] Ed Emma, they understood that direct selling was different than mainstream corporate America.”
—Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America, Jockey Person to Person

“Between Debra and [Jockey International President and Chief Operating Officer] Ed Emma, they understood that direct selling was different than mainstream corporate America,” Keeping explains. “They made sure that all executives within Jockey International were engaged with the Jockey Person to Person business.”

For example, Waller invited the leaders of Jockey’s various divisions to attend Jockey Person to Person conferences and incentive trips in the early days. It allowed the whole company to see, feel and embrace the differences between direct selling and mainstream business.

“Rather than trying to take a direct selling business and force it to fit the corporate mold, they understand the differences in direct selling,” Keeping says. “They came to understand that the salesforce is volunteers and also our frontline customers. They’ve allowed the division to grow and develop with a lot of autonomy. They trust us to do what is right, but on the other hand, they’re there to help and support. As an independent business unit at Jockey, we still have access to IT, manufacturing, and the distribution facilities of this global giant. It’s been a huge benefit in getting this business up and running.”

Comfort Specialists benefit from the company’s support, too, but the big door-opener is the Jockey brand.

“It’s a huge plus for us,” Keeping says. “Everyone knows the brand and everyone associates the brand with comfort, quality, value and integrity. That really opens a lot of doors for our Comfort Specialists. The biggest thing we have to explain is that it’s not an underwear party. When women find out that we offer sportswear, they’re very intrigued. And who would have thought that Jockey does jeans—stretch denim. But yes, we do, and they’re as comfortable as the undies you wear. When we launched them last year, they were hugely successful.”

Repeat Shopping Spree

Keeping says that the exclusive product line and its concept of coordinating pieces is the main attraction for Jockey Person to Person’s recruits and customers. And the clothing is designed so that customers can continuously add coordinating pieces to their wardrobe, season after season, without busting their budget.

Jockey Person to Person invests in the careers of its Comfort Specialists and keeps their budgets in mind as they design promotions. At its July convention it held a fashion show to introduce its fall line. At the same time it also introduced promotions that let distributors sell those new clothes at minimal cost, while rewarding retention and recruiting. New recruits can receive the company’s Smart Start Kit, which includes premium retail value products, for a fraction of the cost. To qualify for the reduced price, the new Comfort Specialist must achieve a certain sales minimum—reached through three average parties—by the end of their first full month. She can also purchase any 10 items for 50 percent off at the end of her first full month. Plus, in their first six months, Comfort Specialists receive an Accessories Pack for free when they recruit one or more new consultants who reach that sales minimum in their first full month.

In addition to promotions that keep their business affordable and motivating, new Comfort Specialists have access to the “little black dress” of direct selling—weekly training calls from top leaders. And a whole section of training is available in their online back office. Jockey Person to Person encourages Comfort Specialists to help their new recruits with their first couple of parties as they learn the ropes and begin to feel confident.

The parties are like “girls’ night out,” according to Keeping. Typically, Comfort Specialists set up a rack of samples, spend about 20 minutes talking about Jockey Person to Person, and then start showing the outfits. Early arrivals are invited to model outfits to demonstrate how garments mix and match. Guests can see every style in a Style Guide and decide which garments they’d like to try. Then the shopping spree begins. Everyone can “attack the rack,” try on clothes, and get their friends’ opinions on how they look.

“We have a high success rate with the Smart Start program,” Keeping reports. “Very few women wind up paying full price (which occurs if the newbie’s first parties don’t reach a minimum threshold in sales).”

Jockey Person to Person’s strong start is just the beginning. Its five-year plan calls for it to more than triple its existing revenues and to exceed 25,000 Comfort Specialists. Supporting that goal is its top initiative: to increase brand awareness. It has already appeared on TODAY, and in All You, Taste of Home Healthy Cooking and Woman’s World magazines, and in numerous local and regional publications.

“Everyone has heard of Jockey,” Keeping observes. “Few have heard of Jockey Person to Person. We’re starting to build brand awareness. Our mission is to make sure that people know that Jockey not only does underwear, but Jockey Person to Person does a great line of women’s sportswear.”

Helping Adoptive Families “Bear” the Load

When Jockey International chose a major philanthropic focus for all its divisions, it wanted to support families through a cause that was underserved. That led to the birth of Jockey Being Family®. Its mission is to strengthen adoptive families by increasing their access to post-adoptive services in the company’s home state of Wisconsin, across the United States and Canada.

The mission is close to Jockey’s Chairman and CEO Debra S. Waller’s heart. Her life was changed forever when she was adopted.

“Debra chose Jockey Being Family as our philanthropic cause for two reasons,” explains Lia Keeping, Jockey Person to Person Vice President of Sales for North America. “First of all, she wanted to help create ‘forever families’ because the sad truth is 10 to 15 percent of all adoptions fail. The monies raised through our foundation support post-adoptive services. This is especially meaningful since Debra herself is adopted.”

Post-adoption services may meet a wide variety of needs. Families often request information, respite care, parent support groups and referrals to medical professionals, for example. And the needs of families who adopt special-needs children can be just as special as the children themselves.

Jockey established the philanthropic program in 2005. Since its inception, Jockey Being Family has donated more than $3 million to the cause, inspired hundreds of people to volunteer more than 5,000 hours to support it, and reached more than 250,000 adoptive families throughout North America. Jockey Person to Person Comfort Specialists, who market the division’s line of sportswear and active wear, also sell Jockey Being Family teddy bears. Jockey donates $3 from the sale of each bear to the foundation. A new bear design will be introduced in November.

The organization supports post-adoption services by engaging its employees in meaningful volunteer activities, raising awareness of the need for post-adoption services, and building partnerships with local and national nonprofit organizations.

For example, each month teams of employees from each Jockey division gather to create personalized Home to Stay™ backpacks for adopted children in Wisconsin. Many employees and members of the community create handmade blankets to go into the backpacks. Filled with toys, blankets, books, the company’s signature teddy bear and other cheerful items, the backpacks are hand-delivered by caseworkers to the children soon after the adoptions are legally finalized. Since 2005 Jockey has created and distributed more than 3,000 backpacks to 1,000 adoptive families throughout Wisconsin.

Jockey employee volunteers also completed two Home Adaptation projects for local families who adopted children with special needs. For instance, working in partnership with Adoption Resources of Wisconsin, Jockey awarded home modifications in 2007 and 2008 that included building wheelchair ramps, painting, staining, indoor decorating, outdoor home beautification and more to create comfortable and accessible environments for the families.

“Many families, especially those who adopt children with special needs, face extra challenges and need post-adoption support, resources and information to help them remain strong so they can provide permanent, loving homes for children who have been dreaming of a forever family,” Waller writes on the Jockey Being Family website. “Adoption is not an event. It is a lifelong journey. We hope to be a guiding hand for local families along their path while leading the charge in raising awareness of the need to expand post-adoption services and make a difference in the lives of adoptive families nationwide.”

Scentsy Making Bold Moves

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

Historically, direct selling companies haven’t ventured far from the core business upon which they’re built. New products are usually natural extensions of a core product line or are very compatible with the core product. A few direct selling companies, however, lost their competitive advantage as a result of mass-market knock-offs that throttled once robust growth and momentum.

Acquisition strategies to bring about growth have been tried by only a few direct selling companies, with Tupperware probably being the most successful. Tupperware is now known as Tupperware Brands and many product categories are now under their umbrella. The acquired company is most often operated as a completely separate company, for example in Avon’s acquisition of Silpada and Liz Earle and Tupperware’s acquisition of BeautiControl.

