Interesting news development today. Blyth, Inc., a publicly traded company has just completed the 3rd of 4 phases in the acquisition of Visalus.
Here’s the news article talking about the acquisition: PR Newswire.
So this brings up some interesting questions for the Distributors. And just to be clear, this is not an article to bash Visalus, it’s owners, nor Blyth, Inc. It’s just to point out some observations I’ve had and ask some questions that came to my mind.
As you know, with a publicly traded company, the shareholders call the shots. When times get lean (and they will for Visalus, no company is immune to that), who is going to get paid first? The Shareholders or the Distributors? You got it, the Shareholders. And where will that money come from? The checks of the Distributors!
One of the paragraphs from the article that I found very telling was this one:
All three company co-founders, Ryan Blair, Chief Executive Officer; Blake Mallen, Chief Marketing Officer; and Nick Sarnicola, top sales leader, have agreed to stay on with ViSalus in their current roles. The founders personally invested $14.6 million from the proceeds of the acquisition in restricted stock of parent company Blyth, Inc., making them the largest inside shareholders after the Goergen family.
Now that Ryan Blair, Blake Mallen and Nick Sarnicola are shareholders of Blyth, Inc. (and I might add, the 2nd largest shareholders), who do they answer to? Where do their best interests lie?
Don’t get me wrong here, in my opinion I think that Ryan, Blake and Nick are brilliant, upstanding guys, but I think the stakes have changed for Visalus. To me it appears that those three are not the final decision makers any longer and can no longer can put the distributors first in any financial decisions.
That brings me to another point that I’m concerned about. Visalus has had tremendous growth the last year. That growth is both a blessing and a potential caution for the distributors. What happens when Visalus becomes a household name? Will Visalus need the distributors any longer? It’s happened before… A company with a word-of-mouth distributor based business model gets big enough that
they don’t need the distributors any longer and convert to a retail sales business model.
Now, I know you are probably saying that they wouldn’t do that or even that they can’t do that. Unfortunately, they can. You should take a look at the Policies and Procedures of Visalus, which is the binding agreement between the Distributors and the company. It’s all spelled out there in black and white what they can do.
If you’re a Distributor with Visalus and need help going through your policies, I can certainly help you with that. You should know what you’ve signed and how it binds you to the agreement.
Last but certainly not least, in the Policies and Procedures of Visalus, Distributors are forbid to be in any other Network Marketing company. Here’s the clause:
24. During the term of this agreement (and any renewals) I will not participate in any other network marketing companies. In addition, during the terms of the Agreement and for (1) one year thereafter, I will not solicit or recruit, ViSalus employees or Promoters, whether active or inactive, to participate in any network marketing program. I acknowledge that my violation of this provision will result in immediate termination of my Promotorship and payments of any kind.

What’s interesting about this in my mind, is that Blyth, Inc. with the acquisition of Visalus, now owns 2 Network Marketing companies. Visalus and PartyLite, a direct seller of candles, fragrance accessories and home ambiance products. So that sounds like what’s good for the Goose is not good for the Gander. It’s all about Integrity folks.
Again, please don’t get me wrong. I think Visalus is a great company and boy do they know how to market. I’m just concerned about some things I’m seeing. And just to be clear here, this article is just MY personal opinion and questions I would ask if I were in Visalus or considering joining them as a Distributor.
Something that my personal Mentor Michael Dlouhy has taught me is to learn HOW to think, not WHAT to think. He taught me to become a critical thinker. Personally, I wouldn’t want to build something for a few years only to see it taken out from under me. I’d hate to have to start all over. Something to think about.
With that said, I hope you have a blessed day and find success wherever you seek it!
Take care,
David Haines
(215) 268-6696 Anytime!
P.S. If you want to learn how to be a critical thinker, enter your info in the form on the top right of this page.















