84 F.T.C. 748
IN THE MATTER OF
HOLIDAY MAGIC, INC., ET AL.
ORDER, ETC., IN REGARD TO ALLEGED VIOLATION OF SEC. 5 OF THE
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT AND SEC. 2(a) OF THE CLAYTON ACT
Docket 8834.
Complaint, Jan. 18, 1971
Decision, Oct. 15, 1974 [FN*]
Order requiring a San Rafael, Calif., distributor of cosmetics,
toiletries, cleaning products and associated items, among other
things to cease engaging in illegal price fixing and price discrimination
and imposing selling, purchasing and territorial restrictions
on its distributors. Further, respondent is required to cease
using its openended, multilevel marketing plan which the
Commission found to be deceptive. Respondent is also ordered to
make refunds to requesting distributors of monies unlawfully obtained
in the event it ceases to be in compliance with an order of the
District Court for the Northern District of California pertaining
to repayment of funds to distributors.
Appearances
For the Commission: Joseph S. Broumman and D. Stuart Cameron.
For the respondents: Alvin H. Goldstein, Jr., Tuckman, Goldstein
& Philips, San Francisco, Calif. Stein, Mitchell & Mezines,
Wash., D. C.
COMPLAINT**
Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act
(Title 15, U.S.C., Section 41, et seq.) and by virtue of the authority
vested in it by said Act, the Federal Trade Commission having
reason to believe that the parties listed in the caption hereof
and more particularly described and referred to hereinafter as
respondents, have violated the provisions of Section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act, and Section 2(a) of the Clayton
Act, as amended, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding
by it in respect thereof would be in the interest of the public,
hereby issues its complaint, stating its charges as follows:
PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. is a corporation organized
on or about Oct. 14, 1964, and is existing and doing business
under and by virtue of the laws of the State of California. Respondent
Holiday Magic, Inc. maintains its home office and principal place
of business at 616 Canal Street, San Rafael, Calif.
PAR. 2. Respondent William Penn Patrick is chairman of the board
of directors of said corporation, and was also its first president.
Mr. Patrick was the founder of Holiday Magic, Inc. and together
with others instituted the Holiday Magic marketing plan and distribution
policies. Respondent William Penn Patrick, together with others,
has been and is responsible for establishing, supervising, directing
and controlling the business activities and practices of corporate
respondent Holiday Magic. Mr. Patrick's office address is the
same as that of said corporation.
In addition, respondent William Penn Patrick was formerly engaged
in other marketing activities in commerce in a system of distribution
involving applications and contracts, sales manuals and marketing
plans, price lists and other literature similar to the present
activities of respondent Holiday Magic, as alleged herein.
Respondent Fred Pape was president of corporate respondent Holiday
Magic, Inc. Together with others, respondent Fred Pape was responsible
for establishing, supervising, directing and controlling the business
activities and practices of corporate respondent Holiday Magic.
Mr. Pape's office address is 1790 E. Plum Lane, Reno, Nev.
Respondent Janet Gillespie was administrative vice president and
a director of Holiday Magic, Inc. Together with others, respondent
Janet Gillespie was responsible for establishing, supervising,
directing and controlling the business activities and practices
of corporate respondent Holiday Magic. Mrs. Gillespie's office
address is 1790 E. Plum Lane, Reno, Nev.
PAR. 3. Respondents are engaged in the purchase, distribution,
offering for sale and sale of cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning
products and associated items which are marketed under the names
Holiday Magic and Home Magic, to distributors located throughout
the United States. The total monthly volume of sales of such products,
using the retail list prices of said products has been in excess
of 5 million dollars. Since distributors purchase at discount
off list prices, actual sales are approximately 45 percent of
this figure. In its short history the company has registered phenomenal
growth. Comparable monthly figures are $16,000 for Dec. 1964,
its first month of operation, $520,000 for July 1965, $1,500,000
for June 1966, $2,000,000 in Aug. 1966, and $1,700,000 in Feb.
1969.
PAR. 4. In the course and conduct of its business of distributing
Holiday Magic and Home Magic products, the respondents ship or
cause such products to be shipped from the state in which they
are warehoused to distributors located in various other States
throughout the United States who engage in resale to other distributors
and to members of the general public. There is now and has been
for several years last past a constant, substantial, and increasing
flow of such products in 'commerce' as that term is defined in
the Federal Trade Commission Act and in the Clayton Act.
PAR. 5. Except to the extent that actual and potential competition
has been lessened, hampered, restricted and restrained by reason
of the practices hereinafter alleged, respondents' distributors
and dealers, in the course and conduct of their business in distributing,
offering for sale, and selling of Holiday Magic and Home Magic
products are in substantial competition in commerce with one another,
and corporate respondent and their distributors are in substantial
competition in commerce with other firms or persons engaged in
the manufacture or distribution of similar products.
PAR. 6. Respondents have formulated a distribution system involving
distributors at wholesale and retail levels and they have published
their marketing plan or distribution policies which are set forth
in respondents' price lists, discount schedules, marketing manuals,
sales bulletins, order forms, pamphlets and other materials and
literature. To effectuate and carry out the aforesaid distribution
system, policies or plan, respondents, together with their distributors,
have entered into certain contracts, agreements, combinations
or common understandings pursuant to the universal acceptance
by the distributors of said marketing plan and have adopted, placed
in effect and carried out, by various methods and means, the marketing
plan to hinder, frustrate, restrain, suppress and eliminate competition
in the offering for sale, distribution and sale of cosmetics,
toiletries, cleaning materials and associated products.
PAR. 7. Corporate respondent's marketing plan is a distribution
network which allows a potential distributor to enter at any one
of three levels, i.e., Holiday Girl, Organizer and Master, and
may eventually qualify at a fourth level, that of General. All
distributors are independent contractors and except for the Holiday
Girls who sell primarily at retail through party plans and doortodoor
methods, are permitted to, and do, sell or attempt to sell at
both wholesale and retail. The distributors' gross profit is the
difference between the price or prices at which he purchases Holiday
Magic products and the price or prices at which he resells them.
a. Holiday Girls and Organizers.
All Holiday Girls and Organizers buy their products at 30 percent
off the retail list price. At the end of the calendar month, they
receive from their sponsoring distributor who sold them these
products, i.e., a General, Master or Organizer, a refund varying
from zero to 25 percent off list based upon the monthly volume
purchased. Once a distributor purchases a volume of $5,000 ($6,666.66
as of Sept. 30, 1969) in terms of retail list price in any one
calendar month, he remains at the 25 percent refund level, is
thereafter classified as a Master and can buy directly from respondent
Holiday Magic or his General at 55 percent off retail list price.
b. Master.
Master distributors may purchase their needs either from Holiday
Magic, Inc., directly or through a General. There is no effective
limit as to the number of distributors that may be recruited,
nor is there a limit as to the size of any distributor's organization.
A distributor's organization includes all persons whom he supplies
with products either directly or indirectly, or upon whose purchases
he receives an override.
Individuals who desire to start as Masters must purchase an inventory
valued at $5,000 ($6,666.66 as of Sept. 30, 1969) retail list
price. The actual cost is at 55 percent off. An additional charge
of $250 for certain sales aids has also been an initial requirement.
A Holiday Girl who recruits a Master will receive a Finder's Fee
of $100 from her General distributor. Any Organizer recruiting
a Master will receive a Finder's Fee of $100 plus a continuing
override of 2 percent of all his purchases, based upon retail
list price. Any organizer recruiting another Organizer who eventually
qualifies for the Master position receives the same 2 percent
override without the Finder's Fee. Masters recruited into the
Holiday Magic program are denoted 'Workin' or 'Buyin.'
c. General.
General distributors purchase their product needs, as well as
the needs of distributors in their organization, from respondent
Holiday Magic, Inc. The General has the most advantageous discount,
purchasing from respondent company at 65 percent off the retail
list price.
All Holiday Girls, Organizers and Masters are part of a particular
General's organization, and he receives an additional 10 percent
override from respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. on all purchases
from Masters in his organization. As an additional override, respondent
Holiday Magic pays 1 percent of the retail list price purchase
value to the old General of a Master who has been elevated to
the General position. It is paid monthly, and is based on the
purchases of the new General, and all of this General's organization.
A Master is eligible for the position of General only after he
has completed the following:
1. He must introduce at least one other Master to his own Generaldenoted
a Replacement Master because the Master qualifying for the position
of General will be taking all of his organization with him as
his permanent organization when he becomes a General.
2. He must pay a Release Fee of $2500 ($3,000 as of Sept. 30,
1969) to his old General because the old General will have sustained
a loss of the 10 percent override of the departing organization.
3. He must pay for, and complete, a course of instruction.
d. General's Council.
A General's Council is a voluntary association of General and
Master distributors formed in a given geographical area, usually
the metropolitan area of a city, to share in the costs of retailing,
business training, recruiting, and joint participation in any
Holiday Magic activity of mutual interest. The amount of the dues
is fixed at the discretion of the council members but respondent
Holiday Magic requires all Masters and Generals to pay the same
amount.
The Senior General of the council is the position of an executive
representing the body of local distributors. It is his function
to act as liaison between the company and all local distributors.
As compensation for his services, the Senior General receives
a 1 percent override from Holiday Magic on all business produced
by all distributors in his council.
Among the services performed by the Senior General is the reporting
of various sales data to the respondent company for members of
the council. This information is supplied to the Senior General
by the various distributors. Some of the items reported upon at
the specific request of respondent Holiday Magic may include the
individual sales slips of the Holiday Girls.
Three of the General's Council's activities are the coordination
and allocation of routes to be assigned to individual Holiday
Girl distributors, the allocation of leads supplied by respondent
Holiday Magic, Inc., and the holding of Opportunity Meetings.
e. Opportunity Meeting.
