Quixtar Opportunity

Opportunity Knocks

As previously reported, Larry Harper has departed for Mexico where he will be Director of Sales & Marketing for the Latin America affiliate.  He will be sorely missed here, but what a great opportunity for him!

In just a couple weeks, we will welcome Larry back again, however, for a goodbye party.  I believe it will have a little Mexican flair. . . just a guess.  Meanwhile, Larry's opportunity has led to an opportunity for Todd Krause to step into a new leadership role as Director of Sales for Quixtar.  Todd already was a Manager in the Sales Division and has worked with some of the top IBO organizations, so he's well prepared for his new role.  On top of that, he's a great guy.

In the announcement of Todd's promotion, his record of championing change, building strong relationships with IBO organizations and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships between the company and IBOs were cited as components for "a strong foundation from which to lead the Sales team."

Congratulations Todd!  You'll do a great job for Quixtar, for IBOs, and for the business opportunity we share.

Health & Beauty Opportunity

The October issue of Internet Retailer includes some great predictions about the growth of e-commerce.  In particular, Forrester Research predicts that online sales of Health and Beauty products will grow by 22% in the next five years, hitting $7.8 billion by 2010 (up from $2.9 billion this year). 

That's great news for Quixtar, which already is the online sales leader for Health and Beauty products, led by NUTRILITE vitamins, ARTISTRY skin care and cosmetics, XS Sports Nutrition, and the introduction of NAO never accept ordinary cosmetics last month.  Internet Retailer ranked Quixtar #1 in Health & Beauty online sales earlier this year, and #14 among all e-commerce companies.

Forrester says growth has slowed in the number of homes shopping online, with nearly two-thirds of all households already making purchases.  That means that 2 out of 3 households are Web-ready and, quite possibly, ready for a business of their own. 

Opportunity to Give Back

Quixtar and its parent company, Alticor, have provided its employees and IBOs numerous opportunities to give back to the community.  It really is quite impressive.  For instance, this past weekend employees and IBOs were invited to participate in the first ever "Walk With Me" event to benefit Easter Seals in West Michigan.  Quixtar sponsors these events nationwide, but this was the first time one was held in West Michigan.

The recent hurricanes to strike the Gulf State region have provided additional opportunities for Quixtar employees and IBOs to help others.  About $200,000 has already been contributed at Quixtar.com to benefit American Red Cross relief efforts, with Alticor matching dollar for dollar (which will continue until the $250,000 mark).  Plus, Alticor gave another $250,000 to benefit relief efforts and more than $1 million in products so far.   Alticor founder Rich DeVos has contributed very generously on his own, and IBOs have contributed generously to many organizations.

Next week the first employee relief trip hits the road, and by the end of November more than 250 employees and their family members will have participated in company relief trips. 

The people of Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas remain in the thoughts and prayers of employees and IBOs across the U.S. and Canada.  Next week, many employees will pull on their leather gloves and put their hands to work where there hearts have already been this past month.