Amway Forever: The Amazing Story of a Global Business Phenomenon

Amway Forever: The Amazing Story of a Global Business Phenomenon (Wiley; August 2011) chronicles the history of a remarkable – and controversial -- retail success story. Founded in 1959 as a way for people to earn extra income selling soap and nutritional supplements, Amway has recently returned to public attention by way of extensive broadcast campaigns, along with a stream of controversies, that have made it office chatter around the nation and around the world. 

Despite stalling in the 1980s, in the last decade Amway has increased its export business to include more than eighty countries, generating $9 billion in sales and becoming one of the most profitable and powerful global retailers on earth. So, how did a direct selling company from the Mad Men–age keep pace with today's tough times, not only finding success, but thriving?

Delving into how innovation—particularly pioneering marketing tactics and sometimes questionable sales strategies—turned the company into an international powerhouse, Amway Forever presents the full story behind this hugely profitable business. Tracing Amway from its early days, through the growing pains of the '70s and '80s, and up to its recent reemergence across the globe, the book combines an historic perspective with a contemporary look at how the company has evolved. Offering an unbiased, unflinching look into one of the great business success stories of recent years, the book offers an investigative look at the history of Amway for the first time. 

Readers of this book will learn:

• How the company challenged the brick-and-mortar retail model, used social networking and sold direct long before the days of the Internet
• How technology became the driver for expansion; what worked and what didn’t
• Why and how Amway adapted its model and broke with its own selling traditions to succeed in other countries
• How the emphasis on forming relationships with customers and leveraging personal connections enabled Amway to break into markets in Asia
• How to succeed in China
• Where the most promising markets for direct marketing will be
• Amway’s plans to move into Africa and the Middle East
• Who succeeds in the direct selling business and who doesn’t – and why 

Amway Forever is an unbiased and level-headed examination over the decades of one of the nation's most remarkable business enterprises. Engaging and informative, Amway Forever looks at the real story behind how one company overcame the odds to reinvent itself for the twenty-first century.

About the Author

Kathryn A. Jones is an experienced business writer and editor. A freelance writer for the New York Times where she has written for the Business, Money, National, and Travel sections, and a former writer-at-large and current contributing editor for Texas Monthly, she has also written for Time, Life, The Dallas Morning News, and numerous other news outlets. In June 2011, Jones was awarded the Nancy Monson Freedom of Information Award presented by the Texas Press Association and Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. The award recognizes efforts to promote open government and using public records to serve the public good.