13 unexpected things you should know before joining Vorwerk

These guys are like the Coca-Cola of network marketing. Except the German version and without the flashy marketing campaigns.

They’ve gotten seriously huge – up there with Avon and Amway. But does this mean I’m involved with this German MLM?

This video explains everything:

Make sense? Either way, here’s 13 unexpected things you should know before joining Vorwerk.

#13. A German institution

Vorwerk is headquartered in Wuppertal, Germany.

They’ve been around for a long, long time – since 1883.

Like, they’ve been around longer than cars. They’ve certainly carved a stable position for themselves in MLM. But can they evolve with the times?

#12. Over half a million distributors

Vorkwerk has over 580,000 distributors, as well as 12,000 full-time employees.

They’re massive. They currently operate in over 70 countries. [1]

#11. U.S. subsidiary company JAFRA Cosmetics

Their US-based subsidiary company JAFRA Cosmetics actually makes up a huge portion of their sales.

546,000 of their 580,000 distributors work for this subsidiary. [2]

#10. Annual revenues in the billions

That’s right, billions.

Their revenue for 2014 was posted at 2.8 billion Euro. Those are insane numbers. [3]

Clearly there’s money to go around, but how far down the pyramid does it really trickle?

#9. Started with the gramophone, rose to fame with a vacuum cleaner

After World War One, Vorwerk started producing gear units and motors for gramophones.

Then, radio was invented, and in the 1920s its popularity skyrocketed, all but killing the gramophone entirely. [4]

One particularly inventive chief engineer at Vorwerk took one of the gramophone motors, tweaked and worked on it, and turned it into a high-performing vacuum cleaner.

Vorwerk then decided to switch to vacuum cleaner direct sales and saw great success, selling half a million units by 1937 and one million by 1953. They focused on carpet, vacuum, and upholstery sales until the 1960s. [5]

#8. Diversification into the services sector

In the 1974 they started the Hectas Facility Services division, and around the same time they expanded into household products, offering the Thermomix food processor.

#7. Carpeting and vacuum cleaners still their biggest division

They’re still most known for the two products that got them started in the first place: carpet and vacuum cleaners. They have four divisions as follows…

Kobold, which produces these products, is their biggest moneymaker.

Vorwerk Kitchen Products, such as the food processor, are still decent money-makers as well.

Jafra Cosmetics and body products make up the majority of their U.S. sales.

Lux Asia Pacific sells household products in Asia.

#6. Global production

Apart from being sold in over 70 countries, they’ve also got a number of production centers in various locations.

They produce Vorwerk products in France, Italy, China, and Germany. [6] Jafra products are produced in California and Mexico. [7] Lux Asia Pacific is headquartered in Singapore and produced in the Philippines.

So, not only do their sales reach around the globe, but they’ve also got a massive international infrastructure system set up to support their global expansion even further.

#5. They’re a DSN Global 100 company

Not only did they make DSN’s Global 100 list of the top performing MLMs in the world, but they made the top 5.

Along with Amway, Avon, Herbalife, and Infinitus, they became one of the top 5 MLMs in the world in terms of revenue, totaling in the billions ($3.9 billion to be exact). Only 20 MLMs in the world have even hit over $1 billion in revenue at all. [8]

#4. Compensation plan…doesn’t exist?

Usually you can find the compensation plans for MLMs, even if they’re nearly unintelligible or take some digging to get to.

But Vorwerk? They don’t offer theirs anywhere. It’s literally nowhere to be found. Apparently you have to sign on as a distributor to find out what kind of money you’d be making, which really doesn’t make much sense, does it?

If an MLM offers a good compensation plan, they’re probably going to publish. I can only assume that theirs is nothing astounding if they aren’t willing to disclose it.

#3. Vacuum cleaning parties?

They certainly have a unique product going for them, especially in direct sales, where we all get real tired of seeing the same old mediocre cosmetics and latest nutritional supplements that aren’t backed by any science.

There’s nothing gimmicky about a vacuum cleaner. It’s almost endearing.

But it’s certainly not sexy.

Can you imagine yourself having fun peddling vacuum cleaners? I don’t know…

#2. Multiple different business opportunities

Although they don’t disclose much in the way of income information, Vorwerk offers more than just your typical distributor sign-on opportunity. They actually have a handful of different ways you can get involved.

You can apply for one of their apprenticeships or internships. Right now they have a handful open.

You can apply for one of their student internships while you’re in college, which include practical business knowledge like marketing, business development, and IT management.

You can apply for an entry-level position as a recent college graduate or for one of their full-time positions for experienced professionals.

Finally, you can join their direct sales team and sell for either Kobold (their carpet and vacuum cleaner line), Thermomix (their food processor), or Jafra (their cosmetics). [9]

It looks like you do have to be fluent in German for all but the final position.

#1. Jafra sign-on kits start at $49

Their lowest level sign-on kit, the starter business kit, is only $49 with Jafra, which isn’t bad considering it includes $298 worth of product.

You can also go with the Professional Business Kit for $99 or the Royal Business Kit for $129 (it comes with tons of product and samples). Not bad.

Unfortunately, their products look and sound a lot like what you’d find still cluttered in your grandma’s vanity from 20 years ago. There’s really nothing special about their design or their function. [10]

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So they’ve been around forever and have a solid brand foundation. Does this mean you can make money with Vorwerk though? It’s a stretch.

But if you like automated ways to build passive income, there are better ways.

(and you can trash those old MLM habits, too)

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