Shifting the Goal Post while the Game is in Progress

Have you heard direct seller uttering this statement “Shifting the goal post while the game is in progress”.  What do you understand by this? To the MLM companies, they  politically  called this the “Enhancement of Marketing Plan”.  In reality, this simply means changing the rule of the games.  This means change the rule for qualification for ranks  and payment of commission to direct seller. To put this plainly, it means “cheating” direct seller by manipulating the commission scheme.

The MLM companies can change their “Marketing Plan” as and when they deemed fit.  Direct sellers are perpetually at the mercy of the MLM companies. Some MLM companies changed their marketing plan a few times each year. Distributor/agent should stay away from these MLM companies.

The Financial Freedom and Independence is really a Myth.  You can never achieve financial freedom and independence by being a direct seller/agent for any MLM companies.

Not only the MLM companies are shifting the “goal post” , MLM companies are also shifting the channel of distribution.  It just puzzled me which is a better channel of distribution for consumer products., Conventional or Direct Selling?

Having worked in the FMCG and the Direct Selling industries for many years and also involved directly in direct selling, I do not have a clear vision of the direction these two indurstries are heading to.

Direct Sellers no longer enjoy the exclusive right to sell directly to consumers. Conventional business channel companies are also selling direct to consumers,  via their retail outlets.

In the conventional channel of distribution, the manufacturer or producer  move the goods to stockist or exclusive distributors follow by  wholesaler to retailer and finally, to the consumer. Now, the new conventional distribution channel also involved the Hypermarket. Hypermarket purchased goods directly from producers or importers.

The direct selling industries comprise Multi-level Marketing, Single-level Marketing(SLM), pyramid scheme, binary scheme and a host of other variations. This involves the producer selling the product “directly” to the consumer through a network of direct sellers. These direct sellers are nothing more than selling agents called by different terms and titles such as member, advisor, distributor, director, associate and other glamorous terminology.  Whatever term is being used, these are nothing more than just selling agent.

The brochure is distributed by agent
at shopping mall and in your letter box

The fast moving consumer good (FMCG) companies are moving  into direct selling. And the direct selling, Multi-level Marketing (MLM) companies are moving into conventional channel of distribution.

Simply put it, the grass looks greener on the other side.

Well established FMCG, like Sara Lee and Unilever, are already in the direct selling business. Their direct selling is a hybrid  of distribution channels.  They set up retail outlets and use selling agents to market and distribute the  products to the consumers.

Established MLM companies like Amway and Cosway are moving in the reverse direction.  Traditionally, they relied 100% on their selling agent to market and distribute their products. Now, some are opening retailer outlets, supermarket style, to complement their agent’s network. Cosway is opening chain of retail outlets and invite selling agent and new entrepreneurs  to operate and manage these outlets.

Moreover, the MLM companies are breaching their own golden house rules of bringing their products directly to the consumers, without the added cost of Advertising and Promotion (A&P).

Advertisement in The Star newspaper

Today, you can see all these established MLM companies advertising on the mass media.  No medium of advertising and promotion is excluded. You can see highway hoarding sign board, newspaper advertisement, radio and television advertisement,  internet advertising, leaflet and flyers being distributed  on the street, LRT and monorail stations, shopping malls and house letterbox.

The MLM companies have removed their own proclaimed competitive advantages of No Advertising and Promotion, No shop overheads, and No fancy packaging. Worst of all, the level playing field among their own agent is removed.

Will Aviance follow LUX?

Will Unilever Aviance follow the path of Electrolux LUX?   LUX was a direct selling division of the giant Swedish home appliance manufacturer, Electrolux. LUX was established in the late 1960s and the company has activities in more than 35 countries. Lux sells high-end household appliances, such as vacuum cleaners, water purifiers, washing machines, and air cleaners directly to consumers.

In 1998 Electrolux divested LUX division to a group of investors with broad experience of direct selling. The owners are Reinhard von der Becke, formerly president of the direct selling group AMC International, Jonas af Jochnik, founder and co-owner of Oriflame International, and Philip Zepter, founder and owner of Zepter International.

The purchaser, Lux International AG, continues to sell products under the Lux brand name. Electrolux will be the main supplier.