It is at the Opportunity Meetings conducted by the General's Council
that additional distributors are recruited into the Holiday Magic
program. These meetings are held throughout the United States,
and have been attended by as many as hundreds of persons at a
time. Both the script of the meeting and the film shown thereat
concentrate upon the unlimited potential of money to be made in
recruiting other distributors in a chain of distributors.
PAR. 8. Pursuant to, and in furtherance and effectuation of the
aforesaid agreements and planned common course of action, respondents
have done and performed and are doing and performing the following:
(1) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., its agents and officials,
have advised all distributors that failure to adhere to the marketing
plan is the basis for cancellation of their distributorship, and
all distributors have actually or impliedly agreed to abide by
all rules and regulations established by Holiday Magic in furtherance
of the marketing plan, and to all subsequent changes.
(2) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. has entered into contracts,
agreements, combinations or understandings with each of its distributors
whereby said distributors agree to maintain the resale prices
established and set forth by the company, notwithstanding that
some of such distributors are located in states which do not have
fair trade laws.
(3) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. has entered into contracts,
agreements, combinations or understandings with each of its distributors
whereby said distributors agree to maintain the discounts, overrides,
rebates, bonus schedules, Finder's Fees and Release Fees, as established
and set forth by the company.
(4) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. has entered into contracts,
agreements, combinations or understandings with each of its distributors
whereby said distributors are restricted as to whom they may purchase
their products from, and to whom they may resell them. More specifically:
(a) The distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from respondent
company, or from his Sponsor, i.e., the distributor who introduced
him to Holiday Magic, Inc.
(b) The sponsoring distributor agrees not to buy back any merchandise
from his distributors.
(c) The distributor agrees not to make any consignment of the
merchandise to any person, except in certain cases.
(d) The distributor agrees to restrict the retail sales and display
of cosmetics to authorized retail markets, i.e., home service
routes, beauty salons, wig shops, beauty schools, barber shops,
health food stores, women's specialty stores, men's specialty
stores, Holiday Magic retail salons, and temporary booths. No
other commercial retail markets are authorized.
(5) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., in the course and conduct
of its business in commerce, has been and now is discriminating
in price, directly or indirectly, between different purchasers
of its Holiday Magic products of like grade and guality by selling
said products at higher prices to some purchasers than it sells
said products to other purchasers, many of whom have been and
now are in competition with the purchasers paying the higher prices.
More specifically:
(a) For several years last past respondent has priced its line
of products in terms of list prices. One class of respondent's
customers purchases at said list prices less a discount of 65
percent while the other class of customers purchase at list prices
less a discount of 55 percent. Various members of each class of
customers compete with each other and with various members of
each of the other classes. Said 10 percent differential is actually
a net cost discount of 22.2 percent in favor of the favored class
of customers.
(b) A 1 percent commission on the list price value of the monthly
sales volume of a new General is paid by respondent Holiday Magic
to the old General of a Master who has been promoted to the General
position. It is paid monthly and is based upon the purchases of
the new General's Master distributors in his organization.
(c) For several years last past, respondent Holiday Magic, Inc.
has entered into an agreement with each of its distributors whereby
said distributors agree to maintain the discounts, rebates, and
overrides when selling to, and purchasing from, one another. Said
discounts result in price discrimination. More specifically:
1. A 2 percent commission on the list price value of the monthly
sales volume of a new Master is paid by the General distributor
to any Master or Organizer who recruits and sponsors said new
Master distributor who may be either a 'Buyin' or 'Workin.'
This is a continuing monthly payment and is paid to the day that
either the new Master or the Sponsor becomes a General distributor.
2. Other discounts are based upon a sliding scale of volume. More
specifically:
i. Organizer distributors purchase their products at 30 percent
off list price and receive an additional bonus of up to 25 percent
off list price based upon monthly sales volume, while Master distributors
purchase at 55 percent off list price. Said zero to 25 percent
differential is actually a net cost discount i n the range of
zero to 35.7 percent in favor of the Master. Various members of
each class compete with each other.
ii. Organizer distributors purchase their products at 30 percent
off list priceand receive an additional bonus of up to 25 percent
off list price based upon monthly sales volume, while General
distributors purchase at 65 percent off list price. Said 10 percent
to 35 percent differential is actually a net cost di scount in
the range of 22.3 percent to 50 percent in favor of the General.
Various members of each class compete with each other.
iii. Organizer and Holiday Girl distributors purchase their products
at 30 per cent off list price and receive an additional bonus
of up to 25 percent off list price based upon monthly sales volume.
Said zero to 25 percent differential is actually a net cost discount
in the range of zero to 35 percent in favor of the favored distributors.
Various members of each class of customers compete with each other
and with various members of each of the other classes.
(6) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. has instituted various rules
and regulations designed to further the objectives of its marketing
plan, such rules and regulations being contrary to the competitive
interests of the independent distributors directly affected by
them, and unreasonable in their overall support of and impact
upon the entirety of the Holiday Magic Marketing plan and distribution
practices. More specifically:
(a) The distributor is prohibited from using advertising that
is either not supplied by respondent corporation, or not approved
by respondent in advance.
(b) The distributor must agree not to transfer to another organization
without a prior release from all distributors above him in the
marketing chain. Such transfers are discouraged by respondent
Holiday Magic.
(c) In the event a partnershipdistributorship dissolves,
the departing partner is required to revert back to his original
Sponsor.
(d) In the event a General Distributorship dissolves, the principal
or partner who is departing, should he continue with Holiday Magic,
must requalify as a new Master Distributor under his original
Sponsor, create a Replacement Master, and pay a $2500 Release
Fee ($3,000 as of Sept. 30, 1969) to qualify for the General position
again.
(e) The addition of partners to an existing General or Master
distributorship or the sale of a General or Master distributorship
must meet the same retail list price value purchase requirement
as do Workin Masters.
(f) A distributor may only own or have a financial interest in
one Holiday Magic distributorship at a time, and may not simultaneously
be a part of two separate distributorships.
(g) The distributor must agree not to enter into any agreement
with a distributor in another Holiday Magic organization to make
a division of profits, assets, or new recruits in violation of
the marketing plan.
COUNT I
Alleging violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 9. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Eight are incorporated
by reference in Count I as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 10. Respondents' multilevel marketing program holds out to
prospective distributors the lure of making large sums of money
through a virtually endless chain of recruiting additional participants,
from various fees, commissions, overrides or other compensation
on the sales and/or further recruiting activities of their own
recruited distributors, or distributors in their organizations.
The operation of the program contemplates geometrical increases
in the number of distributors to insure participants the earnings
represented and implicitly realizable from the program. However,
because the overall number of potential participants remains relatively
constant, the participants may be, and in a substantial number
of instances will be, unable to find additional investors in a
given community or geographical area by the time they enter respondents'
merchandising program. This comes about because the recruiting
of participants who came into the program at an earlier stage
may have already exhausted the number of prospective participants.
Based upon a geometrical progression of five additions per month
per distributor, as demonstrated by respondents or their representatives
at their Opportunity Meetings, the number of additional participants
in their organizations at each monthly stage of growth would increase
at such a rate that at the end of seven months, and giving effect
to the continuing process of recruitment as contemplated under
respondents' marketing plan, there would be an aggregate in excess
of 97,000 participants in each distributor's organization. Thus,
as to each of the individual participants therein, respondents'
recruitment program must of necessity ultimately collapse when
the number of potentially available distributors which can be
recruited to serve a particular area is exhausted and/or the number
of distributors theretofore recruited has so saturated the area
with distributors as to render it virtually impossible to recruit
any more.
Although some participants in respondents' multilevel merchandising
program may realize a profit through recruitment, all participants
do not have the potentiality of receiving equivalent sums of money,
either through recruitment or compensation arising out of the
retail sales of respondents' products, and the greater the number
of distributors previously recruited, the lower the chances for
such success. Some participants in the program receive little
or no return on their investment.
For the foregoing reasons, respondents' multilevel merchandising
program is operated in such a manner that the realization of financial
gains is often predicated upon the exploitation of others who
have been induced to participate therein, and who have virtually
no chance of receiving the kind of return on their investment
implicit in said merchandising program. Therefore, the use by
respondents of the abovedescribed multilevel merchandising
program in connection with the sale of their merchandise was and
is false, misleading and deceptive, and was and is an unfair act
and practice within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT II
Alleging further violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 11. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Ten are incorporated
by reference in Count II as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 12. Respondents' merchandising program is in the nature of
a lottery in that participants are induced to invest substantial
sums of money on the possibility that by the activities and efforts
of others, over whom they need exercise little or no control,
they will receive substantial financial gains. The realization
of such gains need not depend upon the skill and effort of the
individual participants, but instead may result from predominant
elements of chance, such as the number of prior participants in
the program, the ability of their own recruits to recruit other
distributors, and the ability of their own recruits to either
sell merchandise or recruit other persons who may be successful
in selling merchandise.
The use by respondents of their multilevel program, which is in
the nature of a lottery, is contrary to the established public
policy of the United States, is false, misleading and deceptive,
and was and is an unfair act and practice and an act of unfair
competition within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT III
Alleging further violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 13. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Fourteen are
incorporated by reference in Count III as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 14. In the course and conduct of their business, and for
the purpose of inducing the participation by others in their marketing
program and for selling their merchandise, by and through statements
and oral representations, and by means of brochures and other
written material, respondents or their representatives represent,
and have represented, directly or by implication, that:
1. Through 'want ads' in classified advertising sections of newspapers,
employment is being offered.
2. It is not difficult for distributors to recruit and retain
persons who will invest or participate in the program as distributors
and/or as sales personnel.
3. Respondents' products will be or are advertised widely and
substantially in the community or geographic area in which such
representations are made.
