Arbonne International, the anti-aging skincare behemoth, announced that they would be letting 95 workers go because of the economy.
Arbonne International experienced tremendous growth in 2005 – 2007. However, with many Arbonne distributors calling it a day, that growth is now reversing and many consultants are walking away.
This led to the layoff of 95 workers at one of their main facilities, citing that there wasn’t enough work to keep them all busy. The really sad thing is that Arbonne remains dedicated to the “friends and family” party model of business. As other marketing tools have appeared over the years, Arbonne has continually refused to look at alternatives to home parties. Hopefully, this incident will provide the impetus for Arbonne to give a more serious look at home party alternatives and get their growth back on track.
December 30th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Thank you for this post. As an Arbonne consultant, I see via the demographic report information available when logged in to my account that Arbonne has gone from 67,000+ consultants in January 2007 to 23,000+ consultants by November 2008. The attrition rate is unbelievable. No wonder Arbonne is floundering and having financial problems. Avon and Mary Kay are growing their rep base while Arbonne has lost 66% of its consultants in about 22 months. Shocking.
The Harvest Partners (private equity company which owns Arbonne) debt bonds for Arbonne are trading at $.37 on the dollar which basically means the bond market has little expectation of the return of the bond principal being paid when the bonds are due in about 5 years. As a consultant, I am dismayed of the downward spiral of Arbonne. I fear the company’s viability is over and can no longer survive.
December 30th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
odličan i zanimljiv blog !
pozdrav iz Hrvatske (Croatia)
December 30th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
It amazes me that Arbonne refuses to at least try an alternative to the parties. In this current economy it’s the companies that are willing to be flexible that will survive.
Wow, looking at the attrition rate Cindy posted! That’s irresponsible for Arbonne to get those numbers on their desk each month and not consider making changes.
Thanks for posting this.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Thanks for the information. I was thinking of becoming a consultant. Maybe Arbonne can explore other areas for their consultants to keep the workers manufacturing the products.
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:12 pm
What is the reason for so many distributors giving up on this? Maybe they can step back and see what their competitionis doing to keep their success rate up, and see if they could implement some similar strategies.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:56 am
That is so sad. I have heard that Avon and Tupperware are also hurting, but then again, who is not hurting in this economy today. I hope that the 95 people let go are able to find work quickly. I know here in Ohio the turnaround time for a new job is months not weeks.
January 19th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Not surprising, people are just not buying personal luxuries these days, and I know many who are tired of being invited to \"parties\" where they are expected to buy stuff.
January 27th, 2009 at 1:48 am
I am not suprised at this as Arbonne made such fake claims about their products. They should not have touted they were so “natural” when they were just marginally better than what you buy on store shelves. Plus the fact you had to be a party person or rep to get thir products.
March 6th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
According to a cosmetic industry press release, anti-aging cosmetics are projected to grow by 20% through 2013. Baby-boomers will not compromise their looks even in this economy. In my organization with NoevirUSA, sales for 2008 increased by 24%. Company wide sales have been growing steadily over the last 5 years with no down-turn in sight. This year is looking to be very prosperous with new consultants coming on even more eagerly than last year. If sales are down in this industry, it is not the economy and it is not that women are holding onto their money–so it must be something else.
September 16th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Nu Skin Enterprises sales are continuing to go up and we are about to take another huge leap with the introduction of our new “transformation” line of ageLOC products. In fact, the editor of Vogue magazine just was quoted saying, “The skin care industry will never be the same again.”
I am looking for leaders to join my sales team.
October 28th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Thank you for the post. In this harsh economy, with people losing jobs everyday (and finding a job takes months), it’s difficult to spend on luxuries. Everyone is in survival mode and people are adhering tightly to their budget just to get through the day (let alone the week…the month). I love Arbonne’s products. For me, it’s the only product line that my skin loves. I’m almost 40yrs old but everyone thinks i’m my son’s older sister in college. But, I made the painful decision to cut back on my Arbonne spending when I lost my job earlier this year. I’m looking at affordable alternatives — like Avon. I had to make this adjustment if we’re going to keep the roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our back. I think consumers will still spend on skin care even in this tough economy. After all, we jobseekers still have to look good for that interview. But consumers will be shopping very wisely. And if a consumer wants exclusive products (i.e. can’t do drugstore or department store products) the next best thing is Avon — affordable and high quality products at reasonable prices. Face it….that’s the reality — times are hard and consumers are adapting to it. [DISCLAIMER: I am not an Avon consultant. Just a consumer who's trying to make ends meet while taking care of my skin.]
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May 28th, 2010 at 9:00 am
I am really appriciate your website and which is used to get the required product what I expected. But no one like to buying self richness product now a days. Any way really thanks for this types of informations.
June 11th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
The layoff is becoming a serious problem to social security as it increases the number of jobless people. There should be something like rehabilitation centres for the laid off people to secure back their emotional strength and to cope up with the situations ahead boldly taking it for granted as a matter of the era.
June 27th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Thanks for the article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
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