Nu Skin Enterprises celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday with a fond look back at the company's growth and a look ahead to its aggressive goals for the future.
"Throughout our history, the Nu Skin dream has been achieved almost daily, and yet grows even faster today," said Nu Skin chairman Blake Roney. Roney was a keynote speaker at the first general session of Nu Skin's convention, which runs through Saturday at the Salt Palace and Delta Center. "When a large group of people of high values pursues a dream, it comes true."
To date, Roney said 380 people have become millionaires at Provo-based Nu Skin. The company has 150,000 executive-level distributors and has paid out $4 billion in commissions. Twenty Nu Skin distributors have earned more than $20 million over the past two decades.
Mark Burdge, Nu Skin's first distributor, said the same factors that motivated him to sign on with the company remain alive today.
"There aren't words to describe the feeling inside, to see what has become of the little dream of a few people who got together and said, 'We have an idea, we have a dream that centers around doing everything good and nothing bad, having the best ingredients and none of the bad, and helping people fulfill their dreams,' " Burdge said. "I can see that it worked. The dream became a reality."
During the fourth quarter of 2003, the direct sales company that specializes in personal care and nutritional products reported net income of $23.1 million, compared to $18 million for the fourth quarter of 2002. Revenue totaled $275.9 million, up from $250.2 million a year earlier.
"A lot of people thought we wouldn't celebrate a second anniversary, let alone a 20th," Roney said. "I assure you that the next 20 (years) will yield much larger success, in every way, than the last."
In the next two decades, Nu Skin will become the leading direct selling company in the world, Roney said.
"We only have to be 2 1/2 times our size to accomplish that," he said.
"But we'll do better than that. We'll be the largest 'force for good' business in the world. We do this through rewarding business opportunities, through innovative products and an enriching culture.
"We're about freedom. We're about improving other people's lives as we improve our own. We're about success and fulfillment."
The company will continue to expand its presence worldwide, focusing on emerging markets in China, Russia, Indonesia and India, said Truman Hunt, Nu Skin chief executive officer.
"Clearly, over the last 18 months, we've expended a lot of energy and accomplished good results," Hunt said. But, he said, "The growth we've seen in China needs to be reflected in all our markets."
The company also has become more visible locally, in part through its investment in the Nu Skin Theatre at the Delta Center, announced earlier this month. In coming weeks, the Nu Skin logo will be affixed above all the entrances to the arena, he said.
About 10,000 delegates attended the convention, including nearly 5,500 from Japan alone. At the conclusion of Hunt's remarks, those in attendance set a new world record for the biggest group to do the "twist" dance. The group, led by a handful of Nu Skin Jazz dancers, shimmied for five minutes.
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