Tag Archives: Australia

Amway Australia & New Zealand launch Amway University

Amway University

Back in 2007, Amway Global (then Quixtar) launched Quixtar University. I’m not sure which other markets have done similar, but Amway Australia and New Zealand this month launched e-Learning courses on Amway University. To quote the site –

Amway Learning is a structured approach designed to help you build your knowledge in areas relevant to today’s market place. You may choose to undertake a selected number of business & product subjects and achieve a certificate to reaffirm your knowledge, or for your own personal interest and information.

One of the strengths and at same times weaknesses of the network marketing model is that at any given time a large number, indeed perhaps a majority, of people representing a company such as Amway are actually new and inexperienced. The end result of this is it’s very easy for them to do or say the wrong thing. It’s been my suggestion for sometime that Amway should implement a certification program, and that only ABOs who have undertaken some basic training are allowed to “show the plan” and sponsor people. Until then if they want to expand their networks they have to be accompanied by a certified upline. Continue reading Amway Australia & New Zealand launch Amway University

Amway Australia signs Adam Gilchrist

 team nutriwayI’ve hinted at this earlier but now have official confirmation that Amway Australia has signed cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist as a new spokesperson for Team Nutriway, the Australian version of Team Nutrilite. Nutrilite products are marketed as Nutriway in Australia, New Zealand, and Scandinavia. Continue reading Amway Australia signs Adam Gilchrist

Amway Australia – some say it’s dying, others grow anyway

Former Quixtar Executive Diamond Orrin Woodward, aided and abetted by an anonymous commenter claiming to be an Amway Australia IBO (whom I suspect is former Executive Diamond Trevor Chatham), has been taking a swipe at Amway Australia quite a bit in some recent blog posts. The anonymous commentator has made various false claims, for example that “the REALITY is that 95% of those who have managed to reach Diamond once, never again reach that level of 6 Platinum IBOs”. Continue reading Amway Australia – some say it’s dying, others grow anyway

Amway Australia update – and names

The IBOAI blog has recently posted an article about some “rumours” circulating with regards Amway Australia and some Amway Australia Diamonds, “rumours” I kickstarted a couple of weeks ago and will address further at the end of this post. The IBOAI post points out that Amway Australia business owners are free to be in as many MLMs as they like – a Quixtar-like no-compete does not exist. (That information should send our friends from Team into a frenzy!). The relevant rule is 3.19, which states /

3.19 An IBO shall at no time:
(a) during authorisation as an AMWAY IBO; or
(b) for a period of six (6) months after ceasing to be so authorised:
3.19.1 supply or sell to other AMWAY IBOs, or persons who have applied to become AMWAY IBOs, or persons whom the IBO or other AMWAY IBOs (to the knowledge of the IBO) have approached with a view to applying to become AMWAY IBOs;
3.19.2 induce other AMWAY IBOs, or any such prospective AMWAY IBOs, to supply or sell or acquire;
3.19.3 be directly or indirectly engaged or interested in, or permit or allow any servants or agents to be engaged or interested in, the supply or sale or the promotion of the supply or sale to other AMWAY IBOs or such prospective IBOs of; products or services which are sold or supplied by or through another multi-level marketing company or business.
The restrictions imposed by this Rule are separate, distinct, independent and severable, and in the event that any one or more of them is wholly or in part invalid, then the remaining restriction or restrictions shall nevertheless be valid and effective.

So you’re free to operate a competing business, just not to solicit existing IBOs or immediate prospects for it.

The IBOAI also points out however, that it makes little sense to invite folk who are also operating competing businesses along on discretionary “free trips” where Amway Australia’s future strategies are discussed. Amway Australia Rules of Conduct clearly state –

2.26 Attendance at New Platinum IBO Forums, IBO Leadership Meetings, Leadership Seminars, Diamond Meetings and Forums, Founders Invitational and other AMWAY recognition events is by invitation only which may be issued or withheld in AMWAY’s absolute discretion.

The IBOAI then addresses the question of Q-12 and QBI-like bonuses and Accreditation. In Amway North America these are discretionary bonuses and to receive them after September 28, an IBO must be individually accredited or belong to an accredited organisation. No such system exists in Australia.