Heidi and Orville Thompson

Scentsy is not only creating new brands but new and completely separate businesses under an umbrella named “The Scentsy Family.”

Orville and Heidi Thompson, along with their company Scentsy, are introducing a strategy new to the industry. It could be breaking a paradigm. Scentsy is not only creating new brands but new and completely separate businesses under an umbrella named “The Scentsy Family.” We have not seen a strategy such as the one now executed by Scentsy, where new businesses are started that allow core consultant participation, but are structured as completely separate businesses. Scentsy has introduced two new businesses within the last 90 days. Scentsy is indeed making bold moves.

In considering the products themselves, there doesn’t seem to be continuity—from wickless candles to chocolate fondue to fashion and accessories. The owners, however, speak about simplicity, authenticity, generosity, aspirations and value—the intangibles that make up the Scentsy ethos—and how they all apply to each business.

An outsider may look at all of this as a bold but risky move. What is the strategic rationale from the founders’ point of view? How long did it take to complete the research, arrive at decisions and develop the concepts surrounding the new businesses? Where does the name Grace Adele come from? What measures were taken to keep the new businesses from distracting the current Scentsy sales organization as well as corporate staff? After all, Scentsy is considered a huge success in the industry, having achieved $537 million in revenue in 2011, up $155 million over the prior year, resulting in the achievement of being the 20th largest direct selling company in the world!

Most amazing to Direct Selling News was to find that the core management team, along with very insightful Scentsy consultants, helped to develop the founders’ vision. Core Scentsy staff—not new staff brought in to design and brand the new businesses—executed and launched two new and very different businesses within one year!

Their amazing story is an exclusive of Direct Selling News.

Shift in Business Paradigm Decodes Fashion

by Barbara Seale

Scentsy Inc. has launched its second new brand this year, Grace Adele—a “style system” of accessories that includes handbags, clutches, wallets, clip-ons and jewelry. Consultants will offer the product line in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Grace Adele joins the company’s original Scentsy Wickless brand of scented, wickless candles and other fragrance products. Velata, which offers patent-pending silicone fondue warmers and premium Belgian melting chocolate, was launched by Scentsy Inc. on May 1.

The Grace Adele product lineup is an integrated collection of accessories that consumers may mix and match to create their own unique look. The five-step process begins with a consumer choosing the color she wants to wear. Then the consumer chooses the handbag itself. Each handbag is designed with an Intelligent Interior™ that keeps the bag neatly organized, with inside pockets for cellphones, keys or Grace Adele accessories. Step three is choosing a clutch—one of six matching or contrasting mini handbags—that either tucks into the outside pocket of any Grace Adele bag or can be carried alone. Step four of the process lets the consumer accessorize the purse with a wallet, makeup bag, scarf or other finishing touch. Coordinating jewelry is the final step. Nine collections are available.

Scentsy Inc. executives worked with international designers to create the Grace Adele fall collection, which includes high-quality, faux-leather bags in five styles and seven colors, faux-leather clutches available in six styles and seven colors, and premium leather bags and clutches in four colors.

Expanding Opportunity

Scentsy founders and co-owners, CEO Orville Thompson and President Heidi Thompson, told Direct Selling News that the expansion provides their consultants a way to get a larger slice of the economy while providing additional opportunities to engage with hostesses. Each of the company’s brands appeals to a slightly different group.

“The secret to success in a party-plan business,” Orville says, “is the ability for consultants to get hosts to put on a party.” He notes that having additional products gives hostesses more incentives and confidence to hold parties more often for a wider group of friends.

Heidi adds, “A hostess might not be interested in candles, but she may be interested in chocolate or handbags or jewelry. We want them to do what they’re passionate about.”

Consultants can choose to offer any or all of the company’s three product lines. Each has a separate consultant agreement and starter kit.

“A hostess might not be interested in candles, but she may be interested in chocolate or handbags or jewelry. We want them to do what they’re passionate about.”
—Heidi Thompson, Founder, Co-Owner and President

The Thompsons told consultants in July 2011 that Scentsy would launch a new brand in another year, but while they had done basic research on options, they hadn’t identified the product line. They convened a Super Star Director summit, bringing in their top-ranked consultants to work on committees that made decisions about aspects of the new brand, including strategy and product development. The consultants signed nondisclosure agreements and then provided feedback on the possible new product line.

“We had samples to show them so they understood what we were thinking about,” Heidi explains. “They loved the concept we finally chose. For the past year we have met with them, had phone calls and talked about what we were planning to do.”

Orville says the core idea for Grace Adele came out of the frustration he saw Heidi experience when she shopped for clothing and accessories.

“Watching beautiful people who are extremely successful constantly question whether they’ve picked the right look inspired us to create a system of accessories that is decoded and has an intelligent concept,” he says. “We looked into all aspects of fashion and then narrowed it down with our Super Star Director committees to where it was a product we could launch with, but was expandable. It’s large enough to be a system but as small as it can be so that we can grow it based on the feedback of our consultants.”

Fun with Fashion

As time grew closer to the launch at the company’s July annual convention, Scentsy began to tease its salesforce, offering clues about the much-anticipated new brand to add to the excitement. At the same time, they planned to introduce the new line with humor.

On the day of the big reveal, the Thompsons walked on stage wearing carefully constructed, designer duct tape outfits. Orville sported a duct tape suit, plus duct tape shoes designed by his son, and Heidi donned a duct tape dress. Calling on their best acting skills, they announced that the new brand would be called Sticky Style. They even explained the benefits of the sturdy fashion line. The crowd didn’t know how to react. But humor is a tradition at Scentsy, and veterans suspected something was up.

Then the Thompsons’ daughter, 9-year-old Grace, took the stage alone. Unbeknownst to consultants, she wore jewelry from the new Grace Adele collection—the brand named for her. She opened by humorously reviewing her own lifelong history with Scentsy, telling consultants that they were truly her family. She segued into her announcement that consultants would have an exciting new brand to offer their customers. Then she said, “But I’m just a little girl. I can’t tell you everything. Why don’t I just show you?”

Suddenly the stage became a fashion runway filled with wave after wave of Scentsy Super Star directors, along with the Spirit of Scentsy award finalists from previous years—all strutting like supermodels while they modeled Grace Adele handbags, accessories and jewelry in a myriad of combinations. When the fashion show ended, a video explained the product line’s concept and showed how each piece worked together. Then the Thompsons—sans Sticky Style—explained the system piece by piece.

“You could see the crowd change as they understood that Grace Adele wasn’t just random handbags and jewelry, but a full system,” Orville recalls. “You could see the moment when person after person realized: Holy cow, this is a game-changer. They all went through that process.”

Scentsy gave each attendee a free Grace Adele handbag—plus one of six different clutches and various pieces of coordinating jewelry. As the convention continued, consultants became walking demonstrations of how the system works.

“When they saw each other with each one carrying a basic purse that was accessorized with a different clutch and different pieces of coordinating jewelry, you could see the light bulbs coming on,” Heidi recalls. “They were saying, ‘Now I get it. Hostesses and customers will jump on this.’ ”

Consultants are already jumping on it. The brand announcement was at the Scentsy Family convention on July 26, and the new brand officially launched Aug. 1. The Thompsons spoke with Direct Selling News about 27 hours later, and by that time 5,000 people had signed up as Grace Adele consultants. About 170 of them were consultants who previously were unaffiliated with Scentsy. By the end of that first day, the company had sold $1.2 million of Grace Adele products. Orville believes that the Grace Adele brand has the potential to equal Scentsy Wickless revenues in three years.

