Company Spotlight
September 2010
Arbonne: Beauty, Botanicals and a Business That Just Keeps Growing
Since Arbonne UK was launched just three years ago, its botanically based skincare products have had a huge impact, with sales hitting record levels month after month. Features writer MADELINE CLARK caught up with UK General Manager Vicky Beckett to find out more about Arbonne’s products, the key people behind its success and its plans for expanding into Europe.
Product fact fileDespite being relative newcomers to the UK, Arbonne recently won two categories in the prestigious UK Beauty Awards announced on June 25 at The London Clothes Show. Arbonne’s FC5 Moisturising Night Cream won Best New Skin Care Product Mass Market award and its SeaSource Detox Spa 5-in-1 Essential Massage Oil won the Best New Body Care Product Mass Market category. There were 13 categories altogether. Another top product that has received a lot of media coverage is the popular Arbonne Cosmetics Makeup Primer. This has been the company’s number one seller in the UK since it was launched last year. It is used to provide a smooth canvas beneath makeup and is suitable for any age group. Arbonne also has a whole range of products coming this autumn in the run up to Christmas which don’t normally appear in its regular catalogue but which make perfect Christmas gifts. |
Though Arbonne has only been operating in the UK since 2007, the company as a whole is currently celebrating its 30th year.
The company was launched by Norwegian entrepreneur Petter Mørck, whose dream was to create a range of botanically based products unrivalled in quality.
Petter Mørck got together a team of herbalists, biochemists and biologists, who initially developed the products in Switzerland. He then took the company across to the U.S. where he felt there would be greater marketing potential, and the company has gone from strength to strength ever since. As well as expanding into the UK, the company also now operates in Canada and Australia.
“Within the UK we now have more than 8,000 Arbonne Independent Consultants registered with the business and 700,000 Consultants globally,” UK General Manager Vicky Beckett points out. “And despite the recession, the company has been experiencing year on year growth. For some months we have had 100 per cent increases on prior months, which is really outstanding.”
She adds: “Success has come very quickly for us and we have some very talented leaders – 14 of whom are now driving around in white Mercedes-Benz. There are plans to look at expansion into Europe, but so far nothing is set in stone.”
One of the company’s biggest challenges is keeping up with changing trends and demands. Consequently, its best selling, anti-aging skincare line was recently given a complete overhaul. The revamped line was introduced in March, and sales have been booming ever since.
Vicky explains: “The overhaul of the RE9 range, resulting in the launch of RE9 Advanced, was basically about updating and reformulating this top selling range to include innovative new products. This was followed by a new men’s anti-aging range launched on July 1. We have also introduced a whole new makeup range, called Arbonne Cosmetics. So this year has seen significant product launch activity and investment in new products at a time when many companies are not doing this.”
The revamp of the anti-aging line has had a very positive impact on sales across all countries, as the new formulations give quicker, more dramatic results. “We can now claim that there are visible results in 24 hours,” Vicky says. “You, obviously, can’t say that unless you have some clinical data to back up that claim, which we do have.”
Arbonne’s latest secret weapon in the development of new products is Dr. Peter Matravers, who joined the company over a year ago as Senior Vice President of Product Development. “Dr. Matravers has a fantastic career history and is developing new innovative formulas and new ingredients to make some great new product lines,” explains Vicky. “Prior to joining us he worked for Aveda, which is part of the Estee Lauder group. People in the business know him and know he has a very good reputation. He is the person who developed our new formulas and our 24-hour visible results cream. He has ensured we get products to markets quicker, responding to trends and needs.”
Another key figure who will play a key role in the company’s success in the future is new Chief Marketing Officer in the U.S., Adriana Lynch, who previously worked for Procter & Gamble. “Adriana has come in like a whirlwind,” Vicky says. “As she has come from outside the direct selling industry, she has been able to add a very different perspective to the business to make us consumer friendly as well as Consultant friendly. As she also has international experience, she is able to see more clearly where we need to go to appeal not only to the Consultant side of the business but also to increase our retail side of the business and make people more aware of our products.
“Adriana is very pro PR. Her philosophy is that if you have great products and great data why would you not be telling people about it? We are now being a bit more aggressive in our marketing approach as a result.”
Due to the company’s success internationally, its mother company in the U.S. is now tailoring its annual conference for 2011 to reflect a more global approach. The conference is usually held in March in Las Vegas and has now been moved to January 2011 as a Global Training Conference, with hundreds of Consultants from the UK expected to turn up for the event.
