Today I am investigating an old MLM company selling personal care products. Back in 1975, Petter Morck from Norway had a vision and with a group of leading biochemists and herbalists from Switzerland created skin care products. To complete his vision he moved to the USA and as a result, Arbonne was founded.

Today’s administration

• Kay Napier Zanotti – chief executive officer
• Gretchen Price – chief financial and administrative officer
• Michael D’Arminio – chief creative officer

and Ashley Good, Guy Thier, Glenn Klages, Peter Matravers, Joe Wojcik, Karen Stout, Stian Morck (founder’s son), Gregory Colbert, Bernadette Chala, Robert Bianchini

Arbonne (MLM) Review

According to the company’s website, Arbonne develops world-class products with botanicals and cutting-edge science. Their mission is to always improve their ingredients policy.

Official Online Storefront

Free members – special offers, eligible for client specials and incentives

Preferred clients – 20% discount, $20 registration fee plus $20 renewal annually, eligible for benefits as free members plus complimentary product when qualified with $150 order placed during start month and eligible to receive rewards for shopping through exclusive access to the Preferred Advantage Program

Order Destinations

USA, Canada, New Zealand, UK, Poland, Australia, Taiwan

Line (a few examples as the catalogue is extended)

Skin Care

• Smoothing Facial Cleanser – Anti aging creme formula – $42
• Arbonne Intelligence Genius Ultra Anti-Aging Set – $402

Bath & Body

• ABC Arbonne Baby Care Set – $88

Hair

• Hair Revitalizing Masque – $54

Sun

• Arbonne Liquid Sunshine Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30 For Face – $36

Make Up

• Got You Covered Mineral Powder Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen, Cocoa – $43

Nutrition

• Vanilla Protein Ready to Drink Shakes – $44

Special Offers

• Only available to preferred clients

Holidays

• Pampermint Foot Care Duo and Socks – $48

Notice: Arbonne enlists ingredients, how to use instructions, and FAQ for all products.

Autoship

Automatically receive a new shipment of each item you select every 30 to 60 days

Arbonne Opportunity

The main slogan here is…”The power to transform your life and the lives of others”…Arbonne names the compensation plan as “Success Plan”

You can use or share the products, develop retail and preferred client base, build and train an extensive network organisation of Independent Consultants (affiliates) and enjoy rewards such as retail mark-up potential, commission on preferred clients orders, cash bonuses, sales overrides, generation overrides, the Mercedes-Benz cash bonus program, travel and life insurance benefits.

Affiliate Ranks (a brief summary) 

• Independent Consultant – minimum 150 PQV monthly – up to 35% retail commissions from the resale of Arbonne products purchased from Arbonne at a 35% discount from the Suggested Retail Price (SRP), excluding non-commissionable items such as Business Aids, sample packs, and Starter Kits… 15% commission on orders placed by personally registered Preferred Clients… Access to ongoing product specials, Arbonne incentives and other monthly promotions

• District Manager – 1,000 PQV personal sales or 2,500 QV in a month, to automatically enter into qualification for District Manager….and to complete qualification 6,000 QV in one month, 6,000 QV over two consecutive months, or 7,500 QV over three consecutive months….same commissions as IC plus …..overrides, cash bonus

• Executive district manager – A District Manager who promotes a new District from Central District – same benefits as DM plus more overrides

• Area manager -24,000 QV over two months or 30,000 QV over three months…..same benefits as EDM plus overrides/bonuses

• Executive area manager – An Area Manager who promotes an Area from Central Area….same benefits as AM plus overrides

• Regional Vice President – 96,000 QV over two months or 120,000 QV over three months…same benefits as EAM plus overrides, bonus, car bonus

• Executive regional vice president – A Regional Vice President will qualify for Executive Regional Vice President when he or she promotes a Region from his or her Central Region… same benefits as RVP plus overrides and Arbonne Independent Consultant life insurance plan

• National vice president – 384,000 QV over two months or 480,000 QV over three months…same benefits as ERVP plus overrides/bonuses

• Executive national vice president – A National Vice President who promotes a Nation from his or her Central Nation….same benefits as NVP plus overrides

You purchase the Starter Kit for $79 in order to become an Independent Consultant and participate in the compensation plan.

Maintenance requirements

An Independent Consultant will maintain their rank and receive all of the benefits associated with that rank when they achieve 1,200 PQV during each 12-month period with Arbonne

For the requirements of the rest affiliate ranks refer to the official comp plan mentioned above.

