OpTree

Longaberger announced this past week that the company, famous for its hand woven baskets, will begin selling the American Home Pottery collection in just a month. The new collection which will include plates, bowls, and mugs will all be stamped with the words “Made in America,” and will be available to consumers March 1st.

Longaberger will continue to sell its current pottery line, which is made in Asia, but hopes the newest products will appeal to the many consumers who in these hard economic times have become conscious of buying American to help others stay employed and to strengthen and rebuild the economy.

The company’s new line of pottery will be made in three locations in the west and Midwest. For some unknown reason, the company is choosing to keep the location of these three facilities secret. The company said that are still working out details with suppliers and is open to adding additional pottery makers.

“Made in America matters,” company president and chief executive Tami Longaberger said in a press release. “Rebuilding our nation’s economy requires an investment in America and its workers. It is the right thing to do. It is what we’re about.”

Pottery accounts for about 15 percent of the company’s sales. While the new line of pottery will cost slightly more than the current line produced in Asia, the benefits of buying and supporting the made in the U.S. pottery, far out way the few extra bucks that you will spend on the products.

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With the United States having some major economic problems, and a record number of people losing their jobs, it’s no wonder that some direct sales companies are seeing sales and profit rise as those who need jobs and extra income are flocking to a variety of work-at-home opportunities

One company that is seeing record profits is Amway Global.  The Ada, Michigan based direct sales company says that they will see sales in excess of $8.2 billion dollars in 2008. At a recent ceremony at Helen DeVos Hospital, Co- Founder Rick DeVos made the announcement that the company will see record sales this year.

The $8.2 billion dollar figure is a 15% jump from sales in 2007, and that’s during what many are calling a nation-wide depression. While Amway Global is privately held and therefore does not release profitability figures they will make an official statement in the next week or so in regards to sales numbers.

One major reason for the huge jump in sales is the marketing blitz that the company went on during the last year. Commercials, print ads, and major concert sponsorships have put the brand on the global radar. Just in the last year, Amway has partnered with Tina Turner, John Tesh and soccer superstar Ronaldinho among others in promoting Amway products. Amway has also retired the Quixtar brand used in the U.S. and Canada and promoted the re-invention of Amway Global in those regions through high profile spots on major television networks and in print ads.

It will be interesting in the next few weeks to hear from Amway Global leaders give more detail about sales figures, marketing campaigns and future plans to promote the brand.

Amway is one of the few companies that have been smart enough to up their advertising and marketing spending during an economic downturn. Amway understands the benefit of reaching people during these turbulent times to offer products the people want and educate the people about the opportunity that becoming part of the Amway Global family can provide.

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The peanut recall seems to keep growing every week with more and more companies recalling products with peanuts, peanut butter and peanut paste. The network marketing industry has recentally fallen victim to the salmonella outbreak as well and Isagenix  is the latest company to have to issue a recall.

The health and nutrition company has just recalled their Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut IsaLean Bar because the bar contains peanut based ingrediants that were manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America, (PCA) the plant that has been identified as the source of the salmonella outbreak.

Isagenix is no longer using PCA as a peanut ingredient supplier, however many of the bars out there today were made with peanut products from PCA and therefore, as a precaution Isagenix has ordered the voluntary recall.

The recall only applies to that one bar and does not apply to the Chocolate Crunch bar or the Peanut Crunch bar.

Isagenix says that thus far they have received no reports of illness due to their products. The recall is voluntary and is in accordance with FDA guidelines regarding peanut products made using PCA as a supplier.

Isagenix issued a statement about the recall saying, Consumer safety is our number one priority, along with other major bar manufacturers and keeping in line with the recommendations FDA, we are urging all customers who have purchased or are in possession of the Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut Bar with the above mentioned lot numbers to immediately destroy them. If you have distributed any of the affected products, please immediately contact those accounts/customers, advise them of the recall and instruct them to immediately destroy them. Customers seeking a replacement bar for the above lot numbers are being asked to call an Isagenix representative at 1-877-877-8111 and a replacement product will be issued.

While the company claims that no illnesses have been reported….this weekend while on vacation, I met a woman who did indeed get salmonella poisoning from the Isagenix bar. Remember, many of these illnesses go unreported. Don’t take any chances. If you have any of these Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut bars, dispose of them and don’t risk getting sick!

Popularity: 8% [?]

USANA Health Sciences gave their investors a look at some preliminary financials last week after the company received some news that had an effect on its fourth quarter. Usana said they expected to report a profit of 56 cents a share before one time adjustments when they release fourth quarter results next month. Those profits will likely fall to around 16 cents a share after the company is forced to fork over a hefty sum as a result of a tax audit by the IRS.

Because Usana is publicly traded company (NasdaqGS: USNA), they are required to keep its shareholders in the loop about events that could have an impact on the value of their investments. The company didn’t want to wait until next month to release the news but we did provide a sneak peak of their promise a few months back.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Yates said “We are trying to fulfill that obligation by communicating as openly and as timely as it is possible to be.”

The IRS audit of tax statements for the years of 2003-2006 found that Usana owed more taxes to the government than they had paid. Usana has subtracted $1.8 million from quarterly profits to account for the ruling, but the final impact of the ruling could be much greater and could reach as much as $10 million dollars after Usana exhausts its appeals. And that wasn’t the only bad financial news the company received this year……

The company just recently lost a battle against a distributor who was fired in 2003 after allegedly breaching a contract with the company. An arbitrator found in favor of the distributor and ruled that he is entitled to approximately $7million dollars in lost compensation.

Usana will announce full fourth quarter results next month although early reports suggest that net sales will be down quite a bit from last year along with profit, revenue and share price.

Popularity: 10% [?]