A subsequent management buy-out of the LUX business in Malaysia changed the company’s name to Blondal.

Electrolux group re-enter the Malaysian market a few years back, selling the home appliances through conventional dealer outlets.

Blondal continues to sell it’s product under LUX Appliance.

What is Unilever’s long term commitment to Aviance?  Will it persevere with all the regulatory obstacles and the constantly changing direct selling rules in Malaysia?

Which is a better channel of distribution? Direct selling or conventional retail outlets via stockist and wholesalers?  Direct sellers like Cosway, Amway and a few established players are opening retail outlets and franchised stores.  But the conventional channel marketers are moving into direct selling, albeit some variation. Aviance is a combination of retail franchised store plus direct selling. Hence, they called it Multi channel business.

Island Red Cafe Scam owners fined and jailed

 Island Red Café Scam.

Father and Son team found guilty.

Who says crime doesn’t pay? For cheating 93 people RM1.04 million, the fine is only RM160.000 plus one day jail sentence.

SHAH ALAM: A father and son have been sentenced by a Sessions Court here to a day in jail and fined a total of RM160,000 after they admitted to two counts of cheating and misleading investors of over RM1mil in an Island Red Cafe programme.

Syarikat Island Red Cafe Franchise Sdn Bhd executive director Teow Wooi Huat, 45, and his son Chee Chow, 22, who is also a director at the company, were charged at the Ampang Sessions Court on Feb 9 last year with fraudulently inducing 93 people to invest RM1,040,400.

They had committed the offence at the company’s premises in Pandan Indah between Jan 1, 2008 and Feb 28 last year.

They also pleaded guilty before Judge Aslam Zainuddin to offering shares of the company to the public through the programme although at that time, it was not involved in buying and selling shares.

For the first offence, Teow and Chee Chow were each sentenced to a day in prison and fined RM20,000 in default of 20 months’ jail.

They were also slapped with a day in prison and fined RM70,000 and RM50,000 respectively – in default of 30 months jail – for the second offence.

Judge Aslam ordered for the jail sentences to run concurrently.(Extracted from the Star).

Malaysia is a fertile ground for MLM Scam. In spite of the Direct Selling Act, with tough regulatory control, MLM scam still flourish in Malaysia..

Everything on earth are being sold via MLM.  Today, Burial plots, cremated ash compartments at  COLUMBARIUM, education programs, Sea weed farming  and Swiftlet farming (birds nest) are being marketed via direct selling channel.

There are two reputable and genuine cemetery management companies, Nirvana Memorial Park and Nilai Memorial Park selling burial plot and cremated ash compartment. These burial plots and compartments are transferable and hence, became investment properties for speculation.

A few new organisations are joining the bandwagon. Are they genuine players or scam? No research is done on them yet.

Malaysian being gullible and greedy would be easy target for the unscrupulous MLM players. The key words used by these crooks are 

"Be the early bird to reap the reward. Otherwise, you loose out to those who join earlier and over-ride you”.

This is their tactics to secure your commitment. If you understand the MLM marketing plan fully, irrespective of when you join the MLM company, you do not loose anything. MLM company pays your commission based entirely on you and your group’s (your sponsored downlines) sales volume. Nothing else.

Do you homework and check the background of the MLM company before parting with your money.

There is no easy money and no free lunch.

Unilever Mult-Channel Network Marketing Business Launch.

The giant FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) company, Unilever, has obtained a Direct Selling Licence from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consummers Affair in Malaysia recently. This is after many years of market talk of Aviance entering Malaysian market. Trading under the brand name "Aviance", the business launch is targeted in August 2011. 


Securing a direct selling licence is only the first regulatory hurdle. Aviance need to register all food supplement and cosmetic products with the Drug Control Bureau before the products can be offered for sale.


Product registration looks simple but is shrouded with mysteries. Probably, only a limited range of products, mainly home care products, would be available upon the launch.

National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau(BPFK), Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Universiti, P.O.Box 319, 46730 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: 03-7883 5400 Fax: 03-7956 2924

Website: http://www.bpfk.gov.my/

After the BPFK approval, Aviance need to affix  the hologram sticker on every product item. This is only available from a company, Meditag, belonging to an ex- Director General of the Ministry of Health.