Finally, the IBOAI post refers to the newly opened Amway Australia Business Centres. These are “bricks and mortar” Amway locations and have been used with some success in Asia. This Amway Australia Business Centres video on Amway Watch gives a great overview. I think they’re an excellent innovation.

Now, to the rumours. As I reported a week or so ago, (some?) participants in Amway Australia and New Zealand’s Emerald Plus trip were apparently asked to sign a statutory declaration with regards their or their families participation in other multi-level marketing companies. As explained above it simply makes no sense for Amway to invite people also working with competitors on these trips. Several Diamonds reportedly refused to sign the declarations. When I first was told about this I was given three names. Since then, and before I published anything about this, an IBO from outside Australia informed me that a MonaVie Black Diamond had told them that two Amway Australia Diamonds had joined Mona Vie after being presented with the statutory declarations. A third source confirmed two of the names, that their children were registered in Mona Vie, and that the children’s participation was essentially a front for the parents. Finally, a fourth independent source again confirmed one of the names involved, and that registration of children was being actively “taught” as a strategy to others in similar situation. If the latter is true, then it would appear to me that rule 3.19 is being broken.

Meanwhile, new Mona View recruit and former Quixtar Executive Diamond Orrin Woodward showed the true colours of his supposed integrity by directly taking a large portion of my original post about this and reposting them on his website, without any attribution or link to the source. Not only a clear violation of copyright law, Orrin, but pure and simply unethical. A commenter on Woodward’s site, claiming to have “close knowledge” of the situation, says that futher letters threatening termination based on violations of rule 3.19, have been received by the Diamonds in question.

(update: Woodward has since edited his posts in an extremely cynical and disappointing manner – more on this in a later post)

Probably the same anonymous poster continues in a further comment to rail against the supposed failures of Amway Australia, and Woodward highlights this in a new post. Some of the comments –

  • I predict that the Amway turnover in Australia – which has sunk to an all time low of about $120 million (a high of $290 million in 1993 – gee the Amway model has lost just a little bit of ground since 1992) – will now plummet to below $60million in the next 12 months
  • It has been a massive struggle for people to reach 21% in the past 8 years. Only those who focused on product sales have achieved anything. Of course these sales orientated groups have had a slide backwards – as their sales team grew tired.
  • No Diamonds from 24 (there were 6 of them) have requalified at Diamond since. There are some Diamonds (like Roland & Jenny McGready) who qualified back in 199 – that are no longer even qualified at the Saphire level.

and on and on ….

What’s interesting about this “insider” is how disingenuous, and downright wrong, some of his comments are. For example, he claims 1993 Amway Australia turnover was $290 milllion. It wasn’t – Amway Australia sales for 1993 were $148 million, a little more than half what the poster is claiming.

The next comment about it “being a struggle to reach 21%” is interesting. Amway Australia Because Magazine recognized 38 new Platinums in 2007. While the sales data clearly show Amway Australia, like Quixtar in North America, has been struggling to achieve growth, by population 38 new platinums is equivalent to around 640 new platinums in North America. The actual figure for Quixtar in 2007? 544. In other words, per capita Amway Australia is doing about 18% better than Quixtar. Given Quixtar’s poor recent performance this isn’t necessarily something to shout about, but clearly there are people in Australia building successful businesses, and according to the sales data, and contrary to Orrin Woodward’s anonymous commentator, that hasn’t changed all that much since 1993.

The poster also claims there were 6 new Diamonds in 2004. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to establish who they all were. However I do know that Amway Australia Network TwentyOne Diamonds Guy and Tania Wilson qualified Diamond in 2003 and may be included in that. The commentator is right, they haven’t requalified as Diamond – they’ve gone on to Executive Diamond. Graeme & Debbie Owen , who qualified Diamond in the 90s, have also gone on to Executive Diamond in 2006. Mitch & Deidre Sala, who qualified Triple Diamond and Crown in the late 90s, have gone on to Founders Crown Ambassador. Peter & Debbie Cox, who qualifed as Diamond in the early 90s, have gone on to Crown Ambassador. Gad & Melissa Ghabriel, who qualified Diamond in 1996, are now Founders Executive Diamond. What’s more, there are folk like Ingrid Peskops, who joined in 2002 (or thereabouts), went Platinum in 11 months, and qualifed as a Diamond in 2007, and Ronnie & Jane Kagan, who joined in 2000, spent several years inactive, then went Diamond in 18 months, qualifying in 2004.