4. Participants in respondents' marketing program have the reasonable
expectancy of receiving large profits or earnings.
PAR. 15. In truth and in fact:
1. Respondents, their representatives and distributors are, for
the most part, not offering employment through the use of 'want
ads,' but use said advertisements instead to obtain leads to prospective
investors in their marketing program.
2. It is difficult, and becomes increasingly more difficult, under
respondents' geometrically expanding multilevel marketing system,
to recruit and retain persons who will invest in respondents'
program as distributors and/or as sales personnel.
3. Respondents do not advertise their products to the extent that
they or their representatives represent.
4. Most participants in respondents' multilevel marketing program
do not have a reasonable expectancy of receiving large profits
or financial gains.
Therefore, the abovedescribed representations are false,
misleading and deceptive, and are unfair acts or practices in
commerce within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT IV
Alleging further violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 16. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Eight are incorporated
by reference in Count IV as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 17. The acts, practices, and methods of competition engaged
in, followed, pursued or adopted by respondents, and the combination,
conspiracy, agreement or common understanding entered into or
reached between and among the respondents or others not parties
hereto are unfair methods of competition and to the prejudice
of the public because of their dangerous tendency to, and the
actual practice of, fixing, maintaining or otherwise controlling
the prices at which the Holiday Magic products are resold, in
both the wholesale and retail markets; and fixing, maintaining
or otherwise controlling the various fees, bonuses, rebates or
overrides required to be paid by one distributor or class of distributors
to another distributor or class of distributors.
Said acts, practices and methods of competition, and the adverse
competitive effects resulting therefrom, constitute an unreasonable
restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition in commerce
within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT V
Alleging further violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 18. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Eight are incorporated
by reference in Count V as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 19. The acts, practices, and methods of competition engaged
in, followed, pursued or adopted by respondents, and the combination,
conspiracy, agreement or common understanding entered into or
reached between and among the respondents or others not parties
hereto are unfair methods of competition and to the prejudice
of the public because of their dangerous tendency to, and the
actual practice of, restricting the customers as to whom the Holiday
Magic distributors may resell their products to; restricting their
distributors as to whom they may purchase their products from;
restricting their distributors to reselling their products in
certain kinds of retail outlets only; restricting the advertising
rights of distributors; and restricting distributors as to the
financial and marketing arrangements which they may chose to enter
into with businesses or individuals of their own choosing.
Said acts, practices, and methods of competition, and the adverse
competitive effects resulting therefrom, constitute an unreasonable
restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition in commerce
within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT VI
Alleging further violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, as amended, by respondents.
PAR. 20. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Eight are incorporated
by reference in Count VI as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 21. The acts, practices, and methods of competition engaged
in, followed, pursued or adopted by respondents, and the combination,
conspiracy, agreement or common understanding entered into or
reached between and among the respondents or others not parties
hereto are unfair methods of competition and to the prejudice
of the public because of the practice of allocating the territories
in which various Holiday Magic distributors may resell their products.
Said acts, practices, and methods of competition, and the adverse
competitive effects resulting therefrom, constitute an unreasonable
restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition in commerce
within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, as amended.
COUNT VII
Alleging violation of Section 2(a) of the Clayton Act, as amended,
by respondents.
PAR. 22. The allegations of Paragraphs One through Seven and subparagraph
(5) of Paragraph Eight are incorporated by reference in Count
VII as if fully set forth verbatim.
PAR. 23. The difference in net cost between a General's purchases
and a Master's purchases results in a substantial discrimination
in the net price for products sold to nonfavored direct
and indirect Master distributor purchasers by respondent Holiday
Magic.
In addition, various acts and practices of respondent Holiday
Magic have resulted in further discriminations in the net price
for products sold to other Holiday Magic distributors, who are
indirect purchasers, and who are in competition with other direct
and indirect purchasers of Holiday Magic cosmetic products.
In addition, the various fees, overrides, bonuses or other payments
have resulted in discriminations among Holiday Magic's various
direct and indirect purchasing distributors who are in competition
with one another. These monies are direct and indirect payments
by respondent Holiday Magic, and in effect are discriminations
in the net price of Holiday Magic products to these various distributors.
The effect of respondent Holiday Magic's discrimination in net
prices as alleged herein may be substantially to lessen competition
or tend to create a monopoly in the line of commerce in which
its favored purchasers are engaged, or to injure, destroy or prevent
competition between the favored and non favored purchasers
or with customers of either of them.
The aforesaid acts and practices of respondents constitute violations
of the provisions of subsection (a) of Section 2 of the Clayton
Act, as amended.
INITIAL DECISION*** BY EDGAR A. BUTTLE, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE
MAY 31, 1974
THE PROCEEDINGS
A complaint was issued herein on Jan. 18, 1971, generally charging
violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and
Section 2(a) of the Clayton Act, as amended, involving unfair
trade practices based on operating a marketing plan in the nature
of a lottery, price discrimination, marketing and price control,
deception and misrepresentations. After joinder of issue by the
filing of an answer which essentially denied the allegations,
four prehearing conferences were held as follows: Apr. 2, 1971,
May 24, 1971, Aug. 10, 1971, and Oct. 8, 1971. Hearings were commenced
on Nov. 1, 1971 and ended on Feb. 15, 1973, for a total of 75
hearing days. Intervening recesses were allowed for purposes of
discovery and other justifiable reasons. Hearings were conducted
in the following cities: San Francisco, Calif., Detroit, Mich.,
Chicago, Ill., Miami, Fla., New York, N.Y., and Wash., D.C. There
are 10,708 pages of hearing transcript; 855 Commission exhibits
and approximately 100 respondents' exhibits. Eightysix witnesses
testified for complaint counsel and approximately 140 witnesses
testified for respondents. The record was reopened and closed
on Mar. 28, 1973, to receive evidence not available heretofore,
for which complaint counsel had previously made provision on the
record.
THE COMPLAINT
Argument developed during the course of the hearings with regard
to the interpretation of certain allegations of the complaint.
Briefly stated, however, a reasonable construction thereof in
entire context is clearly outlined as follows:
Count I
Allegedly respondents' multilevel marketing program holds out
to prospective distributors the lure of making large sums of money
through a virtually endless chain of recruiting additional participants,
from various fees, commissions, overrides or other compensation
on the sales and/or further recruiting activities of their own
recruited distributors, or distributors in their organizations.
As also alleged although some participants in respondents' multilevel
merchandising program may realize a profit through recruitment,
all participants do not have the potentiality of receiving equivalent
sums of money, either through recruitment or compensation arising
out of the retail sales of respondents' products, and the greater
the number of distributors previously recruited, the lower the
chances for such success. Some participants in the program receive
little or no return on their investment.
As further alleged for the foregoing reasons, respondents' multilevel
merchandising program is operated in such a manner that the realization
of financial gains is often predicated upon the exploitation of
others who have been induced to participate therein, and who have
virtually no chance of receiving the kind of return on their investment
implicit in said merchandising program.
Count II
Allegedly the use by respondents of their multilevel unlimited
distributor recruitment program of chance upon participant investment
without the need for the exercise of business control thereafter
or product marketing skill to acquire profit, if any, is in the
nature of a lottery, is contrary to the established public policy
of the United States, is false, misleading and deceptive, and
was and is an unfair act and practice and an act of unfair competition
within the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, as amended. [FN1]
Count III
Allegedly for the purpose of inducing the participation by others
in their marketing program and for selling their merchandise,
by and through statements and oral representations, and by means
of brochures and other written material, respondents or their
representatives misrepresent, and have misrepresented, directly
or by implication, that:
1. The offering of employment through the use of want ads to obtain
leads to prospective investors in the marketing program.
2. It is not difficult for distributors to recruit and retain
persons who will invest or participate in the program as distributors
and/or sales personnel.
3. Respondents' products will be or are advertised widely.
4. Participants in respondents' multilevel marketing program can
reasonably expect to receive large profits or financial gains.
(Count III refers to 'Most participants' but in context with complaint
allegations in other Counts which are incorporated by reference
omitting the word 'most' it would appear it cannot reasonably
be construed quantitatively.) [FN1a]
Count IV
Allegedly fixing, maintaining or otherwise controlling the prices
at which the Holiday Magic products are resold, in both the wholesale
and retail markets; and fixing, maintaining or otherwise controlling
the various fees, bonuses, rebates or overrides required to be
paid by one distributor or class of distributors to another distributor
or class of distributors constitute an unreasonable restraint
of trade.
Count V
Allegedly restricting their distributors to reselling their products
in certain kinds of retail outlets only; restricting the advertising
rights of distributors; and restricting distributors as to the
financial and marketing arrangements which they may choose to
enter into with businesses or individuals of their own choosing
constitute an unreasonable restraint of trade.
Count VI
Allegedly allocating the territories in which various Holiday
Magic distributors may resell their products constitutes an unreasonable
restraint of trade.
Count VII
Alleged violation of Section 2(a) of the Clayton Act, based on
the following:
1. The difference in net cost between a General's purchases and
a Master's purchases results in a substantial discrimination in
the net price for products sold to nonfavored direct and
indirect Master distributor purchasers by respondent Holiday Magic.
2. Further discriminations in the net price for products sold
to other Holiday Magic distributors, who are indirect purchasers,
and who are in competition with other direct and indirect purchasers
of Holiday Magic cosmetic products.
3. In addition, the various fees, overrides, bonuses or other
payments have resulted in discriminations among Holiday Magic's
various direct and indirect purchasing distributors who are in
competition with one another.