Knowing Unilever's straightforward and no nonsense policy, Malaysia can be a big obstacle to operate a highly regulated direct selling business. On the plus side for the company is that Malaysian are gullible and there is a huge market for direct selling. 


Until I have evaluated the Marketing Plan and the business model of their Malaysian operation, no comment at this point in time. 


A traditional FMCG company with more than 100 years history moving into network marketing is something puzzling. Although they have a successful operation in Thailand, network marketing is a very strange business. The success of one country need not replicate to another country. The saying goes, "The grass looks greener on the other side"


I have been with Unilever and also worked for a direct selling company. I was also an ex-Amway distributor.


So, I have seen the conventional business and the two sides of direct selling business. Which is a better business model?  Until you have tried it, you never know.

Unids ( Website of Aviance Thailand) Newsletter for members of www.unidsys.com only The Malaysian Aviance start up is probably lead by a group of direct sellers called TEAM BLAZER

BMI - BE MILLIONAIRE,  We have Good News! Fellow members of UNIDS, We are excited to announce that Unilever aviance Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. has already received the permit license No.AJL931915 (AJL=Akta Jualan Langsung) We will have our first BMI meetings -Be Millionaire, Be International, for two nights. Don’t miss out on these millionaire opportunities  BE INTERNATIONAL 1st BMI – Be Millionaire, Be International at  Pelican 3, Pearl International Hotel, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur  (map) Entrance fee is RM5 per person (limited tickets)   2nd BMI – Be Millionaire, Be International – Check this out

Unilever in Network Marketing.

MLM is a synonymous with SCAM. The minute you hear someone mention MLM or direct selling, you tend to give that person a suspicious look. However, not all MLM companies are involved in scam. Some are genuine business with integrity and have been operating successfully for few decades. Company like Amway and Cosway are true MLM company with integrity.

Many MLM companies have discarded the term MLM in the business plan and policies. In place of that, Network Marketing is the new buzzword. Some also ventured into franchised store or retail store concept in order to disassociate themselves with the "scam image"

One of the top consumer product companies in the world, Unilever, has ventured into Network Marketing business.  Aviance is the name of the Unilver Network Marketing company. Aviance was first launched by Hindustan Lever (a Unilever company) in India. It has expanded to Thailand in 2000 and recently celebrated the 10^th Anniversary in Bangkok.

Aviance is spreading its arm to Malaysia soon. Their network marketing concept is a combination of retail chain store with direct selling. More details of its marketing plan for authorised retail chain store and direct sellers should be available once Aviance Malaysia is launched.

Some brief info are appended below:-

Unilever

UNILEVER is into NETWORK MARKETING.

Book your Placement Now; Nothing to lose.
UNILEVER, the WORLD’S BIGGEST FMCG COMPANY is involved in network marketing and is about to launch its network marketing global expansion starting from Malaysia.
More than 2 billion consumers INCLUDING YOU are currently using some of its more than 400+ branded products every day. You can tap into their system now.

Grab the opportunity to be in pole position by reserving your top FREE position now. You can get a FREE website just …like this, http://www.unidsys.com/bestone by just registering your interests. Click on the “SIGN UP” button. Then fill in the below details FIRST!
1) Sponsor Mobile Phone Number : 8175242208 (don’t more than 10 digit )
2) Sponsor Post Code :61257
3) Sponsor Birthday DDMM : 3107
4) Click in box agree
5) Click SIGN UP

Then follow through the instructions and you will receive an email to confirm your position. Just confirm it.
Then repeat what I have done to your circile of people.
Sunaryo http://www.unidsys.com/bestone

literally a ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT.
More than 2 billion consumers INCLUDING YOU are currently using some of its more than 400+ branded products every day. This multi-billion USD Company currently has presence in more than 150 countries world-wide and recorded sales revenue of more than USD55billion in 2009.

UNILEVER AVIANCE

To tap into the powers of the internet, it has established a network marketing division (UNILEVER AVIANCE) distributing luxury FMCG products at ordinary prices. This is a world’s first and it will sweep the world starting with Malaysia, then India, Indonesia, Vietnam and of course China … then the whole world! You can now be in business hand-in-hand with the world’s biggest FMCG network marketing company … no more doubt whatsoever about the financial strength, image, product quality, product range, etc of your network marketing company, anymore!

