According to a survey by the Korean Foreign Company Association (KOFA), Amway was the third favourite foreign company in Korea, beaten only by McDonalds and Carrefour and outranking companies like Citibank, IBM, Renault, and Sony.

That’s a challenge for Amway business owners in the rest of the world! You’ve got much the same products and much the same business plan as Amway Korea – can you help make Amway one of the public’s favourite companies in your country?

Think it might be tough going?

Well consider this – in 1993, two years after the company opened in Korea, David Ussery, president of Amway Korea Ltd., and Terence Beckering, vice president, were arrested and literally marched in chains before the media. David Ussery was imprisoned for nine days, charged with improperly training Amway distributors, and the company fined $100,000. Four years later in 1997 (a little over a decade ago), 82 consumer and environmental groups formed an Anti-Amway Committee and published a list of charges against Amway, including that it’s products were over-priced and falsely advertised as environmentally friendly. Shortly afterwards the Korea Soap and Detergent Association, a trade group for local manufacturers, sponsored advertisements publicising the claims, and further adding a claim that Amway was the major contributor to the countries trade deficit! The groups led public protests, with leaflet handouts and media coverage and more. (read the whole story here or here)

Needless to say, the poor publicity lead to more than half of the active distributors quitting and a 64% plunge in business.

That was then. This is now. What a difference a decade can make!

Amway – one of Korea’s favourite foreign company.