All of these folks were doing this in the last decade in Australia. Yes, some of the higher award qualifications likely resulted from international legs, however they must be qualifying (and requalifying) at least at the Emerald level in Australia & NZ alone. Clearly there are Australian IBOs building and maintaining this business successfully in Australia. The anonymous poster claims they’re “sales oriented” groups, and Orrin Woodward goes on to imply they’re doing old style Avon-like selling and “door to door”.

Well, Orrin and friend, you’ve got it wrong. All those names I mentioned above are part of the organisation I work with, Network 21. While yes, we do actually spend some time focusing on getting people to know and buy the products (shock horror!) and even having customers as per Amway rules (oh my!), we are foremost a networking organisation. We build networks of network builders, and their customers and other consumers. Heck, Orrin, we even use a version of your “Team depth strategy” to do it.

So what does this all mean for the current Australian situation? Well, in an ongoing dispute between former Executive Diamond Trevor Chatham and Amway Australia (Amway Australia v ClifOne Pry Ltd), Chatham claims the following –

It is my experience that at least 80% of the Diamonds in my organisation are no longer qualifying at even the Emerald level. They are still being promoted to the IBO’s as Diamonds, but in fact only ever qualified at the Diamond level one time. I also believe this type of deliberate deception is occurring through out the Amway business.

and the 1990s compared to today –

IDA had about 30,000 attending FEC each year. Now it is down to about 4,000. A lot of IBO’s will remember what it was like when reminded.

Assuming the decline in IDA FEC (annual conference) reflects a decline in the size (and sales volume) of IDA as a whole, then this represents a nearly 90% decline in IDA! While Amway Australia sales have clearly been poor over the same time frame, they are nothing near a 90% decline.The only logical answer to the inconsistency I can think of is that while IDA has apparently been haemorraghing, other groups must have been growing. Clearly, as outlined with the qualifiers above, Network 21 Australia is probably one of those groups. IDA and Network 21 are operating there in the exact same market, with the exact same products, the exact same business opportunity, and the exact same economic circumstances. Logically, this implies any major “problems” are not with Amway per se in Australia, but with differences between the groups.

How does this all tie together to the original post? Well, the heads of IDA Australia are Tom & Caryn Avelsgaard.

Which names have been mentioned by all four of my sources as being at the centre of this dispute around the Emerald Plus tour and reportedly building Mona Vie? Tom & Caryn Avelsgaard.

I’m told that Trevor Chatham is also with Mona Vie, as are other former Diamond members of IDA, Peter & Lynne Maddison.

Perhaps IDA Australia’s Amway business has been imploding because some of their leadership, headed by the Avelsgaard’s, have been actively working with an Amway competitor, actively working against the thousands of Amway Australia IBOs in their downline.

With all respect to the honest, hard working leaders that may remain with IDA Australia, back when I started with Amway in Australia I was told to watch out for Idiots Doing Amway – IDA. Again and again, both online and offline, I would encounter reports of some of the less than professional approaches some (many?) IDA IBOs were using to build their Amway businesses, damaging the Amway reputation along the way.  Hopefully they are now IDMV, and the rest of IDA and Amway Australia can repair that reputation and move on to a bigger and better future.

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Letter from Amway Australia to Platinums

The following letter was reportedly sent this week to Amway Australia Platinums who are part of organizations that had reportedly been targeted by Mona Vie.

Hello Platinums,

As Emeralds and Diamonds across our Region do the last minute things they must to pack and prepare for their journey from Istanbul to Venice on the fabulous Seabourn Spirit I’m reflecting on some of the fantastic things I’ll be able to share with them as we cruise the Agean and Mediterranean seas. It will be a great forum for sharing exciting business news and our plans for the future with your leaders. Normally, this would occur simply as a matter of course but recent events in the UK and the US have created a sense of uncertainty amongst some. Also, competitive organisations, and sadly some IBOs associated with them, are building on that uncertainty to encourage IBOs to give up their place in their line of sponsorship and to leave Amway. Fortunately for all of us this activity is confined to a limited number of organisations.

I’d like to take this opportunity to make sure you have the facts at your disposal and not simply misinformation and untrue statements traceable back to a small group of leaders. Here are answers to some of the questions that have been asked of me in the last couple of weeks:

Q: Will Amway be introducing the English business model in Australia?