Terminology (most important)

PQV – personal qualifying volume – Includes qualifying volume (QV) from sales to clients/preferred clients and own sales/purchases

Preferred client – can participate in product promotions available to a special client base but can not participate in the compensation plan

PRV – personal retail volume – The retail value of products achieved by an Arbonne Independent Consultant in a calendar month, including Retail Volume from sales to clients / Preferred Clients and own sales/purchases.

QV – qualifying volume – Each Arbonne product carries a designated QV that is used to calculate qualifications, maintenance, product specials and campaign incentives. Starter Kits, Business Aids, Sample Packs and certain product specials have no QV

RV – retail volume – RV is the volume used to calculate overrides. All Arbonne products carry a designated RV value that Arbonne Independent Consultants earn through their purchases and sale of those products. Please note that Starter Kits, Business Aids, sample packs and product specials have no RV.

2010 Bankruptcy

From external resources

[[[A note to Independent Consultants at that time...

(introductory paragraph) ….On January 27 2010, Arbonne, along with their parent company, Natural Products Group, LLC, and related entities, filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to implement a “pre-packaged” debt restructuring plan. This plan will reduce outstanding debt obligations by more than 80%, which will lower significantly the amount of cash we spend on principal and interest payments. We can use this cash to invest in building our business…

Less than a month after Kay Napier became chief executive at Arbonne International, an Irvine company that does direct sales of cosmetics, the company’s bankers told her they were going to take the company through bankruptcy…

….for a time, Napier didn’t know if she would have a job after Arbonne came out of bankruptcy. “I was hired by the former owners. I’ve been told that the new owners told the former owners, ‘If you hire her, we’ll fire her,'” Napier said. “They laugh about it now. You have to give them credit; it was an egoless move to keep me]]]

Well, we can not judge bankruptcy from the “outside” without knowing the “inside” (it could be a cause of hundred reasons, usually bad administrative decisions and wide openings)…but such a nasty situation can be proved a sign of a brand new start… Napier fought and Arbonne still exists.

Arbonne Careers

Arbonne employees enjoy a beneficial program that includes medical, dental and life insurance. Plus a 401K plan, product discounts, and room for advancement.

There are many job listings so I will name just a few

• Manager customer care
• Regional sales manager
• Equipment operator
• Business forecast analyst
• Warehouse associate
• Assistant nutrition brand manager

Arbonne Charitable Foundation

They help teenage girls and boys develop confidence, realise their true potential and reach for their dreams.

Transparency – Anti Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act of 2016

The HR 5230 Act is great news for all ethical direct sales companies. But the Federal Statute is not providing a very clear definition of a pyramid scheme. This gives a chance for nonethical sellers to harm consumers and transparent companies.

Arbonne was built on transparency and is against pyramid schemes/scams and advocates for greater clarity in federal law.

The company is a member of the DSA (Direct Sales Association). You can voluntarily participate by completing a form on the Direct Selling Advocacy Center to send your message to Congress.

Final Words – Recap

• One of the most ethical MLM compensation plans I have studied so far. The initial start-up cost of $79 is very affordable and there are no monthly fees except the annual renewals ($30).
• My only objection is that Arbonne counts its own affiliate purchases as retail sales which are not. This may point out that affiliates will prefer to recruit others who will do the same while through their own purchases will qualify for the necessary points.
• A transparent company with a wide range of physical products but I can not judge the quality. Have in mind though that Arbonne is over 30 years in business now and that speaks volumes, meaning people should love the products.
• OK, it seems that the products are expensive but what most people do not count here is how long these products last. If Arbonne’s products are highly concentrated (like Amway’s) then the final price might not be that expensive after all.
• Another important factor is that the online storefront is not against Arbonne’s affiliates (like other MLM official stores). When you want to buy a product it asks you for a consultant’s ID or name. If you don’t know anyone it will assign you the closest in your area. So… affiliates are not competing with the company itself at the retail level.
• If you want to join Arbonne first you need to test the products yourself. It would be to your advantage to use them to collect the “points” while at the same time replacing products you already consume.
• Study the compensation plan and read every detail and do not rush things. I believe that Arbonne, after the 2010 stigma, is here to stay.

If you are a newcomer I believe that promoting an MLM company is not a good starting point. You need some basic marketing experience. Not only, but you also need a following so that you can easily collect leads and eventually recruit affiliates for your organisation. If you jump on Arbonne (or any MLM) right away without any online connections you may get disappointed.

How would you meet the monthly requirements if you can’t recruit people? Just by sharing the opportunity with friends and family?… Nope, offline connections are not enough. You need an online presence.

That’s it, another review has finished, here on Web Market Support. I am waiting for your comments and thoughts. Are you an Arbonne consultant or involved somehow? Let me know. Till next time.