DeVos/Van Andel and Amway

Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel were raised in a Lutheran congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church

After graduating from high school they went into several businesses together –  they owned and operated a flying school, a restaurant, an import house, a door-to-door bakery delivery service, a mail-order firm, and a toy company

Both served in the Air Force during World War II

1949  They became distributors for Nutrilite (food supplements). They built a business over the next 10 years in which there were 5,000 distributors

1959  Nutrilite was on the verge of financial collapse. DeVos and Van Andel established their own company and invited their Nutrilite distributors to join them.

1959 They formed the Amway Sales Corporation and Amway Services Corporation

1964 their companies were consolidated into the American Way Association, later renamed Amway Corporation, with Van Andel as Chairman of the Board and DeVos as President

The corporation has always been privately owned by the DeVos and VanAndel families

The product line initially was based on marketing two of the first biodegradable detergent products sold in the United States as well as  other household cleaning products

Retail sales were half million dollars in 1959 to a half billion dollars by 1979, more than one billion dollars by the early 1980s, and over seven billion dollars by the late 1990s. Based on this rapid growth, Amway became one of the 300 largest industrial corporations in the United States, second only to Avon Products in the direct sales industry. Amway currently lists reports sales of four billion dollars annually in eighty nations

Amway has expanded its operations into international markets and diversified its product line to include not only beauty aids, toiletries, hosiery, and jewelry but also durable goods such as furniture, electronics products, automobiles, and even satellite dishes

1996 Stephen Van Andel and Richard DeVos, sons of the founders, take over leadership of the corporation

2000 Amway became a subsidiary of Alticor Corporation, which is also the parent of Quixtar (web based business) and Access Business Group (handles product development, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution services)

God intended humans to succeed and prosper

Free enterprise is a gift from God

America is God’s chosen nation

Founding generations of Americans experienced a degree of freedom and opportunity that has been lost

Families have been weakened by separation of home and work and dual careers

Amway offers a means of reintegrating work and family

Economic success creates personal freedom and fulfillment

The parent corporation operates as a supplier of distributorships, products, and services but not as a regulatory agency

Amway is organized as independent “distributorships”

Individual distributors purchase products from Amway but own and operate their own distributorships independently

No credentials and only a minimal financial investment are necessary to establish a distributorship

One becomes a distributor through sponsorship by an already established distributor

New distributors initially must purchase Amway products from their sponsors.

Economic success involves expanding the distributorship network

After maintaining a stipulated business volume for a prescribed period of time, new distributors may "go direct." Becoming a "Direct Distributor" makes one eligible to purchase products at wholesale cost directly from Amway
   
Once they have reached direct distributor status, individuals are able to increase their incomes through some combination of selling more Amway products themselves at retail prices, earning graduated bonuses based on sales volume, acting as wholesalers to new distributors who they sponsor, and receiving a percentage of the profits of distributors they sponsor
   
Beyond Direct Distributor, there is a system of ranks designated by precious stones  (Ruby, Pearl, Emerald, Diamond, Double Diamond, Triple Diamond, Crown, and Crown Ambassador)

Distributor networks operate as both extended “families” and business groups

In the “family-business,” the family is the business and the business is the family

Primary Rituals

Evangelization

Celebration