That blastoff carried on a tradition of rapid growth for rocket ship Scentsy Inc., and it represents one more step toward the Thompsons’ goal of building a company that lets consultants create legacy organizations that they can pass on to their children and grandchildren.

Learn by Multitasking

Developing and launching the Grace Adele brand was a collaborative effort between Scentsy’s top consultants and corporate staff, but the staff did the legwork.

The Scentsy Inc. corporate staff took their consultants’ comments and critiques and incorporated them into the final product. The same team that runs Scentsy Wickless every day and develops new product extensions in that brand also put on new hats to develop chocolate-fondue brand Velata and then Grace Adele.

Company CEO Orville Thompson says the team successfully innovated a process of rapid prototyping, getting feedback and reacting quickly to that feedback to take a great product to launch. But he sees room for improvement.

“After the Velata launch we discovered that we’re good at launching, but after launch we’re not as good at continuing that same level of development and support on the brand,” Thompson says. “We’re in the process of making some changes.”

In addition to the functional groups, such as design, legal or public relations, the company has regions that are responsible for the consultant experience. Executives are leaning toward developing a third group of brand managers who focus on individual brands and the processes that support each.

“We think that the direct selling model we’re creating is a three-legged stool that is co-equal, strong and supported,” Thompson explains. “Right now we’re a little weak on the brand side, but we’ll get that tweaked over the next few weeks.”

Letter from John Fleming, September 2012

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

It has been an interesting summer. There were record-breaking second quarter results by major publicly held companies, record-breaking attendance at many conventions, and a few new challenges, as always. It was a great announcement by Longaberger that they were bringing their manufacturing back to Ohio after a period of utilizing other sources, and bold new moves by Scentsy and ViSalus/Blyth grabbed our attention as we come to the end of summer.

Though the economic front continues to be challenging, direct sellers can find much to look forward to. The incredible attendance at summer conventions has to be a leading indicator of growing enthusiasm for the opportunities presented by companies utilizing the direct selling channel of distribution. Back in June we got a sense of good things to come when DSA attracted over 1,000 attendees for its annual meeting. This month, the good news continued regarding convention attendance. ViSalus attracted over 15,000 to one event in Florida. Here in Dallas/Fort Worth, AdvoCare had record attendance, BeautiControl drew over 3,000 sales leaders, and downtown Dallas turned pink again for a few weeks as 30,000+ Mary Kay consultants convened.

The introduction of yet another new business—Grace Adele by Scentsy—has come only a few months after they introduced their second new business, Velata, based on chocolate fondue. The Scentsy strategy of starting new businesses versus expanding product categories or introducing brand extensions is actually paradigm-breaking. Already considered one of the most successful new direct selling companies of the past few years, Scentsy has a leadership team that appears to be embarking upon a very new path. Not content with just being successful and having positive momentum, they are looking to gain more market share by attracting new and different types of consultants. We were delighted to get an exclusive personal interview with Scentsy founders Heidi and Orville Thompson.

ViSalus became headline news recently when Blyth announced that ViSalus was being spun off as a separate publicly held company. Blyth was due to buy out the ViSalus founders completely in April 2013. In the new move, Blyth retains an estimated 50+ percent of the new ViSalus publicly held company. The founders of ViSalus have initiated some very excellent communication as to what this move really means. No more questions about whether the founders are in for the long term—they obviously are. They have done an excellent job in leading the company to its present status (DSN Growth Award honoree), and Blyth has done an excellent job in providing a seasoned infrastructure that allowed ViSalus to manage an extraordinary growth curve.

Several events, including an article in the August issue of a major magazine, reminded us of the importance of communication, education and understanding of the direct selling channel. Many simply do not do the research and easily gravitate to an exploitation or even a creation of the negative. Talk-show hosts and writers who get published in major magazines get paid, often for discussing or writing about what they do not know.

As a result of our observations over the past few months, we will take steps to further optimize the information we publish now and in the future. We represent a positive source of information that focuses on the attributes of a business model and the companies that utilize that model, and counters misinformation. In early September, DSN will launch Direct Selling News… The Blog. We are not approaching the launch of a blog with the intent to provide personalized editorial each day. We will post from what we currently publish and what has been most popular from previous publications, but delivered in a format that will make the information easily accessible. When a satellite radio talk-show host takes the time to incorporate a statement in his dialogue that the direct selling model is one designed to “make money off of people,” ignoring the need and value of the many products and services being sold, the many successful companies that have been built, the 16 million salespeople who are engaged in the United States alone, and the billions in revenue and the jobs being generated, we realize the need to communicate and educate is never-ending.

Freedom of speech is guaranteed to each of us and remains one of the treasures of being American and living in the country we live. Yet with this freedom also comes the responsibility of making sure positive voices are heard. Joe Mariano, DSA President, was a very positive voice for the industry on that recent interview with satellite station KEUR News. He served the industry well!

We are delighted that Douglas Lane, former analyst at Jeffries & Co. Inc., contributed a very insightful article regarding short sellers. Also, for the first time in the history of this publication, I have taken the Top Desk spot.

This month, our Cover Story focuses on those companies that are providing services. It is a growing sector, and we expect to see more entrants in the coming months and years. Service companies are filling needs, and the statistics say we are moving more and more toward a service economy. There is much more inside.

Until next month… enjoy the issue!

John Fleming
Publisher and Editor in Chief

September 2012

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

USANA Health Sciences Inc.

Jim Brown	Douglas Braun
Dan Whitney	Kevin Guest
Dan Macuga

USANA Health Sciences Inc. has announced the promotion of three key executives who have been crucial to the global nutritional company’s ongoing success. Jim Brown, Douglas Braun and Dan Whitney will now serve as Chief Production Officer (CPO), Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Vice President of Ethics and Market Expansion, respectively.

With nearly 20 years of experience in operations management, Jim Brown has been with USANA for more than six years, implementing critical improvements to the company’s manufacturing and quality control as its Vice President of Global Operations. As CPO, Brown will continue to maintain USANA’s manufacturing reputation and oversee the production of safe, high-quality nutritional products.

Douglas Braun, former Vice President of Marketing, will now serve as USANA’s CMO overseeing the company’s marketing, associate recognition, creative services and studio production departments. A veteran of the direct selling industry, Braun has led the charge on several key marketing campaigns that have poised USANA for future growth.

As Director of Compliance for USANA, Dan Whitney was integral to USANA’s recent successful entrance into Thailand, France and Belgium. As the company’s new Vice President of Ethics and Market Expansion, Whitney will leverage his wealth of experience to bring USANA into a growing number of global markets.

Additionally, Kevin Guest has been named President of the Americas and Europe and will be taking on additional responsibilities to secure greater strategic market share for USANA throughout Europe.

Chief Communications Officer Dan Macuga will now also be responsible for growing USANA in North America by absorbing the company’s North American field development department.

USANA Health Sciences develops and manufactures high-quality nutritional, personal care, energy, and weight-management products that are sold directly to preferred customers and associates in 18 international markets.

Neways International

Scott St. Clair

Robert S. Conlee

Neways International announced that Scott St. Clair, Neways’ current CEO and Chairman, has been named Executive Chairman, and that Robert S. Conlee has been chosen to serve as CEO and Chairman of the board of directors.