The administrative law judge has carefully considered the proposed
findings of fact, and conclusions supplemented by briefs, submitted
by complaint counsel and counsel for respondents. The following
findings and conclusions if not herein adopted either in the form
proposed or in substance are rejected as not supported by the
record or as involving immaterial matters. The findings of fact
are categorically arranged to reflect the complete modus operandi
of the corporate respondent's business and participation therein
rather than categorically as related to particular counts of the
complaint since this would result in an unreasonable number of
repetitive findings. The conclusions, however, relate the evidenced
facts as alleged to the specific counts of the complaint with
cited law applicable thereto. Adoption of any of respondents'
proposed findings of fact verbatim or otherwise has been difficult
since they are essentially argumentative or proposed conclusions
of fact as distinguished from findings as to evidentiary facts.
On the other hand complaint counsel in submitting proposed findings
has relied essentially upon specific and accurate although lengthy
documentary excerpts with some transcript citations. Some of this
evidence is somewhat remotely material, but it is responsive to
respondent counsel's justifiable demand that all relevant facts
related to the Holiday Magic plan should be considered and evaluated
in view of the seriousness of the many charges. The following
numerous evidentiary findings and extensive conclusions therefrom
are therefore necessarily rendered with this in view. [FN2]
FINDINGS OF FACT
I. Scienter Re Investigation
1. The record reflects that respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. was
first made aware of the Federal Trade Commission investigation
in July, 1967 (Tr. 9341, 9701). Obviously this may have some bearing
on evidentiary evaluation and issue of relief.
II. Jurisdiction of the Commission
2. Respondents are engaged in the purchase, distribution, offering
for sale and sale of cosmetics, toiletries, cleaning products
and associated items which are marketed under the names Holiday
Magic and Home Magic, to distributors located throughout the United
States (Answer, p. 3).
3. In the course and conduct of their business of distributing
Holiday Magic and Home Magic products, the respondents ship or
cause such products to be shipped from the state in which they
are warehoused to distributors located in various other States
throughout the United States who engage in resale to other distributors
and to members of the general public (Answer, p. 3). There is
now and has been for several years last past a constant, substantial,
and increasing flow of such products in 'commerce' as that term
is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act and in the Clayton
Act (Answer, p. 3).
4. Holiday Magic, Inc. is in substantial competition in commerce
with other firms or persons engaged in the manufacture or distribution
of cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products (Answer, p. 3).
5. The vast majority of the products distributed by respondents
are cosmetics; of Holiday Magic, Inc.'s total sales, 88 percent
or more have been of cosmetics (RX 16).
III. Cosmetic Industry
6. The gross dollar amount of retail cosmetics sales in the country
as of 1970 was estimated at approximately 4.5 billion dollars
(BaumgartenTr. 9483).
7. Approximately 25 percent of the sales of cosmetics at retail
is described as the direct doortodoor market (BaumgartenTr.
9884).
8. Although the record does not reflect the total number of cosmetic
firms principally engaged in doortodoor marketing
(see Tr. 9486, 6116), the record shows that the largest cosmetic
firm is Avon Cosmetics (BaumgartenTr. 9485; ShermanTr.
6137, 6117), which has approximately 47 percent of the doortodoor
cosmetics market (BaumgartenTr. 9487) or approximately 12
percent of the total market in cosmetics.
9. Although Avon's advertising expenditures do not appear in the
record, Avon engages in national television advertising (BaumgartenTr.
9493) and Avon engages in a substantial amount of advertising
(BaumgartenTr. 9487). Doorto door selling itself
is not considered to be advertising (BaumgartenTr. 9491).
Avon has been in business for between 70 and 100 years (Tr. 9502,
6117).
10. Another doortodoor cosmetic firm is 'Varda,' which
was established in 1969 (BaumgartenTr. 948688). Varda's
retail sales to consumers totaled approximately 25 million dollars
in 1970 (BaumgartenTr. 9486). Varda's marketing plan is
more similar to that of Avon than it is to the marketing plan
of Holiday Magic, Inc. (BaumgartenTr. 9488).
11. The Avon sales representatives are assigned routes. Otherwise
the controls are minimal and there are no inventory requirements
(BaumgartenTr. 9489).
12. The wholesale market for cosmetics today is what may be termed
a buyer's market; that is, a wholesaler is in a position to take
his pick of the lines he chooses to carry (ShermanTr. 6138).
Competition in the cosmetics industry is 'fierce' (BaumgartenTr.
6574).
IV. Respondents
A. Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc.
13. Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. is a corporation organized
on or about Oct. 14, 1964, and is existing and doing business
under and by virtue of the laws of the State of California (Answer,
p. 2). Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. maintains its home office
and principal place of business at 616 Canal Street, San Rafael,
Calif. (Answer, p. 2).
14. To date, Holiday Magic, Inc. has reincorporated as a Nevada
corporation, although it continues to maintain its principal place
of business at 616 Canal Street, San Rafael, Calif. Marketing
Enterprises, Inc. owns 100 percent of the stock of Holiday Magic,
Inc. and U.S. Universal, Inc. owns Holiday Magic, Inc. Respondent
William Penn Patrick is on the board of directors of U.S. Universal
(CoultasTr. 972021).
15. A rented three bedroom home was Holiday Magic's first location,
at San Jose, Calif. (CX 89B, CX 90C). In June 1965, Holiday Magic,
Inc. moved to its San Rafael quarters (CX 90C).
16. Prior to Sept. 1968, Holiday Magic, Inc. purchased its cosmetics
products from Synergistic Industries, Inc. but thereafter from
a broad field of cosmetics manufacturers (CX 37A). At present,
Holiday Magic, Inc. buys approximately 50 percent of its products
from Commercia USA, a sister corporation (CoultasTr. 9685).
17. Holiday Magic, Inc. is a closely held corporation which employed
approximately 90 persons in Apr. 1967 (CX 21E). Holiday Magic,
Inc. sold to its distributors FOB San Rafael, Calif. as of Apr.
1967 (CX 21E). More recently, Holiday Magic, Inc. has utilized
major distribution centers in N.J. and Ga. (Physical Exhibit A;
Tr. 979293).
18. Holiday Magic, Inc.'s sales.
Monthly 'sales volume' figures for Holiday Magic, Inc. are $16,254.34
for Dec. 1964, its first month of operation; $520,658.10 for July
1965; $1,524,203.30 for June 1966; and $2,050,641.26 for Aug.
1966 (CX 15C).
Holiday Magic, Inc.'s 'cosmetic sales' for its fiscal year ending
Sept. 1965 were $2,773,155; for Sept. 1966, $11,080,223; for Sept.
1967, $30,369,813; for Sept. 1968, $12,587,627; for Sept. 1969,
$19,518,939; for Sept. 1970, $13,453,288; and for fiscal year
ending Sept. 1971, $11,063,624 (RX 16).
Holiday Magic Inc.'s Home Magic sales for the fiscal years ending
Sept. 1970 and Sept. 1971 were $1,881,542 and $673,746, respectively
(RX 16).
The 'cosmetic sales' and 'sales volume' figures are in terms of
the retail list prices of the said products sold to distributors
(RX 16; LipskaTr. 9255, 9212; PangerlTr. 10291).
19. Sales volume is not retail sales, and Holiday Magic, Inc.
keeps no records with respect to the amount of products that actually
are sold to consumers at retail (Tr. 9631, 9633, 9635, 976768,
5667).
20. The 'success' of the Holiday Magic program has been based
upon the Marketing Plan.
(a) CX 78Z4 and CX 79Z4'With our marketing plan we could
be 75 percent as effective with another commodity.'
(b) CX 2BWandBecause of the marketing
plan, holiday Magic could have experienced the same rapid growth
with any product, or product of low quality.
(c) CX 78Z45, CX 79Z42'Because of its sound marketing
plan, Holiday Magic could have experienced nearly the same rapid
growth and success with a mediocre product.'
After having completed the marketing plan, William Penn Patrick
searched for a consumer product that would fit the plan (Physical
Exhibit A; Tr. 798485).
B. Respondent William Penn Patrick
21. Respondent William Penn Patrick is chairman of the board of
directors of Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. and was its first
president (Answer, p. 2). Respondent William Penn Patrick was
the founder of respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., and together with
others instituted the Holiday Magic marketing plan and distribution
policies (Answer, p. 2).
22. Respondent William Penn Patrick was chairman of the board
of directors of respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. until very recently
(CoultasTr. 9655); Mr. Patrick first held the position of
president of Holiday Magic, Inc. in the winter of 1965, but relinquished
this post to respondent Fred Pape in 1967 (CoultasTr. 9654).
23. Mr. Patrick has described Holiday Magic, Inc. as his 'brain
child' and 'first love' (CX P318A, B) and is the man responsible
for developing the Holiday Magic marketing program singlehandedly
(CX 61A, CX 90C).
24. At first, Mr. Patrick gave all the Holiday Magic Opportunity
Meetings (CX 5GWand 12/65 ; see also Physical Exhibit
A; Tr. 6874).
25. Respondent William Penn Patrick, together with others, has
been responsible for establishing, supervising, directing and
controlling the business activities and practices of corporate
respondent Holiday Magic (Answer, p. 2).
(a) The board of directors directed the policy of Holiday Magic,
Inc. (CoultasTr. 9657).
(b) It was the responsibility of the board of directors to terminate
distributors for violating rules and regulations of Holiday Magic,
Inc. (CX 79Z8990, CX 78Z8687).
(c) The president and the officers supervised the daytoday
activities of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CoultasTr. 9657).
26. Respondent William Penn Patrick, together with others, continues
to be responsible for establishing, supervising, directing and
controlling the business activities and practices of Holiday Magic,
Inc. (CoultasTr. 972021).
C. Respondent Fred Pape
27. Respondent Fred Pape formerly was president of respondent
Holiday Magic, Inc. (Answer, p. 2). Mr. Pape became president
of Holiday Magic, Inc. in 1967 (CoultasTr. 9654) and retained
the post through sometime in 1968 (CoultasTr. 9655).
