Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF), the multilevel marketer of protein shakes and bars, nutritional vitamins and different merchandise, on Wednesday reported a modest improve in fourth-quarter gross sales over the earlier yr.
For the three months that ended on Dec. 31, gross sales rose 2.9% to $1.2 billion. It was the fourth consecutive quarter that “gross sales developments” improved yr over yr, the worldwide vitamin firm mentioned in its annual outcomes.
Yr over yr, Herbalife’s gross sales within the third quarter declined 1.1%, fell 5.7% within the second quarter, and dipped 6.3% within the first quarter.
For the 2023 yr, Herbalife’s gross sales ($5.1 billion) have been down 2.7%. Los Angeles-based Herbalife isn’t the one MLM whose gross sales shrank over the past yr.
Annual revenues at Salt Lake Metropolis-based USANA Well being Sciences Inc. (NYSE: USNA) dropped 8% to $921 million in 2023 from $999 million in 2022, in line with its annual outcomes. Fourth-quarter revenues fell 3% to $221 million from $228 million within the fourth quarter of 2022.
USANA’s “salesforce continues to be having a tough time participating strapped shoppers around the globe, and administration talked about that having a premium-priced positioning isn’t serving to, as there may very well be some trading-down habits,” analyst Linda Bolton Weiser of D.A. Davidson wrote in an Oct. 25, 2023, institutional fairness analysis be aware, after the MLM lowered its 2023 steerage.
Nu Pores and skin Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: NUS), primarily based in Provo, Utah, is struggling too. It reported fourth-quarter gross sales of $488.6 million, down 6% from $522.3 million in the identical interval the prior yr. Annual gross sales dropped 12% to $1.97 billion from $2.23 billion.
Ryan Napierski, president and CEO of Nu Pores and skin, mentioned in a information launch that “persistent macro-economic pressures and disruptions related to remodeling” the enterprise impacted the agency’s progress.
The financial pressures going through shoppers are impacting different firms promoting dietary complement merchandise past MLMs. Take into account microalgae producer Cyanotech, which reported diminished gross sales and continued losses in a latest income report.
“Business knowledge exhibits shoppers should not pulling again from dietary dietary supplements, however they’ve begun buying and selling down to personal label manufacturers to avoid wasting on prices,” Cyanotech’s president and CEO Matthew Ok. Custer mentioned.
Wanting forward in 2024, Herbalife is among the many MLMs aiming to extend gross sales — and its in-person occasions could assist the endeavor. Final yr “marked the corporate’s full return to in-person occasions, which have been met with an awesome optimistic response from distributors, offering alternatives to re-establish connections and share greatest practices,” in line with Herbalife’s information launch.
The corporate reported it hosted 9 so-called Extravaganzas around the globe with almost 125,000 attendees, in addition to 1000’s of different schooling and coaching occasions led by distributors and the company.
Michael Johnson, Herbalife CEO and chairman, is driving that momentum, noting, “Our cost is obvious — gross sales progress, margin growth and maximizing shareholder worth.”