St. Clair formerly served as CEO and Chairman during a time when he worked to develop a strategic plan to move Neways to the next level, as well as stabilize the business. While experiencing growth in several key markets, moving forward he plans to open new markets and introduce new products as well as add additional resources for distributors. St. Clair’s new role will allow him to spend less time on day-to-day management and therefore be able to focus more on global strategy.

Conlee brings more than 20 years of executive and management experience in the direct selling industry. Before joining Neways, he served in various leadership roles with other direct sellers.

Established in Utah in 1992, Neways provides safe, effective nutritional and personal-care products. In addition, Neways enhances people’s lives by providing a home-based business opportunity, with 300,000 active distributors in 37 countries.

Silpada Designs

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly has been named CEO and President of Silpada Designs. Formerly President and Chief Operating Officer, he has more than 30 years of direct sales industry experience. Jerry Kelly will remain Silpada’s Chairman and work closely with Tom Kelly to ensure Silpada’s future success.

Recently, Tom Kelly served as Avon’s Senior Vice President of Global Direct Sales.

Silpada Designs, a fast-growing jewelry home party company whose primary focus is offering a unique collection of .925 sterling silver jewelry, was acquired by Avon in 2010 and now has more than 33,000 independent representatives throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Relìv International Inc.

Ryan A. Montgomery

Relìv International Inc., a maker of nutritional supplements that promote optimal health, announced that its board of directors has appointed Ryan A. Montgomery to the position of President. Montgomery had been serving as Relìv’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales.

As President, Montgomery will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Relìv International, including Relìv North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) and Relìv Europe (the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria). Robert Montgomery will remain Relìv’s Chairman and CEO and continue in his leadership role at the company.

Relìv International Inc., based in Chesterfield, Mo., produces nutritional supplements along with premium skincare products. The company sells its products through an international network marketing system of independent distributors in 15 countries.

ViSalus

Roberto Gonzalez

ViSalus™, home of the Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge, a weight-loss and fitness Challenge platform, announced the appointment of Roberto Gonzalez as General Manager of Latino Markets. Gonzalez is responsible for developing the North American Latino markets and reports directly to ViSalus President Paul Noack.

Gonzalez will be focused on developing acculturated strategies and support tools to advance the challenge platform. He will work closely with ViSalus’ existing Latino leadership to develop the thousands of current Latino promoters throughout North America into future international leaders.

Prior to joining ViSalus, Gonzalez was General Manager of Active International in Mexico, a global leader in corporate trade with business sectors that include global media buys, logistics and retail marketing services. Previously, Gonzalez was Senior Director of Sales and Communications for another direct seller in Mexico. Born in Mexico City, Gonzalez is fluent in Spanish.

Hispanics and Latinos constitute 16 percent of the total U.S. population, or 50.5 million people, and according to the Center for Disease Control almost 72 percent are overweight or obese.

Founded in 2005 with headquarters in Los Angeles and Troy, Mich., ViSalus is the company behind the Body by Vi Challenge, a 90-day personal health transformation platform. ViSalus is majority-owned by Blyth Inc.

Azuli Skye

Lynn Branham

Azuli Skye announced that Lynn Branham has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Sales to provide leadership and support in the strategic development of business plans, executing sales and marketing strategies against goals and objectives and leading all aspects of the field sales organization.

Branham is an experienced executive with over 25 years of leadership and executive management in the direct sales industry and brings a diverse background in sales leadership, sales operations, marketing and field development in the jewelry, skincare, wellness and weight-loss categories.

Azuli Skye, headquartered in Apex, N.C., is a fashion jewelry and accessories company that offers products to women who want to discover and express their own personal style, while offering a modern-day business opportunity to women who want to be empowered as business owners.

ASEA

Verdis Norton	James Pack
Tyler Norton	Jarom Webb

ASEA has announced that Verdis Norton, Founder, has been named Chairman of the Board. He previously served as Vice President of Strategy for Kraft Foods and as an executive and strategic consultant for multiple Fortune 500 companies. In addition to his experience as a corporate executive, he also developed a proprietary strategy and business planning system now used by a number of companies around the world.

James Pack, Founder, has been named Vice Chairman of the Board. Pack brings years of management experience to ASEA. While in his 40s, he retired from a career in the telecommunications industry. Pack followed that retirement with a second career in real estate development before meeting Verdis Norton and co-founding ASEA.

Tyler Norton, Founder, has been named CEO. Tyler Norton has 17 years of experience in the financial services and management consulting industries, including nine years of executive leadership with Beneficial Financial Group, where he served as a Vice President, Senior Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer.

Jarom Webb has been named President. Prior to his appointment as President, Webb served as ASEA’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing the development of the company’s operational and financial infrastructure. Webb began his career with KPMG, one of the largest audit/consulting companies in the world. He is a seasoned executive with a strong background in strategy, operations, finance and risk management.

ASEA is a nutritional supplement company that offers the first and only liquid supplement to provide balanced, stabilized Redox Signaling Molecules. The company is headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Herbalife Breaks $1 Billion for Quarter

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

On its second quarter Investor Call, held July 31, Herbalife announced its record-breaking quarter of $1 billion and spoke of the expectation of strong increases over the back quarters of the year as well. This is truly good news as the company took some very unfair criticism over the past 60 days. Herbalife had already reported a strong first quarter, and the robust second quarter speaks to the strength of the business model and the relevance of both the Herbalife product line and business opportunity in what remain challenging times for many businesses.

On the call, Herbalife CEO Michael Johnson spoke of the record-breaking quarter as follows: “The broad strength of our business success continued throughout the second quarter with strong sales performance from each of our six regions, along with record earnings and strong cash flow.” He went on to say, “We believe the underlying drivers of our current business success—engaged distributors focused on globalizing daily consumption sales methods and products which are relevant for today’s global macro trends of obesity and an aging population—will continue to provide the catalyst for future growth.”

Company President Dez Walsh further stated that there are three primary reasons for Herbalife’s sustained success and growth: the expansion of the daily consumption business through nutrition clubs, the continued use of systemized training methods to support distributors and a city-by-city approach in which local leaders take responsibility for the area, working together on the opportunity and brand awareness. Walsh said, “One key characteristic of daily consumption business methods, whether nutrition clubs, weight-loss challenges or distributor-led fitness camps, is that the distributors and their consumers have much more frequent contact than is normal for traditional direct sellers.”

After walking through the quarter’s results by region, Walsh commended Herbalife’s distributors for the success of the quarter, saying, “This quarter’s results were a testament to their engagement, their resilience and their continued focus on creating and mentoring new customers for our products every day and over time, converting many of those product users to distributors who go on to do the same.”

All of the metrics in the Herbalife’s second quarter release are strong and could represent continued growth for the remaining months of the year. Achievements included an impressive gain in operating margins of 18.1 percent, representing an approximately 70 basis-point improvement over the prior year. Additionally, shareholders have benefited consistently in the share repurchase authorization, with Herbalife returning a total of approximately $1.9 billion to shareholders since 2007.

The highlights of Herbalife’s financial release include the following:

Second quarter net sales of $1 billion, an increase of 17.3 percent compared to the second quarter of 2011.
Second quarter EPS of $1.10 increased 25 percent compared to the prior year period EPS.
Raising FY ’12 EPS guidance to a range of $3.88 to $3.98.
Board of directors approved a 30 cents per share quarterly dividend.
Board of directors approved a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization.
Company announces a $500 million increase in its credit facility.

