Amway
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Headquarters in Ada, Michigan
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| Private | |
| Industry | multi-level marketing |
| Founded | November 9, 1959 |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | Ada, Michigan, United States |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products | Amway Home, Glister, G&H, Nutrilite, Artistry, AmwayQueen, eSpring, Atmosphere, XS Energy... |
| Revenue | US$ 9.5 billion (2015) |
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Number of employees
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21,000 (as of 2014) |
| Parent | Alticor |
| Website | www |
Amway (short for The "American Way", renamed to Quixtar in 2008) is an American company that uses a multi-level marketing model to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos. Based in Ada, Michigan, the company and family of companies under Alticor reported sales of $9.5 billion for 2015, the second consecutive year of decline for the company. Its product lines include home care products, personal care products, jewelry, electronics, Nutrilite dietary supplements, water purifiers, air purifiers, insurance, and cosmetics. It has several times been subject to investigation in various countries, by institutions such as the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for alleged pyramid scheme related practices.
Amway conducts business through a number of affiliated companies in more than a hundred countries and territories around the world, ranked No. 29 among the largest private companies in the United States by Forbes in 2015 and No. 1 in multi-level marketing by Direct Selling News.
Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos, friends since school days, had been business partners in various endeavors including a hamburger stand, air charter service, and a sailing business. In 1949 they were introduced by Neil Maaskant (Van Andel's second cousin) to the Nutrilite Products Corporation. Nutrilite was a California-based direct sales company founded by Carl Rehnborg, developer of the first multivitamin marketed in the United States. In August 1949, after a night-long talk, DeVos and Van Andel signed up to become distributors for Nutrilite food supplements. They sold their first box the next day for $19.50, but lost interest for the next two weeks. Shortly thereafter, at the urging of Maaskant, who had become their sponsor, they traveled to Chicago to attend a Nutrilite seminar. The meeting was at a downtown hotel, with over a hundred people in attendance. After seeing promotional filmstrips and listening to talks by company representatives and successful distributors, they decided to pursue the Nutrilite business opportunity with enthusiasm. They sold their second box of supplements on their return trip to Michigan, and rapidly proceeded to develop their new business further.
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Wikipedia