Usana Health Sciences associates will be forgetting the stock price, ignoring the critics, and dismissing Nasdaq problems while they celebrate 15 years in business.
More than 8,000 associates are attending the annual Usana convention, which began Wednesday, and they are here with an almost defiant optimism and pride in their company. Despite a spate of recent bad press, the associates are here because they believe in Usana, said spokesman Dan Macuga, and are excited about five years of continued growth.
"This has been more of a rallying cry," Macuga said. The associates "want to get out there and show people these allegations are not true."
Along with seminars, attendees will also play in a golf tournament, participate in a 5K fund-raiser, and attend the private "USANAfest," featuring REO Speedwagon, Juice Newton and Collin Raye, at the company's amphitheater.
There are new products on display, including one "that will change how vitamins are taken," Macuga said. The company is also opening its new earth-friendly office tower and parking structure at its headquarters.
For their part, Usana associates were upbeat and mostly shrugged off the company's headline-grabbing problems. They pointed to the continued strength of the company's earnings, their constantly expanding network, and their 15 years in business.
"We just came off our best quarter in company's history," said Ken Tice of San Diego. "So we're very happy and not concerned at all."
Usana, based in West Valley, is a multilevel marketing company that distributes health supplement products through independent distributors. Those associates earn money through commission on the products they sell and from people they recruit into the program.
The structure has come under fire, especially at the hands of Barry Minkow, an independent investigator, who started the Fraud Discovery Institute after spending time in prison for securities and tax fraud. On his Web site, he has posted reports and videos detailing ways in which he alleges Usana executives scam associates and pocket most of the company's earnings.
Minkow's investigations, while vehemently denied by Usana (they also sued him in federal court, claiming he profited by short-selling Usana stock shortly before releasing his reports) have gained more credence nationally in recent months because of stories in mainstream media outlets such as Forbes.
The company is also facing a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel after it filed a quarterly report earlier this month that was not audited. The company said that its auditor resigned about a month before the report was due, and they could not find a new one in time for the report.
"There's a time frame in which we need to find an auditor and file an audited report, and we know we will meet it," Macuga said.
Since December, the company's stock price has dropped from over $60 to under $40. It closed at $38.20, up 43 cents, on Wednesday.
Contributing: Associated Press
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com