Unilever Aviance is about to go global starting with Malaysia and you can be in from the very beginning. Join its pre-launch now at http://www.unidsys.com/bestone and be ahead of the rest when the business is officially launched shortly.

Grab the opportunity to be in pole position by reserving your top FREE position now. You can get a FREE website just like this http://www.unidsys.com/bestone 

Aviance Shop

The Authorized Shop Networking, is a privileged model of Multi-Channel Business Solutions with Unilever aviance International. 
With an aviance Authorized Shop, you receive benefits as a franchise shop. For your advantage, there are:

• No entry fees
• No franchise fees
• No royalty fees
• No annual fees
• No marketing fees

Benefits
As an aviance shop owner you can continue to build and enjoy benefits within your organization, walk-in customers and beyond. Three forms of income with an authorized aviance shop:

• Retail Profit 25%
• Shop Management 6-9%
• Netwrok Overriding Bonuses (Fast-Start Bonus, Network Bonus, Leadership Bonus, etc)

Staffing
Qualified professional skin and beauty consultants provide skin and hair analysis at aviance shops. They are trained professionally at Unilever aviance to work at the shops. They can be your own hired staff or you can hire aviance consultants through them. In either case, all staff and management go through training at the HQ. All customers and members benefit from these professionals trained at HQ for your aviance shop.

Size and Start up
Aviance will design your office and recommend specifications on beauty corner, meeting section and so on that is standardized overall across the country. Aviance will assist and aid in providing a complete coverage from the ideal shop layout with purchasing corner, customer self-service testing area of each aviance product and a skin and hair analysis section with the latest technology.

Besides these, a seminar area will be allocated for product training or testimonials and meetings. Aviance shops are conveniently accessible to non-members and also for members who need not go to the headquarters. This avenue of independent income does not impose limits or quotas for ordering or purchasing from Unilever. The general public has a chance to walk in and be introduced to quality products that come with a business opportunity.

Each aviance Authorized Shop start from 30 square meters in size. There is estimate about RM 250,000 - RM 500,000 involved from renovations, furniture, computer systems to skin analysis equipment etc.

·                          History

·                          Company

·                          R & D

·                          Product

·                          Aviance Shop

·                          Timing

·                          Testimonials

·                          Success

·                          FAQ

·                          C.E.O. Global

·                          President, Asia Africa

·                          C.E.O. Thailand

·                          M.D. aviance

·                          National Executive B.A.

·                          Contact Administrator

·                            "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"

·                            Aviance pitches expansion to ASEAN

·                            Visionary beginning of Unilever

·                            Unilever is the largest fast-moving-consumer-goods company

·                            In Malaysia, the Unilever story began in 1947

·                            MCBS: Multi Channel Business Solutions

·                            The Perfect Opportunity

·                            What is the Net-worth of your Network?

·                            Choosing the perfect option

·                            Just be a matchmaker

·                            World's Best quality products, always from Unilever

·                            S.E.A.C. : Safety and Environment Assurance Center

·                            World best products for Anti-aging and total wellness

·                            Ingredients that won award "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2003"

·                            Skin Nutrition

« 12 »

UNIDS System Co., Ltd. (a marketing partner of Unilever Thai Trading Ltd.)
12/9, Pattanakarn Road, Suan Luang, Suan Luang, Bangkok 10250 

Land Investment Scam by "Angmoh"

I wrote in my blog on the 2 April 2009  warning gullible Malaysian investors to be wary of agricultural land plot for sale via MLM. Three high profile companies were operating in Malaysia.  These direct sellers set up impressive booths at shopping malls, exhibition centres and office complexes. They established their offices in high-end office complexes to create the good impression for the general public. They also participated in the National Accountants convention, Investors Convention and Fund Management Exhibitions in KLCC.

These direct sellers are well-dressed personnel and speak professionally. Their brochures and catalogues are in laminated art card and art paper with glossy folders and nice bags to entice gullible investors.

I was persistently invited by a learned person(ex-bank manager) to attend property investment talk by a Canadian-based company. I bluntly told him that was a scam.  Why should one put money in agricultural land in a foreign country, with the promise of  a high return upon conversion of the land to residential or industrial use. Where is the income derived from? Can an idle plot of agricultural land generates income for you?  Come on gullible Malaysian.  Yet they promised you return of up to 250% in three years time.

