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Monday, February 11, 2013

Melaleuca announces $1.13 billion in sales for 2012


Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot
Melaleuca announced Monday that its worldwide sales for 2012 were up 9.2 percent, amounting to $1.13 billion. The bulk of that growth occurred in the United States and Canada, although the Idaho Falls-based company has representatives selling household, health and wellness products in 16 countries.

Melaleuca started in 1985 with eight workers. When it posted its first million in sales the figure was written on a blackboard. In December, it announced it was building a new headquarters south of Idaho Falls. The cost then was estimated at $50 million, but it's more likely to be $60 million, CEO and President Frank VanderSloot said Monday.

Melaleuca's sales in the United States are now greater than Amway's, NuSkin, Herbalife and Shaklee. VanderSloot used the occasion of Monday's announcement to stress the difference between Melaleuca's consumer-direct marketing system and multi-level marketing, where inventories are sold from one level to the next.

No Melaleuca representative has ever wound up with a garage full of inventory he or she can't sell, he said. "Marketing executives refer customers directly to the company. We're the ones with the inventory, and the customer gets it directly from us."

None of this is terribly new information. "VanderSloot is insistent about not burdening new recruits with huge startup costs or a garageful of inventory," wrote Phyllis Bermann in a 2004 profile of VanderSloot that appeared in Forbes magazine.

VanderSloot said he rejected the multi-level business model early in 1985, and met with a considerable amount of scorn at the time. "They told me I would go broke, that we needed to sell case lots to make any money," VanderSloot said. "Yet here we are today. I think our 27-year history of consistent growth proves that consumer-direct marketing is superior to multi-level."

Dancing With The Idaho Falls Stars coming Feb. 20

I will be back on the Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium stage Feb. 20 to participate again in Dancing With The Idaho Falls Stars. This is no lie: I created quite a sensation last year, and I hope so to do again. I want people to say, "Wow, he's either got phenomenal nerve or he's the most ridiculous person I've ever seen."

It was a lot of fun, and it was particularly meaningful as my wife, Karen, was about to start chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. A year later she's got a full head of hair and is looking and feeling great. It is possible to fight cancer, but it takes a lot of courage and you need a mess of help.

If you want to donate in my name, here's a link to the American Cancer Society/Relay for Life page: http://www.relayforlife.org/. Or come by the Civic Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and I will personally shake you down.

Facebook likes benefit critters

Schatzi, slightly nervous
Here's a nice example of social media in action. If you like Teton Volkswagen's Facebook page between now and Feb. 25, owner Mario Hernandez and his black lab Buddy will donate $5 to the Snake River Animal Shelter. How hard is that? With help from my miniature dachshund, Schatzi (whom we adopted five years ago right about now), I've already done it. You can too. Here's the link to Teton VW on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/TetonVolkswagen?fref=ts.

Just because she's so darned cute, here's a picture of Schatzi, perched on the sofa. I would nominate her for mascothood, but she isn't terribly comfortable around strangers and she's even more ill at ease with children.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Third Carl's Jr. planned for Idaho Falls

Good news for everyone who loves juicy burgers: Carl's Jr. No. 3 is planned for Idaho Falls.
Carl's Jr. will be building a third restaurant in Idaho Falls, at the corner of West Broadway and Utah Avenue.

The city of Idaho Falls Engineering Department received a site plan Thursday for the project, showing details for a 3,177-square-foot restaurant and surrounding landscaping and parking. City departments will review the plans for compliance with city regulations. After that, the company will submit a plat for final approval.

Ever since the first two Carl's Jr. restaurants were built in Idaho Falls, in 2011 and 2012, there have been rumblings that a third was being planned on the site where Arctic Circle was.

Kelly Grieve, spokeswoman for CKE Restaurants, said the company doesn't have a date set for the opening. It is more than three months away, however, because that's how far their calendar looks forward, she said. CKE has 14 restaurants in Idaho.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

EITC Foundation eyes busy spring

Spring is approaching, which means it's getting to be a busy time for the Eastern Idaho Technical College Foundation.

Everything is prelude to the Great Race for Education in July, the fund-raiser of the year, but here's what's on the plate for the near term:

From Feb. 11 to March 11, you can donate canned food items at any building on campus, where boxes are being put inside the main building entrances. This is happening because Erika Rico, an EITC scholarship recipient, heard the Soup Kitchen on South Boulevard is serving more than 100 meals a day and was in need of donated food. Erika asked to partnered with the foundation to host a food drive.

On Feb. 21, EITC Foundation will host a Greater Idaho Falls Chamber Business After Hours from 5 to 7 p.m. at DB's Steakhouse, 216 First Street. All are welcome to attend this fun evening of appetizers and networking, regardless of Chamber member status.

On April 10, the foundation will hold its annual scholarship ceremony, a special evening where our benefactors and selected students come together to celebrate their collective community achievement. This happens from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Shilo Inn Convention Center.

For more information about EITC and the EITC Foundation, visit http://www.eitc.edu/