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Positive change set into motion in over 100 countries and territories. Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos lead a diverse global management team that supports Independent Business Owners and their goals. They built a company on principles, people and products that have touched millions of lives around the world.
Amway (short for American Way) is an American company using multi-level marketing techniques, that sells a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets.[3][4][5] Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos. Based in Ada, Michigan, the company and family of companies under Alticor reported sales of USD$11.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2012—the seventh consecutive year of growth for the company.[1] Its product lines include home care products, personal care products, jewelry, electronics, Nutrilite dietary supplements, water purifiers, air purifiers, insurance and cosmetics. Amway conducts business through a number of affiliated companies in more than a hundred countries and territories around the world.[6] Amway was ranked No.114 among the largest global retailers by Deloitte in 2006, and No.25 among the largest private companies in the U.S. by Forbes in 2012.[7]
Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Founding
1.2 International expansion
1.3 Quixtar
2 Global markets
2.1 Amway Australia
2.2 Amway China
3 Brands
3.1 Household cleaners
3.2 Health and beauty
3.2.1 Artistry
3.3 Nutrilite
3.4 eSpring
3.5 Atmosphere
4 Ditto Delivery
5 Business model
6 Commercial sponsorships
6.1 Orlando Arena naming rights
6.2 San Jose Earthquakes
6.3 Los Angeles Sol
6.4 Detroit Red Wings
6.5 Canadian Championship
7 Politics and culture
7.1 Political causes
7.2 Religion
7.3 Chamber of Commerce
7.4 Environmental initiatives
8 Criticism
8.1 Pyramid scheme accusations
9 Controversy
9.1 FTC investigation
9.2 Amway India (Andhra Pradesh and Kerala)
9.3 Class action settlement
9.4 Canadian tax case
9.5 RIAA lawsuit
9.6 Procter & Gamble
9.7 Amway UK
9.8 Welcome to Life (Poland)
9.9 Dr. Phil and Shape Up
9.10 Dateline NBC
9.11 Other issues
10 See also
11 References
12 Books
13 Documentaries
14 External links
14.1 Government documents
14.2 Profiles
History[edit]
Founding[edit]
Amway Japan Head Office. Amway Vietnam (Hồ Chí Minh since 2008). Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos, friends since school days, had been business partners in various endeavors including a hamburger stand, air charter service, and a sailing business. In 1949 they were introduced by Neil Maaskant (Van Andel's second cousin) to the Nutrilite Products Corporation. Nutrilite was a California-based direct sales company founded by Dr. Carl Rehnborg, developer of the first multivitamin marketed in the United States. In August 1949, after a night-long talk, DeVos and Van Andel signed up to become distributors for Nutrilite food supplements.[8][page needed] They sold their first box the next day for $19.50, but lost interest for the next two weeks. Shortly thereafter, at the urging of Maaskant, who had become their sponsor, they traveled to Chicago to attend a Nutrilite seminar. The meeting was at a downtown hotel, with over a hundred people in attendance. After seeing promotional filmstrips and listening to talks by company representatives and successful distributors, they decided to pursue the Nutrilite business opportunity with enthusiasm. They sold their second box of supplements on their return trip to Michigan, and rapidly proceeded to develop their new business further.[8][page needed]
In 1949, DeVos and Van Andel had formed Ja-Ri Corporation (abbreviated from their respective first names) for importing wooden goods from South American countries. After their trip to the Nutrilite seminar, they dropped[clarification needed] this business and Ja-Ri became their Nutrilite distributorship.[9] In addition to profits on each product sold, Nutrilite also offered commission on the sales of products by new distributors introduced to the company by existing distributors—a system today known as multi-level marketing or network marketing. By 1958, DeVos and Van Andel had built an organization of over 5,000 distributors. However, following concerns about the stability of Nutrilite, in April 1959 they and some of their top distributors formed The American Way Association to represent the distributors and look for additional products to market.[10]
Their first product was called Frisk, a concentrated organic cleaner developed by a scientist in Ohio. DeVos and Van Andel bought the rights to manufacture and distribute Frisk, and later changed the name to LOC (Liquid Organic Cleaner).[11] They subsequently formed Amway Sales Corporation to procure and inventory products and to handle the sales and marketing plan, and Amway Services Corporation to handle insurance and other benefits for distributors (Amway being an abbreviation of "American Way").[12] In 1960 they purchased a 50% share in Atco Manufacturing Company in Detroit, the original manufacturers of LOC, and changed its name to Amway Manufacturing Corporation.[13] In 1964 the Amway Sales Corporation, Amway Services Corporation, and Amway Manufacturing Corporation merged to form a single entity, Amway Corporation[14] Amway bought control of Nutrilite in 1972 and full ownership in 1994.[15]
International expansion[edit]
Amway expanded overseas to Australia in 1971, to Europe in 1973, to parts of Asia in 1974, to Japan in 1979, to Latin America in 1985, to China in 1995, to Africa in 1997, to India and Scandinavia in 1998, to Ukraine in 2003, to Russia in 2005, and to Vietnam in 2008. Quixtar[edit]
