| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: NUS |
| Industry | Personal care, nutraceuticals |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder(s) | Blake Roney, Steve Lund, Sandie Tillotson |
| Headquarters | Provo, Utah, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Blake M. Roney (Chairman) M. Truman Hunt (President, CEO, and Director) Ritch N. Wood (Vice President and CFO)[1] |
| Revenue | US$ 1.54 billion (2010)[2] |
| Operating income | US$ 217.062 million (2010)[2] |
| Net income | US$ 136.051 million (2010)[2] |
| Total assets | US$ 892.224 million (2010)[2] |
| Total equity | US$ 471.249 million (2010)[2] |
| Website | www.nuskin.com |
Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS) is an American direct selling company[3] that develops and distributes personal care products and nutritional supplements that are sold under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands.[4] Nu Skin was founded in 1984 in Provo, Utah.[5]
From its inception, Nu Skin International operated solely in the United States until 1990. During that time, the young company launched 18 products, ranging from moisturizers, enhancers, hair products and sunscreen[6].
The company began its first international operation in Canada in 1990. One year later, the company began operations in Asia with the opening of Hong Kong [7]. In 1992, Nu Skin’s 10-story high rise was completed [8] and still remains, to this day, a landmark in Provo, Utah[9]. In 1996 the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Initially only the Nu Skin Asia Pacific company was listed; however, shortly afterward all remaining company affiliates were sold to the new entity and Nu Skin Enterprises became a fully fledged public company.
Following a 1994 investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the company paid $1 million and signed a consent decree prohibiting it from making deceptive or unsubstantiated claims about its products.[10] In 1997, the company paid an additional $1.5 million to the FTC to settle ongoing allegations of unsubstantiated promotional claims.[11]
In 2010, the company reported its highest ever earnings with US$1.54 billion in revenue in 51 international markets.[2] As of 2011, Nu Skin operates in 51 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia.[12]
As of 2011, Nu Skin operates in 52 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. [13] The company sells more than 200 products ranging from skin and hair products, to their anti-aging flag ship ageLOC products [14]. Nu Skin maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) [15]. The company is also a member of the Direct Selling Association, (DSA), and the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) [16].
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Under the Nu Skin and Pharmanex brands, the company develops and sells dozens of anti-aging personal care products[17][18] that work to accomplish the same goal: to help people look and feel younger. [19]
Under the Nu Skin side of the business, the company provides hair, skin and cosmetic products. They also offer a full line of ageLOC products which claim to target the ultimate sources of aging that directly influence how people age. [20]
In 1996, Nu Skin acquired Pharmanex, a nuetrasutical company. [21] Pharmenex carries a weight loss line of products, various vitamins and dietary supplements, and a juice. [22]
A portion of proceeds from some product lines is donated internally to the Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation.[23] The company markets anti-aging dietary supplements under the Pharmanex brand.[24]
The nutritional supplement Pharmanex LifePak Anti-Aging was tested by ConsumerLab.com in their Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements Review of 38 of the leading multivitamin/multimineral products sold in the U.S. and Canada. Testing included amounts of selected index elements, their ability to disintegrate in solution per United States Pharmacopeia guidelines, lead contamination threshold set in California Proposition 65, and meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements.[25]
Although the supplement passed all laboratory tests, ConsumerLab reported the product as failing the overall review due to not clearly indicating its total amount of Vitamin A per FDA requirements.[26]
In 2011 two Utah incorporated business entities linked to top executives of Nu Skin each made $1 Million contributions to the Super PAC "Restore Our Future".[27] Restore our Future is a political action committee established by former aides to US presidential candidate Mitt Romney to support his bid for the White House.