Features
Dismissal of case in Illinois allows company to fight in preferred venue
By: David Rauf
“Neora and Jeff Olson look forward to challenging the FTC’s overreach. As we said from the very beginning, we intend to defend ourselves and stand up for our industry with vigor.”
—Neora company statement
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Neora, in which the company asked for a ruling against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for trying to enact a pyramid scheme law that doesn’t exist. Neora claimed the act was outside the FTC’s statutory authority.
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By: David Rauf
“I think we can turn this into a positive thing. There’s no real replacement for that in-person connection, but you can get pretty close with a series of video meetings.”
—McKinley Oswald, President Global Sales, Verb
Herbalife
Boosted by a surge in North American sales, Herbalife Nutrition reported record revenue during the second quarter, as the company handily beat Wall Street expectations amid the nearly all-digital sales environment companies are navigating during the COVID-19 era.
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His thoughts on the power of social selling
Launched: 2006/re-launched 2019
Executive: Jason St. Clair
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Website: xendurance.com
This month, SSN interviewed Jason St. Clair, part owner and CEO of Xendurance, a performance supplement company.
SSN: Will you share your background and how you got involved with Xendurance?
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Recent court decisions concerning Section 13(b) of FTC Act could change decades of precedent
By: David Rauf
The FTC has taken the position that the injunctive relief permitted by 13(b) allows it to disgorge revenue from scammers and corporations as well as regain restitution for victims.
“There’s an existing process outside of 13(b) for the FTC to pursue monetary relief, but it is cumbersome and requires more due process, which is why the FTC doesn’t like it.” —Larry Steinberg, Chair, Multilevel Marketing Industry Group, Buchalter
This could dramatically affect the relationship between the direct selling industry and the FTC. —Larry Steinberg, Chair, Multilevel Marketing Industry Group, Buchalter
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can continue to seek monetary rewards when it sues scammers and firms accused of deceptive business practices, setting the stage for a ruling that will have wide-ranging ramifications for the direct selling channel.
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Despite strong sales, pandemic creates some disruptions for companies
By: David Rauf
“This was felt everywhere and in everything; the immediacy of things shutting down in a manner of days was extraordinary.”
—Brian Kraus, VP Global Manufacturing, Amway
“We were fortunate that we had some plans in place to be able to respond as quickly as we did. It’ll be interesting to see, as an industry, how this changes things in the coming year.”
—Brian Kraus, VP Global Manufacturing, Amway
Already faced with a variety of new challenges in the coronavirus era, direct sellers are dealing with another major hurdle affecting their daily business: supply chain disruptions.
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Guidelines go into effect Aug. 1
By: Courtney Ronan
The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC), a division of BBB National Programs, has released new guidance on earnings claims. This new guidance defines and classifies earnings claims and is provided to help ensure direct selling companies and their independent distributors are making representations that comply with legal and self-regulatory standards.
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Mona Ameli, founder of Ameli Global Partnerships
By: Mona Ameli
Often perceived as a negative action taken deliberately, unconscious biases are actually cognitive automatic shortcuts, often based on primitive, mistaken, outdated, inaccurate, or incomplete information deeply rooted in our cultural, environmental and family upbringing.
To have a true and authentic inclusive culture, a key area to address is stereotypes, which not only impact our individual and/or organizational behaviors, but can then undermine the sustainability of inclusive diversity. Another term for this is unconscious bias.
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