You can do the same investment in Malaysia and you get a proper land title under your control. There are plenty of opportunities and plenty of agricultural lands in the outskirt of Klang Valley that you can invest and I can guarantee you that after five years, the agricultural land will appreciate 30-50%.

For example, agricultural land in Dengkil, just south of Putrajaya, was priced at RM300,000 per acre in 2005. Now, the same plot of land is selling at RM600,000.

One acre of agricultural land in Sepang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting and Morib area was going for RM80,000 per acre in 2006. And this is freehold land. The same plot of land is now selling at RM150,000 per acre.  Ha! Remember the Tanjung Sepat high profile case?

If you think Malaysia is not good enough, fly to Australia to buy the land yourself. You can also convert the land use and make a huge profit. Why put your money in those scam?

Why must gullible Malaysian put money into this kind of scam by foreigners.  Don’t think that all “Angmoh” and “Kwei-looh” are good people. The Ponzi scheme, the Pyramid scheme and the MLM are the brainchild of the "angmoh".

After the UK land declared bankrupt, Profitable Plot is now in the news. Who is going to be the next in the headline?

Don’t be a victim.  Always ask this question “Where is the income derived from to pay you the retuns?” If the income is from other investors, this is definetly a PONZI scheme.  THERE IS NO EASY MONEY FRIENDS.

UK land scheme shock R. Nadeswaran The Sun 13 January 2011 citizen-nades@thesundaily.com LONDON (Jan 12, 2010): Many Malaysians have "invested" between RM100,000 and RM500,000 each in land in various parts of the United Kingdom, only to find out that they will not be able to make any returns on their investments. Actual numbers are hazy but it is understood that with the setting up of Profitable Plots Sdn Bhd (PPSB), an agent for UK land banking schemes, there have been a number of locals who were caught unawares. They were promised returns of between 250% and 500% after a few years but the titles to the land they are holding are not worth the paper they are written on. Although they legally own the land, they can do little with it as the land is situated in "green belts" or undeveloped areas which are protected from any form of development or agricultural land where no development is likely to be permitted. The authorities here have taken action against several firms promoting such schemes but have been unable to prevent them from operating in Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Because such land is unlikely to be approved for development, they are bought at low prices and divided into smaller plots and offered for sale on the basis that when future development plans are approved, these plots will be more valuable. However, the UK Land Registry has warned that prospective buyers have been misled about the prospects of approval for development and this in turn "could lead them into thinking that they can sell the plots at an appreciated price when development applications are approved". Mike Westcott-Rudd, Head of Corporate Legal Services for Land Registry says it will register any application to register and issue titles to land as long as the papers are in order, but has no powers to prevent such sales. The Registry will not question the circumstances under which the land is bought or sold. "However, if documents are forged as in the case of a company which promoted such schemes in Singapore, the registry will assist the authorities in bringing the culprits to book," he told theSun. Authorities in Singapore prosecuted one company for using a forged document to promote the scheme. Forged Land Registry letters have been produced in some cases to suggest that there is official approval (by the Registry) but it plays no part in the planning approval process as this comes under the local authorities. On Tuesday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court upheld Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (CCM) declaration in October 2008 that Profitable Plots Sdn Bhd (PPSB), which is involved in land investments in the United Kingdom (UK), had contravened the Companies Act. CCM said in a statement that PPSB filed its application to the court through an originating summons on Jan 30, 2009. "In its summons, PPSB claimed that it was in the business of facilitating the sale of UK land owned by Profitable Plots Pte Ltd – a Singaporean incorporation," the statement said. However CCM's investigations indicated that the company not only coordinated and managed the process with buyers to ensure that they gained legal deeds on the land they bought, but also directly sold the land to these buyers which it was not authorised to do so. Furthermore, CCM said these buyers also had to sign a 20-year-option agreement that they will not object to any planning development close to their property. Despite the action in Malaysia and Singapore, similar schemes are still being promoted via the Internet and at private "investment briefings" and through marketing agents. UK land registry's Westcott-Rudd advised investors to seek professional or legal advice before parting with their money.