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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Direct selling |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder(s) | Rich DeVos Jay Van Andel |
| Headquarters | Ada, Michigan, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Steve Van Andel (Chairman) Doug DeVos (President) |
| Products | Amway Home, glister, G&H, Nutrilite, Artistry, AmwayQueen, eSpring, ATMOSPHERE... |
| Revenue |  US$ 11.8 billion (2013)[1] |
| Employees | 20,000[2] |
| Parent | Alticor |
| Website | Amway.com |
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The neutrality of this article is disputed. (February 2014) |
ounding
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
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
Main article: Amway Global
In 1999 the founders of the Amway corporation established a new holding company, named Alticor, and launched three new companies: a sister (and separate) Internet-focused company named Quixtar, Access Business Group, and Pyxis Innovations. Pyxis, later replaced by Fulton Innovation, pursued research and development and Access Business Group handled manufacturing and logistics for Amway, Quixtar, and third party clients.[16]The main difference was that all "Independent Business Owners" (IBO) could order directly from Amway on the Internet, rather than from their upline "direct distributor," and have products shipped directly to their home. The Amway name continued being used in the rest of the world. After virtually all Amway distributors in North America switched to Quixtar, Alticor elected to close Amway North America after 2001. In June 2007 it was announced that the Quixtar brand would be phased out over an 18 to 24 month period in favor of a unified Amway brand (Amway Global) worldwide.
In 2006, Quixtar published The Quixtar Independent Business Owner Compensation Plan, in which the company reported that the average monthly gross income for "Active" IBOs was $115.[17]
Global markets
According to the Amway website, as of 2011 the company operates in over 100 countries and territories, organized into regional markets: the Americas, Europe, greater China, Japan and Korea, and SE Asia/Australia.In 2008, Alticor announced that two-thirds of the company's 58 markets reported sales increases, including strong growth in the China, Russia, Ukraine and India markets.[18]
Amway Australia
- See Amway Australia Pty Ltd
Amway China
Amway grew quickly in China from its market launch in 1995. In 1998, after abuses of illegal pyramid schemes led to riots, the Chinese government enacted a ban on all direct selling companies, including Amway.[19] After the negotiations, some companies like Amway, Avon, and Mary Kay continued to operate through a network of retail stores promoted by an independent sales force.[20] China introduced new direct selling laws in December 2005, and in December 2006 Amway was one of the first companies to receive a license to resume direct sales. However, the law forbids teachers, doctors, and civil servants from becoming direct sales agents for the company and, unlike in the U.S., salespeople in China are ineligible to receive commissions from sales made by the distributors they recruit.In 2006, Amway China had a reported 180,000 sales representatives, 140 stores, and $2 billion in annual sales.[21] In 2007 Amway Greater China and South-east Asia Chief Executive Eva Cheng was ranked No.88 by Forbes magazine in its list of the World's Most Powerful Women.[22] In 2008, China was Amway's largest market, reporting 28% growth and sales of ¥17 billion (US$2.5billion).[23] According to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek in April 2010, Amway had 237 retail shops in China, 160,000 direct sales agents, and US$3 billion in revenue.[24]
Amway China holds large incentive trips each year as rewards for its top achievers to different destinations. As the trips involve thousands of participants, events often result in a boost for the local economy of the destination.
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