Financial News, September 2012

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Avon Products Inc.

Avon Products Inc. (AVP—NYSE) reported second quarter 2012 results.

Total revenue of $2.6 billion decreased 9 percent, or was down 1 percent in constant dollars.

Second quarter 2012 gross margin was 62.8 percent, 160 basis points lower than the prior-year quarter, due to higher product costs impacted by inflationary pressures, as well as negative impact from foreign exchange.

In the quarter, the company took further action to enhance its operating model, reduce costs and improve efficiencies. The company recorded costs associated with restructuring of $38 million pretax, up from $12 million pretax in the year-ago period, or 6 cents and 2 cents per diluted share, respectively.

Operating profit was $127 million in the quarter and operating margin was 4.9 percent. Adjusted non-GAAP operating profit was $165 million and adjusted non-GAAP operating margin was 6.4 percent, down 510 basis points from the second quarter of 2011.

Income from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2012 was $63 million, or 14 cents per diluted share. Adjusted non-GAAP income from continuing operations was $89 million, or 20 cents per diluted share.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $41 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with $101 million in the same period of 2011, as lower net income was partially offset by improvements in working capital, lower contributions to the U.S. pension plan, and a payment in 2011 associated with a long-term incentive compensation plan.

Avon’s net debt (total debt less cash) for the second quarter of 2012 was $2.3 billion, up $194 million from the year-end level, primarily due to a new term loan in the amount of $500 million in the quarter, partially offset by commercial paper repayments.

In Latin America, second quarter 2012 revenue was down 9 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, or up 3 percent in constant dollars, which was driven by growth in both average order and Active Representatives. Effective in the second quarter of 2012, the Dominican Republic was included in Latin America, whereas in prior periods it had been included in North America.

In Europe, Middle East and Africa, total revenue was down 14 percent compared to the previous year and down 5 percent in constant dollars. Effective in the second quarter of 2012, the results of Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe, Middle East and Africa were managed as a single operating segment. Accordingly, Europe, Middle East and Africa amounts include the results of Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe, Middle East and Africa for all periods presented.

Avon’s core U.S. business (which excludes Silpada) was down 4 percent. Silpada sales declined 14 percent. In Asia Pacific, revenue was down 4 percent, or 2 percent in constant dollars.

Avon also declared a regular quarterly dividend on its common stock of 23 cents per share, payable Sept. 4, 2012, to shareholders of record on Aug. 15, 2012.

Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with over $11 billion in annual revenue. As the world’s largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through over 6 million active independent Avon sales representatives.

Blyth Inc.

Blyth Inc. (BTH—NYSE), a direct to consumer company and leading designer and marketer of candles, accessories for the home, and health and wellness products, reported earnings for the second quarter. Net sales for the three months ended June 30, 2012, increased 70 percent to $324.8 million versus $191.5 million for the comparable prior year period, primarily due to significant year-over-year sales growth at ViSalus™. ViSalus is a lifestyle company that markets health and wellness products, such as weight management products, nutritional supplements and energy drinks, through the Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge, using a network marketing model of direct selling. International sales for Blyth represented 20 percent of second quarter sales this year, compared to 39 percent last year, driven by ViSalus’ strong domestic sales growth.

Operating profit for the second quarter was $19.0 million this year versus a loss of $800,000 last year and includes a pretax ViSalus equity incentive charge of $9.6 million this year and $6.0 million last year. The company also incurred pretax restructuring charges of $200,000 for PartyLite this year. Excluding the impact of these charges, operating profit would have been $28.9 million this year versus $5.3 million last year. The increase in operating profit is principally due to the growth in ViSalus.

Net earnings for the second quarter were $8.0 million compared to a loss of $5.2 million for the prior year. Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter were 46 cents this year compared to a loss of 31 cents last year. Normalized earnings per share before the aforementioned ViSalus equity incentive charges, PartyLite restructuring and discontinued operations were 72 cents this year versus 7 cents in last year’s comparable quarter. All earnings per share reflect the company’s two-for-one stock split effective June 15, 2012.

In the direct selling segment, second quarter net sales increased 98 percent to $278.3 million versus $140.9 million for the same period last year due to significant sales growth at ViSalus. Sales at ViSalus were $190.4 million in this year’s second quarter versus $40.6 million for the same period last year.

ViSalus also announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its Class A common stock. The registration statement has been filed by FVA Ventures, Inc., which will be renamed ViSalus, Inc. in connection with the IPO. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. A portion of the shares to be offered in the IPO will be issued and sold by ViSalus, and a portion will be sold by certain stockholders of ViSalus. Blyth will continue to own over 50 percent of ViSalus’ common stock following the IPO. Jefferies & Company, Inc. will act as book-running manager for the offering.

Total PartyLite sales for the second quarter declined 13 percent to $86.8 million from $100.1 million last year. PartyLite’s European sales declined 6 percent in local currency, translating into a decline of 16 percent in U.S. dollars during the quarter as booking shows was challenging in the current economic environment throughout Europe. PartyLite’s U.S. sales declined 11 percent versus the prior year period. In PartyLite Canada, sales declined 10 percent in local currency, which translated into a decline of 14 percent in U.S. dollars during the quarter.

Second quarter operating profit in the direct selling segment was $20.7 million versus $1.2 million in the same period last year. Excluding the aforementioned $9.6 million ViSalus equity incentive charge this year and $6.0 million last year, as well as the PartyLite restructuring charge of $200,000 this year, the segment’s second quarter operating profit would have been $30.5 million this year versus $7.2 million last year.

Blyth Inc., headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., is a multi-channel company primarily focused on direct selling, offering its products directly to the consumer through PartyLite and ViSalus.

Herbalife Ltd.

Herbalife Ltd. (HLF—NYSE) reported second quarter record net sales of $1.0 billion, a 17 percent increase, driven by a 23 percent increase in volume points compared to the prior-year period. The company reported net income of $133.4 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared to the second quarter 2011 net income of $111.2 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, reflecting an increase of 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2012, the company generated cash flow from operations of $137.1 million, paid dividends of $35.1 million, invested $15.0 million in capital expenditures and repurchased $239.0 million in common shares outstanding under a share repurchase program. As of July 27, 2012, the company has completed the $427.9 million repurchase agreement announced on May 3, 2012. The company repurchased a total of 9.2 million shares at an average price of $46.37.

The company also reported that its board of directors has approved a dividend of 30 cents per share to shareholders of record on Aug. 14, 2012, payable on Aug. 30, 2012.

Following the completion of the prior $1 billion share repurchase authorization, the company’s board of directors authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization available to be utilized over the next five-year period, expiring on June 30, 2017.

Since 2007, the company has returned $1.5 billion to shareholders through the repurchase of approximately 52.6 million shares and $350 million in dividends for a total of approximately $1.9 billion, or 118 percent of net income.

The company amended its credit facility to add a new $500 million term loan to the existing $700 million senior credit facility entered into in March 2011. This new facility was arranged by Bank of America Merrill Lynch with RaboBank, HSBC and Wells Fargo as joint lead arrangers and joint book managers.

Herbalife Ltd. is a global nutrition company that sells weight-management, nutritional, and personal-care products intended to support a healthy lifestyle. Herbalife products are sold in 83 countries to and through a network of independent distributors.

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc.

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. (NUS—NYSE) announced record second quarter results with revenue of $593.2 million, a 40 percent improvement over the prior-year period. Revenue was negatively impacted 2 percent from foreign currency fluctuations. Earnings per share for the quarter increased 45 percent to 94 cents, compared to 65 cents in the prior year.

