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News from the UK |
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Sept. 2007 RE: Transition from IBO to ABO To all existing Business Owners, As we have previously advised all IBOs the Department of Trade and Industry has brought legal proceedings against Amway seeking to wind up the company. The DTI has in particular raised issues as to the manner in which the business is promoted and the sale and promotion of BSM. It was as an immediate reaction to those proceedings that the company took the steps that it did on 4 May 2007 to impose a moratorium on the registration of new IBOs and to ban the sale and promotion of BSM. Amway is continuing to defend the proceedings that the DTI have brought but at the same time it has undertaken a fundamental review of the manner in which the business operates in the UK and Ireland. It is hoped that the new business model will address the concerns of the DTI. Key aspects of the new model include a continuing ban on the sale and promotion of third party BSM. (Amway may subsequently introduce a licensing system under which it can control the quantity, quality and pricing of any third party BSM.) There will also be much greater focus on ensuring that new IBOs properly understand the Amway business opportunity. However, in addition to seeking to address issues raised by the DTI, the company has also taken the opportunity to introduce other changes to the business which are both exciting and transformational. Accordingly, Amway United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland are preparing to launch the “new” Amway in October 2007. The changes that are planned for October are: • A new three level qualification system: Retail Consultant, Certified Retail Consultant and Business Consultant • A new “One Price For All” strategy • Dramatic price reductions on Home Care and Personal Care products for easier retailing. • New Amway On-Line web site to offer increased support for IBO’s and their customers. • Modifications to the Sales & Marketing Plan to increase the focus on retailing and income growth. • Increase and improved training for ALL our IBO’s. • Renewed focus on product demonstrations and product support. • New training program on product retailing. • New SIP/NCA program focused on rewarding income growth. All of these positive changes have been shared with UK leaders and will be explained in detail at the Autumn Expo. This is just the first step to transform Amway UK/RoI into a company where our IBO’s can retail with confidence, provide products to customers and then train and support other IBO’s to do the same. In order to implement the new business model, Amway needs to transition all IBOs who are interested in continuing their business to a new contract as “Amway Business Owners” (“ABOs”). All IBOs are therefore required to sign a transitional application form to confirm their desire to join Amway under the new mode of operations. This document must be signed and returned to Amway in Milton Keynes before you can begin conducting any type of business again associated with Amway. If you are interested in getting pre-certified before the official October launch, we will have the new transitional application ready and available for the first time at the EXPO. If you have not already registered for EXPO then you can do so at www. zibrant.co.uk/amway. If you decide that you do not wish to be a part of the new Amway, you do not need to take any further action and your current contract will automatically expire on 15 October 2007. Accordingly, this letter constitutes the formal 30 days notice of the termination of your existing contract with Amway required under Clause 8 of the Amway Terms and Conditions of Registration. As you are aware, there is currently a moratorium on sponsoring activity (including promoting the Amway business to prospects) which we announced on May 4 and extended on May 24 pursuant to undertakings we gave to the Court. We had originally intended ending the moratorium around the end of September, but we have reconsidered this approach in view of the likelihood that the winding-up petition of the DTI will proceed to a hearing in November and continue into December and given the comments made by a number of Platinum IBOs at a recent seminar in advance of the EXPO. Accordingly, although we will be implementing the other changes to the model, including those referred to above, in October, we have also decided to continue the moratorium on sponsoring until after the hearing. We feel that extending the moratorium on sponsoring is prudent and in the best interest of all parties given the uncertainty that inevitably exists when a case is taken to court. In such circumstances it is much fairer to potential ABOs to wait until the case is successfully resolved before inviting them to take up the great business opportunity that Amway offers. This will provide you all with the time necessary to fully understand the dynamics of the new business model, to develop a solid customer base and to strengthen your own retailing skills and will also give us the opportunity to educate the DTI and the Court about our business model. In this way, we hope to demonstrate both the viability of the new business model and our collective determination to operate it in the public interest. We also hope that with your support we can demonstrate to the DTI that you are as committed to and enthusiastic about the new business model as we are. We want to assure you that Amway is dedicated to the United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland markets and will continue to focus on making the Amway business better for all business owners. The changes we are making in October reflect this commitment but this is only a small first step in providing each of you with a business opportunity that you can be proud to build and promote in the future. If you have any questions with regard to the content of this letter, then please contact the Amway Business Services Team on 01908 629400. Yours faithfully, Tom Denham Director and General Manager Amway UK and RoI Ltd. October 2007 Announcement - IBS are no longer with Amway UK This week we posted the following statement onto the official Amway Media Blog: "We can confirm that we have terminated the contracts of Diamonds Jerry Scriven, Dave Butler and Pat Gregory, and we have not offered them contracts as Amway Business Owners. The founders of IBS (International Business Systems) Mr Scriven and Mr Gregory have been unsupportive of Amway UK's reforms and new mode of operations. To be absolutely clear, the activities of IBS are not approved by Amway UK/RoI. The new mode of operation and the moratorium on BSM in the UK is obviously bad news for IBS, even if it is great news for ABOs. Interestingly, a significant number of Amway Business Owners who have in the past associated with IBS have chosen to transition with us into the new mode. In total over 7000, ABOs from around the UK and RoI, including Leaders who were affiliated with IBS, are supporting our new mode of operations. With over 4,000 visitors at our recent EXPO event who witnessed the new Amway UK model for themselves, it's no wonder. Sales are strong, our compensation plan is better then ever, and we're on track to take over 200 participants to leadership Seminar in 2008. To those who have transitioned with us, the Amway business remains a fantastic opportunity. We are prepared to work with all ABOs who are committed to the business, as we move through this period of transformation to become stronger and more profitable, helping more individuals than ever before achieve success with a new mode of operations for the UK and Ireland". Since the success of EXPO we have been conducting an outreach programme to all ABOs, including ABOs who previously associated with Mr Scriven, Mr Gregory and Mr Butler. We know there has been some speculation as to what is happening with regard to our relationship with these leaders, so now you are aware of our official position on this. We do not intend to elaborate on the situation further. However, what we are happy to talk about is our relationship moving forward with all ABOs and we are pleased once more to inform you of our programme of Open Days to be held on Saturdays and Sundays from 20 October to 18 November between 11am and 4pm at the locations listed with this note. For those who were not able to visit 'EXPO' or indeed for anyone who has further questions, these informal sessions will give them the opportunity to see presentations and talk about such topics as:
We will be providing the opportunity for ABOs who have not completed the online Orientation to come along, go through and acknowledge the Orientation and sign the Transitional ABO Contract. Our aim is to support you in this exciting new Amway business, so please convey these dates to others in the Amway Business. We look forward to especially welcoming and up-dating those who could not attend 'EXPO'. With regards, Tom Denham |
