Amway Australia
Encyclopedia
Amway Australia is the affiliate of Amway
that serves Australia and New Zealand. The company began in 1971. The head office is located in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill, New South Wales
. Amway Australia has offices and centres across the country and currently employs over 200 staff.
In March 1998 Amway Australia launched it's first internet based ordering system (ELVIS - Electronic Link Via Internet Services), and processed $15.9 million in sales in July 1998. In April 2000 ELVIS was replaced by a2k and Amway Australia became one of the first Amway affiliates to introduce a new business model, dubbed IMC (where the "I" stands for Independent Business Owner [IBO], the "M" stands for a new Member classification, and "C" stands for Client). Along with Amway products, the new portal provided access to various partner company products, including IBM, Petals, RM Williams, Blue Star Office Supplies, and AFS Financial services. In 2000 it was reported that Amway was the largest direct selling company in the Australian region with annual turnover of more than $170 million and a network of 100,000 home-based distributors. Thirty percent of products sold by Amway Australia come from Australian suppliers, with the rest from Amway factories in the US, Europe, and Asia.
By 2010, 40% of people joining Amway Australia were under the age of 30 and the company had embraced social media such as Facebook
and Twitter
as part of their sales and communications processes, as well as increasing brand marketing efforts through the signing of endorsement deals with swimmer Libby Trickett and Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist
as "Ambassadors"
, Castle Hill, New South Wales
and Kewdale, Western Australia
.
Amway Australia distributes a selected number of Amway brands. These include:
In 1994, NSW state parliamentarian Mr Scully questioned the Consumer Affairs minister whether Amway Australia's distribution practices used dishonest, unethical and inappropriate behaviour. The Minister for Consumer Affairs replied that "Complaints against Amway or Amway distributors are very few and indicate little cause for concern". Following a complaint from Amway, the department had prosecuted one Amway distributor for misleading conduct involving the potential recruitment of Amway distributors into another work-at-home scheme
.
In 2003, the Australian Tax Office challenged deductions made by Amway Australia over an 8 year period for seminar expenses in resort locations, offered as incentives to successful distributors. Amway had a partial win with the Federal Court ruling Amway was largely entitled to the deductions, however it was ruled that substantial food and drink bills associated with the seminars were not deductible. In 2004 this ruling was overturned and the deductions were allowed in full because it was a serious business occasion.
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing 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...
that serves Australia and New Zealand. The company began in 1971. The head office is located in the Sydney suburb of Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
. Amway Australia has offices and centres across the country and currently employs over 200 staff.
History
Amway Australia opened in April 1971 and was Amway's first market outside of North America. The company launched quickly, registering more than 400 distributors in its first month of operation, however sales soon stagnated. Investigations revealed problems with quality control at local manufacturers and the decision was made to manufacture and ship products from Amway headquarters in the US. By 1993, wholesale sales had reached A$148million. In that year Amway Australia became part of the publicly listed company, Amway Asia Pacific, and by 1998 sales had reached A$198 million, with more than 100,000 distributors marketing over 2,500 products. In 2000 Amway Asia Pacific returned to private ownership by New AAP Limited, a Bermuda corporation.In March 1998 Amway Australia launched it's first internet based ordering system (ELVIS - Electronic Link Via Internet Services), and processed $15.9 million in sales in July 1998. In April 2000 ELVIS was replaced by a2k and Amway Australia became one of the first Amway affiliates to introduce a new business model, dubbed IMC (where the "I" stands for Independent Business Owner [IBO], the "M" stands for a new Member classification, and "C" stands for Client). Along with Amway products, the new portal provided access to various partner company products, including IBM, Petals, RM Williams, Blue Star Office Supplies, and AFS Financial services. In 2000 it was reported that Amway was the largest direct selling company in the Australian region with annual turnover of more than $170 million and a network of 100,000 home-based distributors. Thirty percent of products sold by Amway Australia come from Australian suppliers, with the rest from Amway factories in the US, Europe, and Asia.
By 2010, 40% of people joining Amway Australia were under the age of 30 and the company had embraced social media such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
as part of their sales and communications processes, as well as increasing brand marketing efforts through the signing of endorsement deals with swimmer Libby Trickett and Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist
Adam Craig Gilchrist AM , nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is an Australian international cricketer who currently captains Kings XI Punjab and recently captained Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsman and record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australian national...
as "Ambassadors"
Local operations
Amway Australia has three business centres opened in Loganholme, QueenslandLoganholme, Queensland
Loganholme is a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia. A major landmark in the area is the Logan Hyperdome shopping centre. A bus interchange is located adjacent to the Logan Hyperdome. The area is also home to the Loganholme State School....
, Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
and Kewdale, Western Australia
Kewdale, Western Australia
Kewdale is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Belmont. Kew Street was one of the first roads in this district, hence the naming of the suburb....
.
Amway Australia distributes a selected number of Amway brands. These include:
- Nutriway
- Artistry
- XS Energy DrinkXS Energy DrinkXS Energy Drink is an energy drink manufactured by a California-based company, and exclusively distributed by Amway Global in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Japan.-Product information:...
- Emma Page Jewellery
Controversy
The "direct selling" company, has been dogged by allegations of being an illegal pyramid scheme for decades. The president of Amway has stated to Australian media that "this is old news".In 1994, NSW state parliamentarian Mr Scully questioned the Consumer Affairs minister whether Amway Australia's distribution practices used dishonest, unethical and inappropriate behaviour. The Minister for Consumer Affairs replied that "Complaints against Amway or Amway distributors are very few and indicate little cause for concern". Following a complaint from Amway, the department had prosecuted one Amway distributor for misleading conduct involving the potential recruitment of Amway distributors into another work-at-home scheme
Work-at-home scheme
A work-at-home scheme is a get-rich-quick scheme in which a victim is lured by an offer to be employed at home, very often doing some simple task in a minimal amount of time with a large amount of income that far exceeds the market rate for the type of work...
.
In 2003, the Australian Tax Office challenged deductions made by Amway Australia over an 8 year period for seminar expenses in resort locations, offered as incentives to successful distributors. Amway had a partial win with the Federal Court ruling Amway was largely entitled to the deductions, however it was ruled that substantial food and drink bills associated with the seminars were not deductible. In 2004 this ruling was overturned and the deductions were allowed in full because it was a serious business occasion.