Second quarter revenue in North Asia was $177.7 million, compared to $183.1 million for the same period in 2011. Revenue in Greater China increased 152 percent to $199.7 million, compared to $79.4 million in the prior-year period. South Asia/Pacific revenue was $98.3 million, a 66 percent improvement compared to the prior year. Revenue in the Americas improved 20 percent to $71.8 million, compared to $59.8 million in the prior-year period. Revenue in Europe was $45.7 million, a 7 percent improvement over the prior-year period.

The company’s operating margin was 16.5 percent for the quarter, compared to 15.6 percent for the prior-year period. Gross margin during the quarter improved 70 basis points to 83.9 percent. Selling expenses, as a percent of revenue, were 45.1 percent in the second quarter, a 180 basis-point increase.

The company had cash and current investments of $385 million at the end of the quarter. Dividend payments during the quarter were $12.3 million, and the company repurchased $108 million of its shares.

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. demonstrates its tradition of innovation through its comprehensive anti-aging product portfolio, independent business opportunity and corporate social responsibility initiatives. A global direct selling company, Nu Skin operates in 52 markets worldwide and has approximately 900,000 active distributors and preferred customers.

Tupperware Brands Corp.

Tupperware Brands Corp. (TUP—NYSE) reported second quarter 2012 sales and profit, with sales down 5 percent in dollars and up 5 percent in local currency.

GAAP net income for the quarter of $12.7 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, compared with 2011 second quarter GAAP net income and EPS of $65.1 million and $1.03 per share, respectively. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.31 in the quarter was 6 cents, or 5 percent, better than 2011 in U.S. dollars, including a negative foreign currency impact of 18 cents. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange on the comparison, adjusted diluted earnings per share was up 24 cents, or 22 percent.

The company repurchased in the open market 413,000 shares for $25 million in the second quarter of 2012. Since 2007, the company has repurchased 13.5 million shares for $703 million and can repurchase additional shares worth up to $497 million under its current authorization that runs until Feb. 1, 2015. The company expects to repurchase $25 to $50 million worth of shares in the third quarter of 2012 and an additional $75 to $100 million worth of shares in the fourth quarter of 2012.

According to Chairman and CEO Rick Goings, the Asia Pacific and South America segments’ performance in the quarter led to a 5 percent local currency sales increase, and the company continued to see strong performance from its emerging markets overall.

The second quarter results included non-cash impairment charges to write down the purchase of accounting intangibles associated with the company’s BeautiControl, Nutrimetics and NaturCare operations of $38.9 million, $29.0 million and $9.0 million, respectively. Also included was a $7.5 million pretax gain in connection with the company’s sale of its previous manufacturing facility in Belgium.

Tupperware Brands Corp. is a portfolio of global direct selling companies, selling innovative, premium products across multiple brands and categories through an independent salesforce of 2.7 million.

USANA Health Sciences Inc.

USANA Health Sciences Inc. (USNA—NYSE) announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Net sales for the second quarter of 2012 increased by 8.0 percent to $160.9 million, compared with $148.9 million in the prior-year period. The growth in net sales was driven by increases in both the company’s Asia Pacific and North America and Europe regions.

Net earnings for the second quarter increased to $16.7 million, an increase of 20.9 percent, compared with the prior-year period. This increase was due primarily to higher net sales, improved gross margins, lower relative associate incentive expense, and a lower effective tax rate. Earnings per share for the quarter increased 26.1 percent to $1.11, compared with 88 cents in the second quarter of the prior year. This improvement in earnings per share resulted from higher net earnings and a lower number of diluted shares outstanding, resulting from the company’s share repurchases over the last 12 months.

Net sales in the Asia Pacific region increased by 11.0 percent to $98.4 million, compared with $88.7 million for the second quarter of the prior year. This improvement was due to strong sales growth in Southeast Asia/Pacific and Greater China.

During the second quarter of 2012, net sales in the North America and Europe region increased by 3.6 percent to $62.5 million, compared with the second quarter of the prior year.

The company continued its successful track record of generating meaningful levels of cash from operations and ended the quarter with approximately $65.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. Cash generated from operations totaled $21.3 million for the quarter. During the quarter, the company invested $26.6 million to repurchase 677,000 shares of the company’s stock.

USANA develops and manufactures high-quality nutritional, personal care, and weight-management products that are sold directly through more than 200,000 associates in 18 international markets.

Primerica Inc.

Primerica Inc. (PRI—NYSE) announced that it has priced a public offering of $375 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes due 2022. The notes will bear an annual interest rate of 4.750 percent. Interest will be paid semi-annually on the 15th day of January and July beginning on Jan. 15, 2013. The proceeds of the offering will be used to repay Primerica’s $300 million note payable to a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc. and for general corporate purposes, which may include share repurchases. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC will serve as joint book-running managers for the offering.

The offering will be made pursuant to Primerica’s existing shelf registration statement that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Primerica Inc., headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is a distributor of financial products to middle-income families in North America. In addition, Primerica provides an entrepreneurial full- or part-time business opportunity for individuals seeking to earn income by distributing the company’s financial products.

Direct Selling News has accumulated this information from public sources, including press releases and SEC filings. The information is presumed accurate and reliable. However, it is not an endorsement of any investment opportunity. Proper and considerable due diligence should be completed before making any investment.

Direct Selling: Capitalism at its Core

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

During my 20+ years as an analyst covering branded consumer products companies, I have had the opportunity to witness the direct selling business model close up. I have published or co-published sell-side equity research on Amway, Avon, Blyth (PartyLite), Herbalife, Mannatech, Natural Health Trends, Nu Skin, Reliv, Tupperware (including BeautiControl and Fuller de Mexico) and USANA, and have also had the opportunity to interact with the management teams of AdvoCare, Natura, Nature’s Sunshine, Oriflame and XANGO. Jafra was part of Gillette when I co-followed that company prior to it being acquired by Procter & Gamble, and Princess House was part of Colgate-Palmolive from 1974 to 1994.

I buy my suits from Tom James, a Nashville-based direct seller of business apparel, which was founded by the same individual who is the current majority owner of Southwestern—a direct seller of religious books established in Nashville at the time of the Civil War when that city was still in the Southwestern part of the country (the city hasn’t moved, the country has). Berkshire Hathaway owns direct sellers including Pampered Chef and World Book, and the current Citigroup evolved out of financial services direct seller, Primerica. The direct selling business model has been thoroughly ingrained in our business culture for well over a century and has been very successful in engendering iconic global consumer brands such as Avon, Mary Kay and Tupperware.

So what is the controversy? Why are Herbalife, Nu Skin and other direct sellers continuously under attack in the financial press lately? I think it is because of short sellers capitalizing on a general lack of understanding of the business model in the investment community, which makes markets susceptible to being easily spooked by dramatic, inflammatory rhetoric without giving any regard to its substance. Layer that on top of the current overall nervous capital market conditions and that the bias is to sell the stocks on any rumblings of negativity regardless of the source and ask questions later. To the astute investor who understands the model, these periods of panic selling have often proved to be prescient entry points for those who take the time to develop a fundamental understanding of the companies.

Why are Herbalife, Nu Skin and other direct sellers continuously under attack in the financial press lately?

