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Positive Outlook for Public Companies
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Positive Outlook for Public Companies

Tupperware, Herbalife, USANA, Primerica lead 2020 growth; LifeVantage stumbles

By:  Dave Rauf

Tupperware

  Tupperware’s turnaround story continues to evolve. The maker of food storage containers, kitchen goods and beauty products reported its second consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to recently released earnings.  Fourth-quarter revenue and profit were both up in the three-month reporting period. And company executives say they’re more confident that improving financials are a sign the direct selling giant is on the path to recovery after years of revenue declines and falling stock prices.

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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FTC Threat: A Primer
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

FTC Threat: A Primer

Your questions answered on the FTC’s new battle plan against direct sellers

By:  David Bland Is the direct selling channel under greater threat now from FTC action than it has been previously? All signs point to yes. While the FTC has spent the past few decades consistently taking action against several direct selling companies accused of operating as pyramid schemes, the overall scope of this action has been limited. However, over the past year, the Commission has expressly stated that the direct selling channel is on the short list for renewed FTC scrutiny and enforcement. Furthermore, in a move catalyzed by the Supreme Court decision on 13(b) to strip the agency of its restitutive monetary relief powers, commissioners have begun the process to create new weapons for winning both equitable and punitive monetary relief in future proceedings.  

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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FTC 2.0 – In Their Own Words
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

FTC 2.0 – In Their Own Words

Commissioners outline an aggressive new strategy with direct sellers in their sights.

The Federal Trade Commission is in the midst of a sea change—a change in leadership, a change in ideology and a change in philosophy. Signaling the most significant course correction of the past 40 years, the Commission is reversing a self-imposed disarmament from the 1980s deregulation era while at the same time asking Congress to strengthen its powers under the FTC Act. This revitalized Commission has also released a target list, and direct selling is on it. 

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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Serious Business: The FTC’s Re-Deployment of the Penalty Offense Authority
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeaturesVoices

Serious Business: The FTC’s Re-Deployment of the Penalty Offense Authority

By: Kevin Grimes
From the perspective of the FTC, the POA would appear to be a perfect weapon for quickly bringing about industry-wide change.
The FTC has expressly stated and given clear notice that deceptive income claims and unsubstantiated product claims in the direct selling industry are one of its top five targets.
The Penalty Offense Authority (POA) allows the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to seek civil penalties against a wrongdoing party where: (1) a final cease and desist order has been entered against a party in an administrative proceeding under Section 5(b) of the FTC Act; (2) the order identifies a specific practice as unfair or deceptive; and (3) a party with actual notice of the order has engaged in that practice after the order became final.

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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How Pending Legislation Could Affect Your Company’s Compliance Strategy
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How Pending Legislation Could Affect Your Company’s Compliance Strategy

By:  Larry Steinberg and William Miller
For companies that use web-monitoring services to identify possible policy violations, is it a reasonable business practice to limit the search parameters to only go back a certain number of years?
...older posts can still become a trigger for a regulatory investigation, and can still cause public relations and other problems.
When it reversed 40 years of appellate precedent by ruling that Section 13(b) does not authorize the Federal Trade Commission to seek monetary relief, the Supreme Court relied not only on the language of Section 13(b), but also on the presence of other provisions in the FTC Act, which expressly allow the FTC to obtain monetary relief for consumers. 

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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The FTC is on the Warpath — Time to Rally the Troops
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeaturesOpinion

The FTC is on the Warpath — Time to Rally the Troops

As pressure mounts, what we do now as an industry matters

By:  Jonathan Gilliam, CEO, Momentum Factor
Opponents of the channel appear to have taken a war footing, and what we collectively do now as an industry will determine the future of this great business model we love.

Over the past 18 months, the Federal Trade Commission’s targeting of the direct sales channel has become increasingly aggressive and the channel may now be under the most intense regulatory and public scrutiny it has ever faced. Opponents appear to have taken a war footing, and what we collectively do now as an industry will determine the future of this great business model we love. 

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September 1, 2021 0 comment
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Lina Khan Takes the Helm at FTC
Cover StoryDirect SellingFeatures

Lina Khan Takes the Helm at FTC

Young firebrand rides wave of anti-corporate sentiment to become top regulator

By:  David Bland The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is under new leadership. On June 15, 32-year-old Lina Khan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 69-to-28 vote following her nomination by President Joe Biden in March. The Columbia Law School professor is the youngest person to ever lead the Commission and is already making waves as she prepares an agenda to reshape the priorities of the FTC and reclaim powers that the agency relinquished four decades ago.

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August 1, 2021 0 comment
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Rodan + Fields’ Insurer Balks at Lawsuit Coverage
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Rodan + Fields’ Insurer Balks at Lawsuit Coverage

Class actions prompted by lash product spur additional legal headache for cosmetics direct seller

Rodan + Fields’ insurance carrier has filed a complaint against the skincare brand just as the direct seller navigates class actions related to one of its products. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co., a Liberty Mutual subsidiary, filed the complaint in a California federal court and maintains that it should be exempt from paying Rodan + Fields’ legal defense or any claims arising from the class action cases currently being deliberated in state and federal courts.

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August 1, 2021 0 comment
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How to Rescue Your Data Before It Is Held Hostage
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How to Rescue Your Data Before It Is Held Hostage

The keys to protecting your business against ransomware

By:  Alexander White
Executive leaders and organizational decision-makers can easily and should immediately assess if their organizations are taking these steps in the prevention, preparation, and protection of their most critical business assets. 
As it trends now—because of the publicized breaches, focused legislative initiatives, and increased cyber knowledge of the average user—it is both the most and least talked about issue in business data compromise today.
Accurate, accessible, and accelerated data and systems are the lifeblood of any successful organization. Businesses build the perfect harmony between their people, processes, and technology to ensure all departments communicate at the speed of customer need. At the same time, cybercriminals make it their business to disrupt that harmony and capitalize on the risk that discord creates. The problem is that the way businesses manage their systems and data creates vulnerabilities, which are quite the playbook for cybercriminals to execute their infiltration. The trending topic of ransomware has gained emerging momentum in business security conversations due to several widely publicized breaches. 

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August 1, 2021 0 comment
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