28. Respondent Fred Pape was the first Master Distributor in Holiday
Magic, Inc., and made $186,000 his first year in the business
(CX 85PMark Evans notes which were approved by Pape; Tr.
93940).
,29. Mr. Pape's office address at the time of the filing of the
complaint was 1790 E. Plum Lane, Reno, Nev. (Answer, p. 2).
30. Together with others, respondent Fred Pape was responsible
for establishing, supervising, directing and controlling the business
activities and practices of corporate respondent Holiday Magic.
(a) 'As William Penn Patrick stumped the State of California in
his bid for the gubernatorial nomination, Fred Pape took the reins
of 'the fastest growing corporation in the nation' and raised
Holiday Magic to even greater heights' (CX 1840L).
(b) According to former president Ben Gay, Fred Pape (and Janet
Gillespie) ran the business when Patrick was running for nomination
(GayTr. 993132).
31. President and officers supervised the daytoday
activities of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CoultasTr. 9657).
32. When Fred Pape was president, his job was that of chief executive
officer. He carried out the policies that has been established
in the board meetings by the board and Mr. Patrick. He played
the role of a company president (Coultas Tr. 9659).
D. Respondent Janet Gillespie
33. Respondent Janet Gillespie formerly was administrative vice
president and a director of respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. (Answer,
pp. 23).
34. Janet Gillespie was the first Organizer Distributor in Holiday
Magic, Inc. (GillespieTr. 9279; CX 5G). She became a member
of the board of directors of Holiday Magic, Inc. in 1965 (GillespieTr.
9286), was named vice president administration in Aug. 1965
(gillespieTr. 9283; CX 1F) and was international vice president
as late as Nov. 1968 (CX 142C).
35. Janet Gillespie has been described as a member of the 'corporate
team' as well as a charter member of Holiday Magic (CX 6HWandJan.
1966).
36. Together with others, respondent Janet Gillespie was responsible
for establishing, supervising, directing and controlling the business
activities and practices of corporate respondent Holiday Magic.
(a) Board of directors directed the policy of Holiday Magic, Inc.
(Coultas Tr. 9657).
(b) Responsibility of board of directors to terminate distributors
for violating rules and regulations of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX
78Z8687; CX 79Z89 90; GayTr. 9928).
37. Presidents and officers supervised the daytoday
activities of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CoultasTr. 9657). Sherman
Coultas, Holiday Magic's director of legal services (Tr. 9653)
also testified that he had worked with Janet Gillespie daily and
that she was involved 'in the overall facets of the business'
(Tr. 9658). 'She did just about anything that had to be done insofar
as running the business and coordinating the activities of secretaries
and clerks and administrative people.'
V. Holiday Magic Publications
38. Respondents have formulated a distribution system involving
distributors at wholesale and retail levels and they have published
their marketing plan or distribution policies which are set forth
in respondents' price lists, discount schedules, marketing manuals,
sales bulletins, order forms, pamphlets and other materials and
literature (Answer, p.3).
A. Holiday Magic Wands
39. Holiday Magic Wands appear in the record as CX 1 through CX
68. The Wands are in the format of a newspaper, and are published
monthly by Holiday Magic, Inc., for distribution throughout the
United States (CX 1A, CX 70Z92).
40. The Holiday Magic Wand is designed as a valuable recruiting
tool by Holiday Magic, Inc. for its distributors (See CX 1B, CX
1C, CX 6C, CX 7H, CX 12F, CX 17G, CX 18F, CX 27F, CX 79Z92;
GillespieTr. 935657). A socalled 'Permanent
Wand' which is undated appears in the record as CX 64AH.
The permanent Wand is used for recruiting purposes, and is sent
to Holiday Magic Councils and handed out to prospective distributors
(CX 155F; AlexanderTr. 5623).
41. The Wands are mailed by Holiday Magic, Inc. directly to Master
and General Distributors (CX 1802C, CX 1800Z10Z11; GillespieTr.
9291) and were also sent out indirectly to Organizers and Holiday
Girls through a policy of distributing twenty copies of the Wand
to Masters and Generals and 'urging' their distribution to Organizers
and Holiday Girls in their organizations (Gillespie Tr.
934344, 9292; 9350; CX 1601, CX 532, CX 1800Z11) as well
as to use for recruiting purposes (CX 533).
42. Holiday Magic has also at times distributed the Wands directly
to Holiday Girls (CX 136HFamily News5/31/68). The
Holiday Girl Demonstration Kits also each contain one copy of
the Wand (GillespieTr. 9350).
43. Holiday Magic, Inc. describes the value of the Wands as follows:
What a wonderful training and recruiting tool the Wand is! It
should always be carried and used for 'prospecting', explaining
the progress and history of Holiday Magic, and 'closing the sale.'
'After all Joe, look at all these people and their wonderful success.
Now, why not you, too?' The Magic Wand can be the greatest recruiting
tool you have if you will only use it. Each month you receive
your complimentary copies. * * * 'With all this in mind, the Master
or General who does not take full advantage of this newspaper
is losing more than he will ever knew' (CX 79Z92).
And again:
And don't forget that the Holiday Magic Wand is one of our best
Direct Approach aids, it will always excite a potential prospect's
curiosity to the point of wanting to attend one of the business
opportunity meetings. (CX 1840Z60Z61).
44. Early issues of the Wand also contained a 'Solution Box' column,
designed to instruct distributors in the intricacies of the Holiday
Magic Marketing Plan. At CX 8FWand 3/66:
All distributors who have any question regarding any phase of
Holiday Magic should write the company. The authoritative answer
to your question will appear in this column. This is YOUR column,
so please use it to broaden your knowledge.
b. Holiday Magic Family News
45. Like the Wands, the Family News publications are designed
to keep distributors up to date on the material covered therein
(CX 28A). Family News appear in the record as CX 118124,
CX 127CX 168, CX 170172.
46. The Family News is distributed to employees and distributors
of Holiday Magic, Inc. throughout the United States (RugglesTr.
601).
C. Holiday Magic Bulletins
47. Holiday Magic, Inc. also utilizes a bulletin format to disseminate
information to its distributors in the field. The bulletins are
normally addressed to all Master and General Distributors (see
CX 672, CX 665, CX 663, CX 630AB, CX 609, CX 549). On occasion
bulletins will be sent to 'All Distributors' (see CX 473). Information
Bulletins that are sent to Masters and Generals only are intended,
with 'discretion,' to be relayed to Holiday Girls as well (CX
78Z9).
,48. Distributors are advised to place all bulletins received
from Holiday Magic in a binder, as they will need to refer to
them from time to time (CX 1800Z12).
D. Manuals
49. Holiday Magic Manuals appear in the record at CX 76116,
CX 1800, CX 1842, CX 1840, CX 1841; and elsewhere.
These manuals are published regularly by Holiday Magic, Inc. and
deal with a variety of subjects, from the holding of Opportunity
Meetings and the training of Master and General Distributors in
the art of recruiting (CX 78, 79, CX 1840, CX 1841, 1842, cx 90,
96, 97, 98, 99) to the techniques for selling cosmetics (CX 91,
92, 107, 108) and the establishment of a cosmetic wholesale
retail business (CX 106).
50. Although only one or two manuals are given to all distributors
at no cost to them (GillespieTr. 9347), it can be assumed
that every Distributor at whatever level is cognizant and aware
of what is in the manuals (Gillespie 9348, 9359).
51. The purpose of the manuals is to provide Masters and Generals
with procedures and techniques to enable them to build and sustain
an effective Holiday Magic program (CX 1800DMasters' and
Generals' Manual).
52. Distributors are told to 'Know and practice anything written
in this manual and you will achieve every objective that you might
set for yourself' (CX 1800R).
53. Distributors are advised that almost any question that they
can conceive of regarding the Holiday Magic program will be answered
by the written material provided by Holiday Magic (CX 1800Z13,
CX 78Z101, CX 70Z101).
54. Manuals are available to prospects as well as distributors,
who may read them over before joining Holiday Magic (see Tr. 2980).
55. The purpose of [the Masters' and Generals'] manual is to provide
Masters and Generals with procedures and techniques which will
save time, experimentation, and expensive errors. Holiday Magic,
Inc. expects each Master and General to be thoroughly knowledgeable
in the methods used to build and sustain an effective Holiday
Magic Cosmetic Program. (CX 78F, CX 79F Masters' and Generals'
manuals appear in the record as CX 78AZ103, CX 79AZ103,
CX 1800.)
VI. The Marketing Plan Generally
56. Corporate respondent's marketing plan is a distribution network
which allows a potential distributor to enter at any one of three
levels, i.e., Holiday Girl, Organizer and Master, and may eventually
qualify at a fourth level, that of General (Answer, p. 3). 'Distributor'
refers to all levels in the Holiday Magic marketing plan (GillespieTr.
9364) and refers to any wholesaler or retailer of Holiday Magic
products (CX 104M).
57. The distributors' gross profit is the difference between the
price or prices at which he purchases Holiday Magic products and
the price or prices at which he resells them (Answer, p. 3).
58. All Distributors are independent contractors (Answer, p. 4).
59. Every position in Holiday Magic requires a different level
of investment (GuardTr. 10404; CX 1842, CX 90PS).
VII. Holiday Magic Distributors
A. Holiday Girl Distributor
60. Holiday Girls are required to invest $39 worth of product
and sales aids in order to qualify for that position (CX 78Z48,
CX 79Z45, CX 1842R, CX 90P) or purchase a 'minikit' for
$11.99 (CX 90P).
61. Holiday Girls may be recruited and sponsored into Holiday
Magic either by an Organizer, Master or General Distributor (CX
90P, CX 90Q; Tr. 2432, 2540, 3344; see also CX 90S).