Vicky points out that what sets Arbonne’s products apart is that they are very much a premium brand, most akin to brands such as Clarins, Clinique or Lancome. “Our Swiss heritage is very important because we have continued to expand our product offerings with an unwavering commitment to quality and to being pure, safe and beneficial,” she explains. “We are also very protective about the formulations of products because they are botanically based and inspired by nature. They are prestige products that you won’t find elsewhere.”
Vicky adds: “Another important point is that our products really do work and you can see visible results. People may be a bit sceptical of the industry at first; but once they’ve tried the products and believe in them, they believe in the business as well.
“Meanwhile, in terms of our compensation packages, we really do have a very generous plan and have Consultants who work their business full-time. We don’t force Consultants to have a certain number of people on their teams as some other companies do. There is more emphasis on volume, and if our top-level leaders achieve certain criteria, they will get paid on six generations. That is quite significant, because I don’t know of any other company which is this generous.”
Vicky believes new Consultants are initially attracted to the business through its products. “Women love to talk about products that work, so referrals and recommendations are very important,” she stresses. “We also have a very good support system. Much of our ordering is done online, so we have an excellent website. Registration can be done online and we also have excellent training and support materials. I think people also join us because they like the idea of being part of something that is growing and can build great friendships. There is also a great sense of family within Arbonne.”
Vicky adds: “We also have very good order fill rates in terms of products. We have a service agreement in the UK of delivery within 40 hours, but people usually get their products within 24 hours.
“We also have very successful men in our business. I think men often approach their contacts through the business side rather than talking about products, but are then very good at building teams of people who are strong on products.”
A powerful influence within the business on a global level is the President of the company in the U.S., Rita Davenport, who Vicky describes as ‘one of the most inspirational people you could meet’. “At one time she was a TV celebrity in the U.S. and had her own TV show,” Vicky explains. “Rita was originally a Consultant herself and has been with the company for more than 20 years. She understands the Consultants because she has experienced everything first-hand herself. One of her key slogans is: ‘With Arbonne, you are in business for yourself but not by yourself’. She is very supportive and is seen as a mentor for people. She takes hundreds of telephone calls a week and is very accessible.”
Vicky is convinced the company’s online presence has been a very important factor in the company’s success story. “I think we were ahead of a lot of other companies in terms of how people could order, how they could join the business and how they could find out about us, all online,” she says. “The fact that Consultants are able to have their own replicating website is also a bonus. We now have a huge social media presence. Arbonne UK has been on Twitter and Facebook for the last two years, so we were way ahead of the U.S. on that. Right from the word go we have been very involved with the internet as a business tool. We have now joined up our Facebook and Twitter with the U.S., so we are truly international.”
Meanwhile, the company attracts people of all ages and has just appointed a new UK Regional Vice President, Emma McFarlan, who is just 24 years old and was recently awarded her white Mercedes-Benz as her reward for being a top leader.
“All of her communication is done through social media and she has come out of university so has a lot of university friends,” Vicky says. “She is now building her own team of young people. She is a role model for young people, and her success demonstrates that the direct selling industry is not all about people who are 35 plus.”
One challenge the company faces on a regular basis is ensuring its website is kept up to date. “We need to get more tools online to support our Consultants as we grow internationally,” she says. “We are also going to need more local tools. Of course, when we move into Europe, we are also going to have to consider additional language issues as well.”
Vicky believes direct selling regulations are vitally important to give credibility to any growing company, and Arbonne is proud of its links with the DSA. In March this year Arbonne Consultant Caroline McFarlan won a DSA award for Recruitment Excellence, giving recognition to Caroline’s outstanding success in recruiting downline.
“Caroline has more than 4,000 people in her downline,” Vicky points out. “She has a huge chunk of the business and she donates a proportion of her earnings to her chosen charity – The Sunshine Coaches – which provides outings for sick, disabled or disadvantaged children. Caroline has just handed over the keys for a brand new vehicle to an establishment in Scotland.”
Vicky adds: “The secret of the company’s success really is all about the people. We have some really fantastic, inspirational people, who really make a difference, who work hard and who love the products they are selling, which is why they initially join us.
“Our philosophy is that ‘we are dedicated to bringing beauty, health and prosperity into your life and the lives of others’. We have also just had a brand new company video made and the strapline is, ‘It’s your time’. It’s all about it being your time to shine, your chance to be part of the future.
“The Arbonne experience can be quite life-changing for people. We have so many success stories where people have not only made their own lives better, but where this has also impacted other people.”
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