17. Access Business Group
Ada, Michigan
www.accessbusinessgroup.com
Beauty sales: $1.6 billion (estimated)
Corporate sales: $6.3 billion

Key Personnel:

Al Koop, chief operating officer; David Ussery, president and representative director; Doug DeVos, president of Alticor Inc; Eva Cheng, executive vice president, Amway; Jim Payne, executive vice president, Alticor; Steve Van Andel, chairman, Alticor.

Products/Brands:

Artistry color cosmetics and skin care products, Satinique and Protique shampoos and conditioners, Lustertone hair color, E. Funkhouser New York, Tolsom men’s care products, Artistry Time Defiance microdermabrasion system and micro exfoliation cloths.

New Products:

Artistry Time Defiance skin care system. To be launched: Artistry Time Defiance 3D Lifting Serum and Artistry Dramage 14 skin care system.

Comments:

Sales declined slightly from $6.4 billion in 2005. Company officials attributed the drop to a period of regulatory uncertainty that slowed sales in China, the company’s largest direct selling market.

However, Amway (China) Co., Ltd., received its direct selling license December 1, 2006, leaving company officials optimistic that sales in China will rebound sharply. More than 70% of Amway’s sales come from Asia, with growth in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. Sales in Korea were up 4%, while Japanese sales declined.

Increases were also noted in Europe, where sales rose 42%, led by new markets in Russia and Ukraine. Latin America showed a solid performance overall. Last year, Alticor acquired Gurwitch Products, a luxury cosmetics and skin care company which develops and markets cosmetics under the Laura Mercier brand, from The Neiman-Marcus Group. Alticor intends to use knowledge gained with the Laura Mercier brand to further develop its Artistry brand. Artistry, a global prestige beauty brand, with more than 250 products, is the only direct-sell brand classified as prestige, with annual sales in excess of $1 billion.