Direct selling, which is a type of distribution system, has always involved two components: 1) the products that are sold directly to consumers via an independent salesforce, and 2) the money the salesforce makes as a commission on the product sales. I like to think of it as a continuum where at one end of the scale is the product and the other end is the income opportunity; each company has some component of both, it’s just a matter of the degree to which each component is emphasized.

Over the years, that continuum has been moving away from product focus and more towards income focus, driven primarily by the advent of the multi-level marketing compensation system pioneered with the founding of Amway in 1959. Amway is now the world’s second-largest direct selling company, and soon could overtake Avon as No. 1. Each of the company’s two founders, prior to the death of Jay Van Andel in 2004, was perennially in the upper quartile of the Forbes 400 richest Americans list.

With Amway’s success came others wanting to replicate the model: Herbalife was founded in 1980 and Nu Skin was founded in 1984, and both are now multi-billion dollar global, publicly traded direct sellers also employing the multi-level compensation structure. Even the more traditional direct sellers like Avon and Tupperware have moved their compensation systems to be more multi-tiered to enhance recruiting incentives.

A multi-level compensation plan typically pays out 40 percent or more of their wholesale sales as commissions to their independent distributor sales leaders, most of which is a percentage of the product sales made by other distributors the leaders have brought into the system, typically referred to as “downlines”. The number of distributor sales leaders who benefit from commissions on downline sales usually represents only 10 percent or less of the total distributor network. Put another way, typically 90 percent or more of the distributors in the network are not looking at their direct selling business as a full-time job, but are merely collecting commissions on their personal sales, or even just consuming the product at some reduced price and not selling at all.

In fact, according to the Direct Selling Association (DSA) website, the typical direct seller in the U.S. is a middle-aged woman with an above-average education working part time and grossing approximately $2,000 per year from her direct selling business.

The reasons she became a direct seller are twofold: 1) financial motivation, such as supplemental income for the family or perhaps income targeted for specific items such as the family vacation budget or a new appliance, and 2) non-financial factors, such as a) the opportunity for adult social interaction (i.e., the home parties), b) the recognition of success for her business achievements that accompanies all direct selling concepts and c) the fact that often times prior to raising a family many women were primary breadwinners with professional jobs and they miss that aspect of their lives. Full-time income is but one of many motivations to become a direct seller.

In my view, the reason the industry has migrated to the multi-level type of compensation plan is that recruiting, and retaining those recruits, is the key driver to growth. So, unlike traditional retailers where store productivity, as measured by same store sales, is the key metric that is usually analyzed, “new stores” (i.e., new distributor leaders) are the primary driver of growth for this business model. And the way new distributor leaders are produced is by sales leaders increasing their number of downlines.

Which brings us to the dreaded “pyramid scheme” label. A “pyramid scheme,” as defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is… “a usually illegal operation in which participants pay to join and profit mainly from payments made by subsequent participants.” In direct selling, the exchange of money and the commissions that are paid are solely based on product sales and consumption, not recruiting. So while the sales leaders benefit from recruiting others as the primary method to expand their businesses, the recruits have to generate real product sales and consumption in order for the sales leaders to get paid. This is not illegal.

Yet the model has been persistently under attack in the financial press, most notably with the recent bear raids on Herbalife and Nu Skin, two of the largest publicly traded direct selling companies. It’s hard to believe that with over a half-century of scrutiny of the direct selling business model by multiple branches of the federal government and 50 states attorneys general, coupled with scores of international regulatory authorities, there is some rock somewhere that hasn’t been uncovered that will fatally impugn the business model. Yes, Amway was once deemed a pyramid scheme in the UK, and Herbalife one in Belgium, but, tellingly, those sporadic findings have essentially been one-off events, and they have not slowed the global growth for either company, indicating perhaps that local politics could have been more of a driving factor than the discovery of any particular smoking gun.

Not to say there haven’t been some bad actors over the years, but they tend to be smaller companies that fly much more under the radar than the global giants. The issues that tend to get most of the bad actors of direct selling in trouble usually surround outrageous product claims or exorbitant income guarantees, or just outright fraud—like other business models we’ve seen lately.

I am very bullish on direct selling, particularly for these times. The model is nimble, typically asset light with large free cash flow, ideal for quickly penetrating under-developed emerging markets, and is definitely benefiting from advances in technology such as the Internet, and, more recently, social networking. Direct selling provides an income opportunity for many in societies who otherwise would be hard-pressed to find employment, particularly women, and in the developed world with its high unemployment rates, these concepts provide anyone with the drive to succeed the means to create a home-based business with very little up-front money. The model is essentially capitalism at its most basic.

So my message for those skeptical of investing in direct sellers is to hate the bad actors, don’t hate the business model.

Douglas Lane, named as The Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street” five times and a four-time Starmine Analyst Award winner, is currently a board member of 3000BC, a start-up Direct Selling skincare company.

Update from South Africa: DSA South Africa Celebrates 40 Years

September 1, 2012 by DSN Staff Leave a Comment

Click here to order the Direct Selling News issue in which this article appeared.

Richard Clarke, DSA Chairman, South Africa

Job creation, skills development and social upliftment are vital elements of much needed economic growth in our country, and it is these keywords that are synonymous with direct selling worldwide.

The direct selling industry in South Africa provides income opportunities to more than 1.3 million people, an increase of 81,000 over the previous year, and the DSA of South Africa estimates that more than 300,000 additional independent direct sellers could become involved over the next 3 years. Total value in product sales in 2011 amounted to over R7 billion(ZAR) to R8 billion(ZAR), which reflected 9.9 percent growth over 2010.

The DSA of South Africa is weaving itself a rich history of prosperity. For 40 years the industry has created entrepreneurial opportunities, income generation, skills development and a better quality lifestyle for people of all ages, irrespective of education, experience, financial resources or physical condition.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the DSA South Africa held a spectacular event in Johannesburg earlier this year with over 400 industry guests attending, including members of government, media and academic leaders as well as executives and top direct sellers from DSA member companies.

“Our 40th celebration event was a festive occasion and it was also an opportunity for the DSA to showcase the benefits of direct selling and the positive effect of income generation and entrepreneurial opportunities offered to all South Africans,” says Richard Clarke, DSA Chairman, South Africa.

“Where the government and formal business were not able to generate the required thousands of jobs per year, the direct selling industry is kick-starting careers, creating businesses and giving entrepreneurs formal business skills in a risk-free environment that will ensure their success,” Clarke says.

Keynote speaker, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu—now Minister of Public Service and Administration—was a highlight of the event. She hailed the DSA for its contribution to skills development and empowerment of South Africans.

“I want to congratulate the DSA for the great opportunities it gives to South Africans, employed and unemployed alike, and there is so much we, as government, can learn from you,” Sisulu says. “Direct selling has the potential to dramatically impact on unemployment levels in South Africa by creating thousands of jobs for youth and women.”

Sisulu went on to say that the direct selling industry “has huge potential.”

The success of the direct selling industry in South Africa is based on the industry’s open-door approach that offers low barriers to entry, the reassurance of a sheltered, mentored learning environment, and a virtually risk-free earning opportunity to people of all ages, all races and all economic backgrounds, making it a perfect recipe for South Africa’s fight against unemployment, which has soared above 25 percent.

Statistics show the success rate for new business start-ups in the formal sector are dismal—approximately 97 percent of new ventures fail within the first two years. Add to this the economic downturn, and the future looks dismal for entrepreneurs. Over the past two decades, however, the direct selling industry has been one of the highest job-creation industries in the South African economy.

