Argument analysis: Justices doubt FTC’s authority to compel monetary relief
By: Jennifer Mills
We are demonstrating to
the FTC and the regulatory authorities that we prioritize compliance in our companies.”
—Brian Bennett, Vice President of Government Affairs and Policy, DSA
Last summer the Direct Selling Association (DSA) began work on a comprehensive compliance program which will be available to both member and non-member companies.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.
By: Peter Marinello
Because the industry made the bold decision to commit to third-party self-regulation when it did, DSSRC was able to socialize its goals and objectives with direct selling companies and familiarize the industry with the program’s jurisdictional purview and process of review before the coronavirus hit.
The direct selling industry worked diligently and cooperatively to establish and implement an industry self-regulation program that celebrates its third year this month. The BBB National Programs’ Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) administers that program, helping direct selling companies across the industry abide by the high standards first established by the Direct Selling Association (DSA) Code of Ethics.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.
By: Teresa Craighead
We’ve heard over and over all the ways in which 2020 was denounced as terrible, catastrophic, and unbearable. But from the perspective of many companies in the channel, those words don’t really apply. Strange, unpredictable, and unprecedented may be more apt, and for many companies, bountiful, outrageous, and exciting are better descriptors.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.
Federal and state authorities say they are cracking down on a wave of illegal schemes that have proliferated during the pandemic and prey upon the desperation of people who have lost jobs in the outbreak’s economic upheaval.
The scams have ranged from the work-from-home reselling of luxury products, to pyramid schemes soliciting cash and that play on cultural norms in immigrant communities, to fraudulent investment rackets promising quick profits.
As is generally the case with adversity, especially prolonged adversity, new opportunities arise. Some of the situations we could not have forseen at this time last year have actually created positive outcomes for many companies in the channel, including increased sales and enrollments.
By: David Rauf
“Direct selling is no different than any other form of distribution of goods today. All consumer sectors of business have been evolving dramatically over the last 5 years, and most of it is driven by technology. We looked at this as a good time to enter the market.”
—Robert D’Loren, CEO, Xcel Brands
One of the core tenets of this new world is accessibility.
—Terrence Moorehead, CEO, Nature’s Sunshine
The direct selling channel has been pressed and pressured by a variety of factors over the past two to three years—largely unrelated to each other but all significant in bringing change to the channel.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.
By: David Rauf
“I caution you to stay on the straight and narrow because now, more than ever, this is a top enforcement priority for me, and I hope, the agency.”
—Noah Phillips, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission
A commissioner with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voiced a tough message for the direct selling community at a recent online event, saying the regulatory agency will remain aggressive in its approach to policing the channel.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.
By: Teresa Craighead
“What they are doing in this paper is trying to put forward a logical argument to set up a premise, to analyze it and to draw conclusions. The problem is that they commit some really basic logical errors, and you don’t have to be a logician to understand them.”
—Dr. Anne Coughlan, professor of marketing, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
On October 13-15, 2020, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) held a virtual Legal and Regulatory Seminar that included a session discussing the Andrew Stivers, Douglas Smith, and Ginger Jin paper, “The Alchemy of a Pyramid” with three experts: Dr. Anne Coughlan, the Polk Bros. Chair in Retailing and professor of marketing at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; Dr. Patrick Brockett, the Gus Wortham Memorial Chair in Risk Management and Insurance at McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin; and Dr. Linda Ferrell, Marketing Department Chair and professor of marketing at Harbert College of Business, Auburn University. Comments in this article are taken from that discussion.
In the July 2020 issue of Social Selling News, we published an article, titled “FTC Reveals True Goals in Research Paper” (page 24), in which we discussed some of the conclusions reached in a paper published by SSRN, an international social sciences research journal.
Please log in (or register) to continue viewing this content.