A: We have no intention of implementing ‘UK like’ decisions on the business in Australia. We are keen to see what the consumer marketplace is demanding of us in Australia and then meet those needs. Of course the fact that a government anywhere in the world would threaten to close Amway’s operations, which is what happened in the UK prior to the favourable High Court outcome in May this year, is of huge concern to all of us and something that we need to protect against ever happening again. We can do this by promoting transparency in the business, and by ensuring a market presence where IBOs have an opportunity to earn a reasonable income through both their performance bonus and retail commissions.

Q: Is Amway opening Business Centres as ‘shops’ to bypass IBOs

A: We are and will remain a business opportunity company. Our Business Centre strategy is NOT about opening “shops” and bypassing you, it’s about improving Amway’s image and reputation with a bricks and mortar presence and building a sense of local community across all lines of sponsorship.

Q: I’ve been told Amway is going to ban all tools. Is this true?

A: No, this is not true. BSMs have a role in the business but they must be aligned with the direction of the company, supporting the overall business and transparent to the marketplace. We recognise the value of tools and meetings as contributors to the growth and well-being of the business.

Q: What is Amway’s plan for the future?

A: This is one of the most exciting times ever to be part of this fabulous business opportunity. We’ve been challenged by Doug DeVos and Steve Van Andel to transform the business, not into something different, but to transform it from the US$7 billion business it is today to a US$12 billion business in the future. We’re incredibly excited to be a part of bold plans to grow the business and already we see the fruits of their vision.

• Major sponsorships to reinforce key Amway brands including Asafa Powell, the World’s Fastest Man, Ronaldinho, the No. 1 Footballer in the World, Liu Xiang, China’s No. 1 hurdler AND watch this space for a major announcement about local sponsorship of an incredibly popular sporting celebrity whose name is well known to all of you.

• Exciting new product developments like Artistry Essentials and Simply Nutrilite. These launches have proven incredibly exciting in Amway North America and we’re working hard, now, to bring them down-under.

• At a local level we have some really exciting things to share with your leadership on the Seabourn Spirit. Those plans include the introduction of a new product with exciting celebrity endorsement, the sponsorship I’ve already mentioned, changes to some of our product pricing that you will be excited about, and a whole raft of other initiatives for the short, medium and long terms. We are conscious of the need to constructively consult on any change, and your leadership will be instrumental in developing our joint plans for the future so that together we can ensure the things we do will help take this business to even greater heights.

The future is exciting as the Amway Business Opportunity approaches its 5th Anniversary; its size, it’s history and values combine with the many millions of people around the world who are IBOs to ensure that while other businesses come and go Amway will still be around to celebrate its 1th anniversary in 259.

Best wishes,

Michial Coldwell

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Amway clean out moves Down Under

It may be autumn downunder, but Amway’s spring cleanout of Diamonds continues. Last week a source told me that qualifiers for Amway Australia & New Zealand’s Emerald Plus cruise of the Mediterranean were asked to sign statutory declarations that neither they, nor their spouses, nor children, were to join any other MLM companies.

Three Diamonds reportedly refused to sign the declaration and will thus not be on the cruise. Amway apparently made the move after learning that several Diamond’s already had family members involved in a competitor, namely Mona Vie, the juice MLM that attracted former Quixtar Executive Diamond Orrin Woodward and his TEAM associates.

Some days afterwards another contact informed me that a Mona Vie Black Diamond had told them that a number of Amway Australia Diamond’s, have being angered by Amway’s request, had earlier this week joined the Mona Vie team of former Amway Double Diamond Brig Hart.

The Mona Vie Black Diamond apparently gave the impression that they had left Amway due to anger at Amway’s request to sign the declaration. Now, I personally find it a little farfetched to believe that these Diamonds, having been “angered” by Amway, could have investigated and evaluated all the opportunities out there and decided in the space of only a few days to join Mona Vie. Clearly Amway Australia had legitimate reasons to be concerned.

The Diamonds involved are very well known in Australia and this may cause some shockwaves through their Amway groups. However, another source tells me that while some Australian groups were breaking new Emerald’s and Diamonds regularly these Diamonds groups had shrunk considerably over the past decade, so they may have had little to lose.

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