62. Holiday Girls buy their product needs from their 'Sponsor'
who would be either a General Distributor, Master Distributor,
or Organizer Distributor (CX 78Z48, CX 79Z45; Tr. 903233,
3314, 2519, 2678, 5216, 2452, 2604).
63. Holiday Girls purchase their products at a 30 percent discount
off of list retail list price (CX 78Z48, cx 79z45, cx 2065b, cx
2065d, cx 2080a, b, c; cx 2081a, b, c; cx 2083, cx 2084a, b; cx
2086, cx 2091a, cx 2093a, cx 2096a, cx 2099a, b; cx 2100, cx 2106,
cx 2108A, CX 2112AC).
See also Part XIX.
64. At the end of each calendar month, Holiday Girls receive a
cash refund bonus from their sponsors based upon total retail
volume ordered during that calendar month. The amount of the refund
bonus is computed according to the following Refund Bonus Schedule:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
(CX 78Z48, CX 79Z46, CX 77F, CX 649, CX 78Z33, CX 27A; see also
Part XIX.)
65. There is a substantial turnover of distributors at the Holiday
Girl level (ChristieTr. 5992; DempseyTr. 6035; HabuaryTr.
6082; CoultasTr. 9680, 9752).
66. Holiday Girls on the average are active from four to six weeks.
(a) Holiday Girls and Avon ladies do essentially the same kinds
of work (BaumgatenTr. 9500). Avon has an exceedingly high
turnover rate (CoultasTr. 9764) entimated to be as high
as 1400 percent in the course of one year (Davis Tr. 6272).
(b) Dorothy Sovereign, who was with the Avon company for 7
1/2 years (Tr. 8688) as Avon's top selling Avon lady (Tr. 8710)
as well as Holiday Magic's top retailer (Tr. 87078710) and
who herself recruited approximately 100 Holiday Girls since she
has been with the company, testified that Holiday Girls, on the
average, last six weeks (Tr. 8695, 8701) about the same as Avon
ladies (Tr. 8696).
67. Holiday Girls purchase cosmetics products for their personal
use as well as for resale (CoultasTr. 9756, Semling Tr.
5875).
68. It can be reasonably presumed that the address of the Holiday
Girl indicates the central area from which the Holiday Girl is
doing business (see Tr. 4625, 7928).
69. Holiday Girls are retailers only under the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and do not sell or attempt to sell at wholesale (CX 79Z98,
CX 78Z65).
See CX 90UOnce your prospect enrolls [as a Holiday
Girl] try to upgrade him to the Organizer level. (Put an 'X' on
Organizer position.) Kid him (with caution) by such comments as
'Of course you're not going to trot down the street with that
Holiday Girl kit in your hand. Don't you really think that you
ought to be an Organizer so you can sponsor other businessmen
like yourself into the program right away?'
B. Organizer Distributor
70. Organizer Distributors were required to invest approximately
$130.41 for one of every item in the Holiday Magic line (CX 1842R,
CX 90P, CX 79Z98). As of approximately July 31, 1970, the required
investment for the Organizer Distributor position jumped to $299,
for which the new Organizer received a Holiday Magic onepack
of products, a MiniKit; a ten cassette library of recorded
messages from motivational sales people, a one year subscription
to 'Perception' magazine and a two day course taught by Instructor
Generals (CX 165HFamily News7/31/70).
71. Organizers may sponsor other Organizers into the business,
who in turn may sponsor othr organizers into the business ad infinitum
(CX 1842Y, CX 79Z29, CX 85S, CX 86B, CX 104N, CX 90P).
72. Organizer or Holiday Girls sponsored by other Organizer must
buy their products from the sponsoring organizer (CX 79Z29, CX
104N, (CX 70Z99).
73. The Organizer serves as a subwholesaler and 'apprentice
Master,' functions in the selection of personnel, hires, trains,
and supervises Holiday Girls and other Organizers (CX 104N, CX
1802R, CX 90P, CX 79Z99).
74. There is no maximum number of other Organizer distributors
that another Organizer may bring into the Holiday Magic program
(Tr. 3702).
(a) The Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting presentation shows a
diagram of Organizers each having recruited five other organizers
per month, in explaining the Holiday Magic opportunity. The diagrams
look as follows:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
(b) Since the Opportunity Meeting script supposes that the Organizer
Distributors will each on the average 'reproduce themselves five
times' (CX 79Z31) an accurate pictorial of the opportunity meeting
presentation with respect to the Holiday Magic marketing plan
would look as follows after three months only:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
75. An Organizer Distributor buys and sells Holiday Magic products
at the same 30 percent discount from list price, and is entitled
to the refund as appears in the Refund Bonus Schedule, based upon
cumulative monthly purchases in each calendar month (CX 77F, CX
649, CX 78Z48, CX79Z46, CX 78Z33, CX 104C, CX 105C).
See CX 4CWand: 11/65 Solution Box Column:
Question: How do I explain to an Organizer why he doesn't get
a bigger percentage in his monthly refund schedule?
Answer: If an Organizer, who is actually a SubWholesaler,
buys a Distributor Kit and a OnePack, he has purchased $120.40
plus applicable taxes in his area. Thus, if his Holiday Girl sells
any amount over $100, this means a 35% on our volume schedule.
Obviously, then, the Organizer cannot have any override since
they are both in the 35% area.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
76. An Organizer Distributor may 'earn' his way to the position
of Master Distributor through creating $5,000 retail volume in
one calendar month (CX 1842S, CX 79Z100). This is known as the
'WorkIn Master' (CX 79Z100, CX 79Z95; Rule 23).
The Organizer will thereby receive credit for the total volume
created, either through sales of product to Holiday Girls or to
other Organizers (CX 1842T, CX 86B, CX 1840Z69, CX 90Q).
77. Examples given by Holiday Magic for workin Masters are
seventeen girls working parttime averaging three hundred
dollars a month totaling $5100 or by sponsoring six suborganizers
into the wholesale end of the business who would purchase six
onepacks each during a calendar month (presumably to recruit
five others in turn and distribute a onepack to each (CX
1842T, CX 1940Z72, CX 90Q).
78. Approximately 25 percent of the Organizers recruited will
become Masters if 'properly trained' in the first 10 days in Holiday
Magic (CX 1840Z48, CX 85B; see Part XII 4(a)).
79. Organizer Distributors sell or attempt to sell at retail as
well as at wholesale to other Organizer Distributor or Holiday
Girls whom they sponsored into the Holiday Magic program (CX 79Z98,
CX 79Z99; Tr. 5181, 5176, 5478, 2437, 2679, 5025, 5478, 7873).
C. Master Distributor
80. A Master Distributor can attain his position either as a 'Buyin'
a 'Work in' or combination 'Buyin/Workin' (CX
79H, CX 784).
(a) Buyin Master
1. A buyin Master may be introduced to Holiday Magic, Inc.
by a General Distributor, a Master Distributor, an Organizer Distributor
or a Holiday Girl Distributor (CX 79H, CX 78H).
2. A buyin Master is a person who becomes a Master Distributor
by a lump sum capital investment for Holiday Magic products and
sales aids (CX 79Z98, CX 79H; Tr. 2542).
3. The cost of the Master Distributorship has fluctuated from
$2500 to $4500 (Tr. 9574, 959192, 2542).
(b) Workin Master
1. A Distributor may become a 'workin' Master by purchasing
for resale from his sponsor the required volume, which has varied
from $5,000 to $7,777.77 at the retail list price value (CX 79H,
CX 79Z 100, Tr. 9606).
2. See Part VII B7.
(c) Workin/Buyin Master
A distributor may become a 'Workin/Buyin' Master by
selling a portion of the required volume through his organization
and purchasing from his sponsor or from Holiday Magic, Inc. the
balance in one lump sum, which can be done in any one day of the
month (CX 79H, CX 78H; Tr. 7183).
81. Master Distributors buy their Holiday Magic products at a
discount of 55 percent off of retail list price (CX 79Z31, CX
70Z46, CX 78Z49).
82. Master Distributors buy directly from Holiday Magic, Inc.
(a) At CX 70Z31'As a Master Distributor you buy directly
from Holiday Magic.'
(b) CX 78TA General Distributor 'can work wholesale
or retail or both as he desires. Does not supply his Masters with
product.' A Master Distributor 'Buys product directly from factory
to supply his Organizers and Holiday Girls.'
(c) Stipulation of respondents' counsel at Tr. 262123):
Q. Mr. Lzzard, I show you a document marked CX 439 for identification
and ask if you will be able to identify this, please.
(The document referred to was marked CX 439 for identification).
A. Yes, sir, this is a bulletin, one of many dozens I received
as a master distributor from the company in San Rafael, California.
This one pertains to new warehouses available.
MR. CAMERON: Your Honor, I would like to offer this into evidence
at this time.
MR. WOLFSON: Objected to on the grounds that that couldn't possibly
have any probative value to the issues involved in this case.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: What is the purpose?
MR. CAMERON: Your Honor, we have this under our price discrimination
category in our allocation, and this will show where masters and
generals purchased their product, and to show the chain of distribution.
MR. WOLFSON: What difference can it possibly make where they purchased
it?
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: You say this will show where the masters
and generals purchased their product?
MR. WOLFSON: It doesn't even show that.
MR. CAMERON: Your Honor, it is part of the mosaic of the marketing
operation.
MR. WOLFSON: Now, that is not original, Judge.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: No; I wish I'd never used the word.
Well, now the reason you are giving me is no reason for my receiving
it, so what else do you have to say?
MR. CAMERON: Your Honor, I think it is important, especially in
our price discrimination allegation in the complaint, to show
where distributors purchased their product from.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: Well, they'll stipulate with you that
the distributors purchased their product from Holiday Magic, won't
they? Now, that is what you said you wanted to introduce it for,
isn't it?
