Amway Made China a Billion-Dollar Market. Now It Faces a Crackdown.
- 6 years ago
Amway Made China a Billion-Dollar Market. Now It Faces a Crackdown.
In May 2016, the office sent a letter to complainants saying
that there was evidence of wrongdoing and that the region’s top two distributors, a husband-and-wife team, Tang Jinsong and Zhao Yufang, "are suspected of operating a pyramid scheme." "To climb to the top, you need a team of distributors under you," said Liu Jianhong, another former distributor, who provided the letter to The Times.
Ms. Zhao, one of the top distributors, dismissed the accusations
and said she and her husband, Mr. Tang, had done everything "entirely in accordance with the company’s system, according to the company’s operating model and under the oversight of the company." The aggrieved distributors, she added, were responsible for any debts they built up.
In Amway’s Beijing center, a reporter with The New York Times listened as Big Brother Feng detailed sales tactics
that would violate Chinese law if used, promising that new recruits could earn more as they recruited others.
Two companies, Herbalife and Usana Health Sciences, disclosed last year
that they faced investigations in the United States for their operations in China under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits American companies from bribing foreign officials.
In one Chinese province, however, the conduct of some Amway sales distributors prompted an investigation, one
that the victims say was squelched by local officials, including at least one with ties to the company.
8, 2018
LANZHOU, China — Feng Gang stood in front of 150 people in a conference hall in Beijing
that Amway, the American marketing giant, calls its flagship "experience center." Introduced endearingly as Big Brother, he pitched the company’s newest product to an audience of recruits — men and women, young and old, one a street sweeper still in his orange municipal jumpsuit.
In May 2016, the office sent a letter to complainants saying
that there was evidence of wrongdoing and that the region’s top two distributors, a husband-and-wife team, Tang Jinsong and Zhao Yufang, "are suspected of operating a pyramid scheme." "To climb to the top, you need a team of distributors under you," said Liu Jianhong, another former distributor, who provided the letter to The Times.
Ms. Zhao, one of the top distributors, dismissed the accusations
and said she and her husband, Mr. Tang, had done everything "entirely in accordance with the company’s system, according to the company’s operating model and under the oversight of the company." The aggrieved distributors, she added, were responsible for any debts they built up.
In Amway’s Beijing center, a reporter with The New York Times listened as Big Brother Feng detailed sales tactics
that would violate Chinese law if used, promising that new recruits could earn more as they recruited others.
Two companies, Herbalife and Usana Health Sciences, disclosed last year
that they faced investigations in the United States for their operations in China under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits American companies from bribing foreign officials.
In one Chinese province, however, the conduct of some Amway sales distributors prompted an investigation, one
that the victims say was squelched by local officials, including at least one with ties to the company.
8, 2018
LANZHOU, China — Feng Gang stood in front of 150 people in a conference hall in Beijing
that Amway, the American marketing giant, calls its flagship "experience center." Introduced endearingly as Big Brother, he pitched the company’s newest product to an audience of recruits — men and women, young and old, one a street sweeper still in his orange municipal jumpsuit.