Offering a “soft landing” for people entering the industry, the direct selling business model provides the requisite knowledge, skills, learning, management, processes and systems that have been proven over time, and are backed by relevant market research, advertising and promotional programmes already in place. The capital investment required to start up is minimal, relative to the benefits that can be achieved.

Clarke says the DSA’s proudest achievement is that over the past four decades it has improved the lives and economic prosperity of hundreds of thousands of South Africans through financial empowerment and economic emancipation.

“Forty years of growth is a substantial milestone for the industry, and we’re proud to say we are continuing to play a tremendous role in improving the economic prosperity of South Africans through job creation, skills development and social upliftment.”

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In this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming speaks with Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America at Jockey Person to Person, about leadership, growing a business and adding that personal touch with employees and the field.

DSN: What is the one thing you enjoy most about being the one of the top executives at Jockey Person to Person?

DSN: What has been your proudest accomplishment?

DSN: What do you tell Jockey Person to Person’s Comfort Specialists to lead and inspire them?

DSN: What is your vision for Jockey Person to Person?

DSN: If you could relive one period of time—a year, a week, whatever—since you’ve been at Jockey Person to Person, what would it be? You could choose a great time to relive or a period where you’d change something.

DSN: What’s been the most fun?

DSN: Is there one basic principle which has governed your leadership at Jockey Person to Person?

DSN: What do you see as our industry’s greatest challenge?

DSN: In your years in direct selling, what lesson have you learned that has proved to be especially useful?

DSN: What do you like to do when you just want to relax?

The services side of the direct selling industry has plenty to smile about. Providing services from energy to travel and everything in between, these distinctive direct selling businesses are booming—even in the face of a sluggish economy.

“I would say that the direction of today’s economy in general is toward a service economy.” —Glenn J. Williams, President, Primerica Financial Services

“The services side of the direct selling industry provides a ‘product’ that everyone still needs or uses, regardless of the economic situation.” —Angela Chrysler, President and CEO, Team National

Need a Job? At Your Service.

“I think people want to make more money, and if they can get behind a service that they can feel good about, it just makes sense.” —Tony Petrill, Vice President of Sales, LegalShield

Tightening the Belt

Selling Intangible Products

“The services side of direct selling has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years, yet the surface has barely been scratched.” —Greg Provenzano, President and Co-Founder, ACN Inc.

A Blindingly Bright Future

Basic Training? Not So Much.

ACN Inc.

Primerica Financial Services

North American Power

Team National

LegalShield

Company Profile

Asma Ishaq describes her job as “helping wonderful people to see the wonder in themselves.”

A Product That Works from the Inside Out

Jusuru was launched out of the science behind BioCell Collagen, which was discovered, patented, researched and licensed as a novel dietary ingredient.

A Company Built from the Bottom Up

“This company aligned all of my passions and interests into what I had always envisioned as my life’s course.” —Asma Ishaq, President

A Marketing Program Based on Serving

“We know that our business grows sharply when everyone is engaged in more activity. Activity equals results.” —Asma Ishaq

A Focus on Giving

A Vision Beyond the Company

The company is currently evaluating opportunities to launch into 10 countries and create nearly 20 more new products.

Company Profile

The gift of a candle over 100 years ago ignited a culture of charity that still permeates the PartyLite philosophy today.

“Lighting a candle has a lot of different meanings to people, including ambience and favorite fragrances.” —Michael Norris, President, PartyLite North America

Walk, Run, Give

Shining a Light in the Community

PartyLite Canada Lights the Way for Children

“In 2010 and again in 2011, PartyLite had 90 teams and raised more than $40,000 for [American Cancer Society’s] Making Strides.” —Judi Rogozenski, Executive Assistant to the President and PartyLite liaison with ACS

It All Adds Up

“We’re grateful to be able to offer a vital support system that reflects the Society’s principles of working together and helping people prevent and manage all aspects of cancer.” —Michael Norris

A Deeper Commitment

In 2011, PartyLite participated for the sixth year in the TODAY Show Children’s Holiday Toy and Gift Drive by donating more than $2 million in products, taking its giving total to $16 million.

Company Profile

Start small, work smart and embrace opportunities. That seemed to be Debra S. Waller’s philosophy when she founded Jockey Person to Person® in 2004. Today the mighty engine of direct selling has made the latest Jockey division the fastest-growing part of the company.

Opportunity Doesn’t Knock. It Rings.

Must-Have Support

“Between Debra and [Jockey International President and COO] Ed Emma, they understood that direct selling was different than mainstream corporate America.” —Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America, Jockey Person to Person

Repeat Shopping Spree

Helping Adoptive Families “Bear” the Load

Scentsy is not only creating new brands but new and completely separate businesses under an umbrella named “The Scentsy Family.”

Shift in Business Paradigm Decodes Fashion

Scentsy Inc. has launched its second new brand this year, Grace Adele—a “style system” of accessories that includes handbags, clutches, wallets, clip-ons and jewelry. Consultants will offer the product line in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Expanding Opportunity

“A hostess might not be interested in candles, but she may be interested in chocolate or handbags or jewelry. We want them to do what they’re passionate about.” —Heidi Thompson, Founder, Co-Owner and President

Fun with Fashion

Learn by Multitasking

USANA Health Sciences Inc.

Neways International

Silpada Designs

Relìv International Inc.

ViSalus

Azuli Skye

ASEA

Avon Products Inc.

Blyth Inc.

Herbalife Ltd.

Nu Skin Enterprises Inc.

Tupperware Brands Corp.

USANA Health Sciences Inc.

Primerica Inc.

Why are Herbalife, Nu Skin and other direct sellers continuously under attack in the financial press lately?

Job creation, skills development and social upliftment are vital elements of much needed economic growth in our country, and it is these keywords that are synonymous with direct selling worldwide.

“I would say that the direction of today’s economy in general is toward a service economy.”
—Glenn J. Williams, President, Primerica Financial Services

“The services side of the direct selling industry provides a ‘product’ that everyone still needs or uses, regardless of the economic situation.”
—Angela Chrysler, President and CEO, Team National

“I think people want to make more money, and if they can get behind a service that they can feel good about, it just makes sense.”
—Tony Petrill, Vice President of Sales, LegalShield

“The services side of direct selling has witnessed incredible growth over the past few years, yet the surface has barely been scratched.”
—Greg Provenzano, President and Co-Founder, ACN Inc.

“This company aligned all of my passions and interests into what I had always envisioned as my life’s course.”
—Asma Ishaq, President

“We know that our business grows sharply when everyone is engaged in more activity. Activity equals results.”
—Asma Ishaq

“Lighting a candle has a lot of different meanings to people, including ambience and favorite fragrances.”
—Michael Norris, President, PartyLite North America

“In 2010 and again in 2011, PartyLite had 90 teams and raised more than $40,000 for [American Cancer Society’s] Making Strides.”
—Judi Rogozenski, Executive Assistant to the President and PartyLite liaison with ACS

“We’re grateful to be able to offer a vital support system that reflects the Society’s principles of working together and helping people prevent and manage all aspects of cancer.”
—Michael Norris

“Between Debra and [Jockey International President and COO] Ed Emma, they understood that direct selling was different than mainstream corporate America.”
—Lia Keeping, Vice President of Sales for North America, Jockey Person to Person

“A hostess might not be interested in candles, but she may be interested in chocolate or handbags or jewelry. We want them to do what they’re passionate about.”
—Heidi Thompson, Founder, Co-Owner and President