MR. CAMERON: Well, I'd like toO.K.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: I guess so. All right.
MR. WOLFSON: He gave up.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: They will stipulate with you that masters
and generals purchased their product from Holiday Magic; am I
correct?
MR. WOLFSON: Yes, Judge, they gave up, they said they are going
to withdraw it anyway, Mr. Brownman.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: Mr. Mitchell do you stipulate to that?
MR. MITCHELL: Sure, Your Honor.
MR. CAMERON: I'll take it back.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: That doesn't even prove it.
MR. WOLFSON: That is right.
(The documents referred to, heretofore marked for identification
CX 439, was withdrawn).
(d) CX 106C'Only Master and General Distributor's
orders should be submitted to Holiday Magic. All other distributors
purchase through their sponsor.'
(e) Testimony of former Administrative Vice President and Director
Gillespie'[Holiday Magic adopted a numerical cross
file for Masters and Generals but not for Holiday Girls] Because
Holiday Magic did business with the Masters and Generals' (Tr.
9369); [O]bviously Masters and Generals normally purchased from
the company * * *' (Tr. 9415, 9419).
(f) See also Part XLV 1.
83. Master Distributors sell or attempt to sell at retail as well
as at wholesale to Organizers or Holiday Girls whom they sponsored
into the Holiday Magic Program (CX 79Z99; Tr. 3077, 3458, 2452,
2604, 4187).
D. General Distributor
84. In order for a person to become a General Distributor, he
must fulfill three qualifications:
(a) He must first be a Master Distributor (CX 1842U, CX 1940Z75,
CX 90R).
(b) Submit a certified check for $2500 to Holiday Magic, Inc.which
is called a General's release feeand will be held
in escrow until the third requirement is met (CX 1842UV,
CX 1840Z7576, CX 78M, CX 90R).
The 'release fee' has ranged from $2500 to $3000 to $4500, and
has also been denoted by respondents as a 'contract settlement
sum' and a 'general's performance fund' (Tr. 253435, 9530,
991819; CX 2000).
(c) He must 'recreate himself' by bringing in a replacement Master
to his sponsoring General Distributor, before the sponsoring General
Distributor will release him from Master Distributor to become
a General Distributor (CX 1842V, CX 1840Z76, CX 78M, CX 90RS).
(d) Formerly a fourth requirement was that the Master Distributor
attend Instructor General class (IG) as a prerequisite to becoming
a General (CX 1842U, CX 1840Z74, CX 90R). The requirement is now
moot since Instructor General school is a requirement to become
a Master Distributor as of Apr. 30, 1970 (CX 159FFamily
News4/10/70).
85. As a practical matter, Holiday Magic, Inc. recognizes only
two requirements for a Generalship positionthe release
fee and the replacement Master.
(a) At CX 1842Z2
Now, that newly created master distributor will want to become
a general distributor to earn the kind of money a General does!
But, [in] order for a master distributor to become a General Distributor,
there are two major qualifications that must be completed. The
first is to post a $2500 dollar General release fee with the factory,
and the second is to bring in a replacement master to your sponsoring
General before he will release you to become a General Distributor!
(b) See also
1. Witness Davis was congratulated by Holiday Magic on having
become a General Distributor only twelve days after having been
congratulated for becoming a Master Distributor (CX 1391, 1393;
Tr. 1358).
2. When Crosby was congratulated by Holiday Magic, Inc. on becoming
a Master Distributor and the same day was congratulated by Holiday
Magic, Inc. on becoming a General Distributor (CX 1349, CX 1350).
Note that Crosby's 'Application' to become a General is dated
9/23/69, whereas the letter informing him of his Master status
(and General status) was dated 9/24/69.
3. Other examples of Masters becoming Generals very quickly are:
(CX 35F (2 weeks); CX 3D (10 days); CX 45G (2 weeks); CX 35C (7
days), Tr. 2067 (45 weeks); Tr. 3136 (3 days); Tr. 5311
(week or two); Tr. 406061 (next day).
4. See CX 18A; GayTr. 9956.
86. General Distributors purchase Holiday Magic products directly
from Holiday Magic, Inc. at a discount of 54 percent off of retail
list price (Answer, p. 4; CX 104M; see also VIIC3).
87. General Distributors sell or attempt to sell at retail as
well as at wholesale to Organizer Distributors and Holiday Girl
Distributors whom they sponsored into the Holiday Magic Program
(Tr. 4553, 783839, 5140, 2525, 5218, 2479).
E. Replacement Masters
88. The strength of the Holiday Magic Marketing Plan, as Holiday
Magic describes it, lies in the replacement master requirement.
CX 1842VThis means he must bring in a replacement
Master Distributor to you, his sponsoring General Distributor,
before you will release him from Master Distributor to become
a General Distributor.
Herein lies the strength of the Holiday Magic marketing planWhy
Holiday Magic has grown so rapidly because he must always replace
himself with a working indian before he can become a chief. Your
number of Masters will never decreaseyou will only
grow in the number of Generals you have.
This replacement Master was brought into the sponsoring General
Distributor which just caused another $5,000 in retail product
to be purchased from the factory * * *
VIII. Holiday Magic Distributors StatisticsNumbers
and Geographic Areas
89. As of approximately Feb. 26, 1969, Holiday Magic Records indicate
that 9252 persons had become Master Distributors throughout the
country, of which 2940 became Generals. The Record further reflects
that as of approximately Dec. 31, 1968, (only two months earlier)
there had been a total of 43,713 Organizer Distributors and 41,918
Holiday Girl Distributors (CX 457A).
90. Inasmuch as Organizer, Master and General Distributors are
all qualified to sponsor and recruit Holiday Girls into the Holiday
Magic program, on the average, persons in their lifetime as Holiday
Magic distributors actually recruited and sponsored less than
one Holiday Girl each (CX 457A).
91. It can also be found that since 2940 persons became General
distributors, an equal number were at one point in the program
Replacement Masters (CX 457A).
92. A breakdown of Organizers and Holiday Girls by state reveals
the following, as of 1/29/69:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
CX 457A, B, C)
93. As of approximately Apr. 26, 1972, approximately 504 Masters
had been recruited in the State of Florida, of whom 219 had become
Generals and 285 remained as Masters (CX 2081AZ21).
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Fort PierceOf the 34 Masters and Generals, 32 were
recruited in calendar year 1966 as Masters (another one was recruited
on 12/31/65!) and 23 of the 34 were recruited as Masters and Generals
in just the first six months of 1966 (CX 2081AZ21).
OkeechobeeOf the total of 11 Masters and Generals
all were recruited as Masters and Generals during a five month
period from May to Sept. 1966 (CX 2081AZ21).
94. As of approximately Nov. 1970, Holiday Magic had on record
for the State of Illinois approximately 1918 Masters of whom 511
were able to qualify as General Distributors (CX 200AZ177;
Tr. 4738).
Of these Masters and Generals, the following can be gleaned in
conjunction with Census figures in the record as RX 156
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
95. Through a process of addition, one can find that since Master
Distributor numbering started on a sequential basis throughout
the country as of May 1969 (Tr. 9989; CX 2081 Z12) with ID #20001,
and that by the end of Apr. 1970, ID #022972 had been reached
(CX 2081 Z16); therefore:
(a) 14 more Masters were recruited from Mt. Prospect during the
period May 1969 through Apr. 1970; a total of 9 persons had already
been recruited as Masters and Generals as of May 1969.
(b) Seven more Masters and three more Generals were first brought
into the program in Skokie during the period May 1967 through
Apr. 1970; a total of 31 persons had already been recruited as
Masters and Generals as of May 1969.
(c) 14 more Masters and six more Generals were first brought into
the program in Des Plaines during the period May 1969 through
Apr. 1970; a total of 26 persons had already been recruited as
Masters and Generals as of May 1969.
96. Chicago Metropolitan Area:
Approximately 1000 Masters and 600 Generals have been recruited
in the Chicago metropolitan area, which for purposes of this finding
is defined as including all of Cook County and DuPage County only.
The population of these combined counties is approximately 6,000,000
people (RX 156; CX 200AZ177).
As of approximately Dec. 1969, Holiday Magic figures indicate
that a total of approximately 809 Masters and Generals had been
recruited in the State of Michigan (Tr. 3892; CX 357BZ52).
A comparison with Census figures for 1970 shows the following
(RX 155):
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
97. As of approximately Jan. 1971, there were approximately 25,000
Masters and Generals that had been recruited in the country.
(a) This information was relayed to former Holiday Magic President
Ben Gay III when he was in charge of Holiday Magic, Ltd. in Canada,
by Harold Combs, the man in charge of the Customer Service Department
(Tr. 89999900, 9984).
This information is possibly more reliable than the testimony
of Sherman Coultas, who testified that since the beginning, 20,000
Masters and Generals had been recruited'probably'
(Tr. 9759).
98. As of approximately the end of 1972, 168,000 Holiday Girls
and Organizers had been recruited into the Holiday Magic program
(Tr. 9762).
Although this information was also testified to by Mr. Coultas,
it is considered more reliable than his estimate of the numbers
of Masters and Generals since he at first stated he didn't know
what the figure was and only after being shown a document was
he able to 'refresh his recollection.' (Tr. 9762).
99. The ratio of Holiday Girls to Organizers, Masters and Generals
is approximately 4 to 5 and the ratio of Holiday Girls to Organizers
is less than 1 to 1 (CX 457 A). The ratio of Masters to Generals
is approximately 2 to 1 (CX 457A).
100. Holiday Magic, Inc. does not know and keeps no records of
the number of Masters and Generals that are actively pursuing
their business.
(a) George Platsis, Assistant Attorney General, State of Michigan
testified that he asked Holiday Magic, Inc. for a list of active
and inactive distributors. Holiday Magic's response, in Dec. 1969,
was that they have no way of knowing who is active and who is
inactive (TR. 3892). The list of Masters and Generals supplied
appears in the record as CX 357BZ52 (TR. 3890, 3894).
(b) Sherman Coultas, Holiday Magic's Director of legal service,
testified that Holiday Magic, Inc. has no records of turnover
of Masters and Generals (TR. 9760).
(c) The only method Holiday Magic uses to determine which distributors
are active and which are inactive, is to record as 'active' those
distributors who reordered product from Holiday Magic in the preceding
six month period (Coultas TR. 9699). However, a study of the lists
in question testified to by Mr. Coultas (RX 159, RX 160 and RX
161) indicates that Distributors are considered active if they
ordered in the previous 12month periodnot six
month period (see RX 159, RX 160, and RX 161; TR. 9699).
(This is an unreliable yardstick, since Distributors can be active
and not have reordered from Holiday Magic, or can be purchasing
for personal use only and not be active as a Distributor.)
(d) Another method of determining the number of active Masters
and Generals today is to assume that active Masters and Generals
belong to the CRS distribution centers. Testimony appears in the
Record that 95 percent of 'active' people belong to CRS (TR. 9629Pangerl)
and that there are 2700 members of CRS (TR. 5881Semling).
From this it can be determined that there are 2,842 active Masters
and Generals throughout the country today.
101. Distributors whom Holiday Magic, Inc. considers to be 'inactive'
continue to receive bulletins and Wands from Holiday Magic, inc.
(CoultasTR. 9699; CoultasTR. 974344).
102. Holiday Magic, Inc. has a policy of not providing its distributors
with the number of previously recruited Distributors in the geographic
or market area in which the Distributors do business or are recruited
and Distributors who seek such information are denied it. See
following:
(a) CX 1881WandSolution BoxJan.
1967:
Question: Can the company provide me with a list of Master and
General Distributors in our area so we can participate in joint
projects?
Answer: The company does not compile lists of distributors by
area, but suggests that this data could be obtained through the
council in your area. A list of councils can be obtained by writing
the company.
Question: In the December issue of 'The Wand,' we read that 'Holiday
Magic' now has 50,000 distributors. We find this almost as incredible
as the monthly sales volume. Are these figures accurate?
Answer: The sales figure is indeed accurate. However, the number
of Distributors was a misprint. After some deliberation, we have
decided to keep the actual figure as to the number of distributors
a wellguarded secret.
(b) TR. 906667At first denied because not in
Distributor's interestthen given to Council only when
mailing initiated to get membership back up.
(c) GayTR 9970.
103. Attached hereto are bar graphs picturing the Master and General
Distributors recruited in the geographic areas noted by calendar
year.
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
IX. Release FeeProcedures
104. When the release fee money comes into Holiday Magic, Inc.
it is deposited in the Holiday Magic accounts, and when a Master
Distributor qualifies for the General position by finding a replacement
Master, the money is sent out to the old General. Holiday Magic
maintains a record of the fees that are thereby sent out (AlexanderTR.
5540).
105. The release fee sum rose from $2500 to $3000 approximately
six weeks after the buyin requirement for the Master Order
went from $2500 to $3000 (AlexanderTR 555960);
and the buyin requirement and release fee are both up to
$4500 (CX 2069D; TR. 9574; CX 2000).
106. The Master Distributor who pays the release fee to become
a General Distributor receives no additional product or inventory
therefor. What he does receive is the right to purchase merchandise
from Holiday Magic at a 65 percent discount off of list price
rather than 55 percent, and receiving the release fee money from
other Master Distributors who become Generals (STIPULATION OF
RESPONDENTS AT TR. 247576) as well as to be entitled to
obtain the 10 percent and 1 percent overrides available only to
General Distributors (CX 79M; CX 90P; TR. 1090; 12281229;
13141315; 48434844; 4935; 49454946; 5199; 6058;
6061; 1232).
107. The release fee is paid automatically and without question
when a replacement Master is introduced to Holiday Magic, Inc.
by the Master desiring to become a General.
CX 90RSWhen this replacement Master is brought
into the business, an additional $5,000 in retail product is purchased
from Holiday Magic and you, with your 10% override, would be paid
another $5,000 in cash. But since the rules require you to pay
out $200 in cash as a finder's fee to whomever brought in this
Master, you net only $300, on replacement Masters. However, the
moment that the replacement Master is officially recorded by the
company, the $2,500 cash, being held in escrow, is released to
you, the sponsoring General Distributor. Thus, you have earned
a total of $3,300 cash each time you sponsor a new General Distributor.
X. Inventory Requirement and Draw Account
108. Persons who wish to start out in the Holiday Magic program
as Master Distributors must purchase an 'inventory' of cosmetics
valued at between $5,000 and $7,777.77 (CX 77K; CX 90P; TR. 9603).
109. Persons who are workin/buyin Masters must purchase
an 'inventory' to qualify for the Master position equal to the
difference between the Master calendar month purchase requirement
of from $5,000 to $7,777.77 and the amount actually sold to his
Organizers, Holiday Girls or retail customers during that same
month (CX 78H; CX 79H).
110. Persons who are 'Workin' Masters have no initial inventory
requirement since all merchandise purchased from Holiday Magic
during the Calendar month in which they are to qualify as Master
Distributors are resold to Organizers, Holiday Girls or retail
customers (CX 90Q; CX 1842ST).
111. The new Master Distributor who qualifies either as a buyin
or work in/buyin may either receive the merchandise
ordered from Holiday Magic, Inc. or a credit for same which he
may draw upon as he desires (CX 77K; RugglesTR. 651; CX
379).
112. The draw account exists for Master Distributors and General
Distributors (GillespieTR. 9440).
113. The draw account device was initiated by Holiday Magic, Inc.
in 1965 (GillespieTR. 9441).
114. Some distributors take their entire draw balance on their
first order. Some take half, and some take just a small amount
LipskaTR. 10410).
115. If a Master Distributor becomes a General with a portion
of his initial purchase requirement still on a draw account, he
continues to order at the 55 percent discount until the draw balance
is zero, even though he is already a General Distributor (CX 1415).
116. Other than the draw account and buyin or workin/buyin
requirements, there are no inventory requirements for Master Distributors
and there are no inventory requirements for General Distributors
imposed by Holiday Magic, Inc. (see CX 1302A, B; CX 90RS;
CX 78MO; except when new partners are taken into the businessSee
Part XXV).
117. An inventory requirement of the CRS Distribution Center which
Master and General Distributors may utilize is $4,000 in retail
value of product for Masters and Generals (See Part XXX).
XI. Finder's Fee
118. Holiday Magic, Inc. requires its General Distributors to
pay a finder's fee of $100 to any Holiday Girl, Organizer or Master
distributor who sponsors a 'Buyin' Master Distributor (CX
79Z97, Rule 31); CX 79Z98; CX 78P; CX 79P; CX 78H; CX 104M; CX
78Z100 (Rule 31); CX 81Z52 (Rule 31); CX 82Z52 (Rule 31); CX 83Z52
(Rule 31); CX 104L (Rule 31); CX 105H (Rule 30); CX 404D (Rule
30); at CX 78P AND CX 79P:
This fee of $100 is a special bonus paid by the General * * *
to the person who introduces a new 'BuyIn' Master Distributor
to him.
It is paid only once and is paid on or before the fifth of the
month. * * * Masters, Organizers and Holiday Girls may receive
this special bonus for bringing in a Master Distributor at this
initial level of commitment. It is only paid on persons who originally
sign in as Master Distributor and is never paid on 'Workin'
Masters, who have previously executed an application and agreement
as an Organizer or Holiday Girl.
119. In order to receive a finder's fee, the person must have
been in the Holiday Magic business either as a Holiday Girl, Organizer
or Master Distributor, 'which means they would have had to buy
a kit to get started with' or 'the minimum inventory' for an Organizer
or 'the Master's inventory.' (PangerlTR. 9542).
120. The finder's fee payment is a requirement of Holiday Magic,
Inc. It must be paid by the General Distributor. General Distributors
have been terminated by Holiday Magic, Inc. for failure to pay
the said fee (GillespieTR. 9364; CX 658B; CX 686GJ;
CX 655; CX 659; TR. 6952).
121. A Master Distributor who sponsors another Master Distributor
into Holiday Magic, Inc. and who obtains the $100 finder's fee
may also use this 'BuyIn' Master as a replacement Master
to enable him to become a General Distributor (CX 1840Z59).
XII. The 2 Percent Override
122. Holiday Magic, Inc. requires its General Distributors to
pay a sum of money to Organizers and Master Distributors equal
to 2 percent of the retail list price value of products purchased
by any Master Distributors, the Organizer Distributors or Master
Distributors sponsored into the Holiday Magic program. The Organizer
Distributors sponsored into the Holiday Magic program. The Organizer
Distributor or Master Distributor receiving a finder's fee continues
to be entitled to receive this 2 percent override until such time
as the recruited BuyIn Master or the sponsoring distributor
becomes a General Distributor (CX 78Z100 (Rule 31); CX 79Z97 (Rule
31); CX 81Z52 (Rule 31); CX 82Z52 (Rule 31); CX 83Z52 (Rule 31);
CX 104L (Rule 31); CX 105H (Rule 30); CX 404D (Rule 30); CX 78P;
CX 79P; CX 77K).
123. The 2 percent override could amount to a considerable sum
each month.
At CX 78Z52:
Suppose that after you have been with the Company for several
months you have caused to develop among your directs, five Master
Distributors. You will receive 2% from each of their volumes.
This 2% could amount to a considerable sum each month.
124. The 2 percent override is required to be paid by the General
on or before the fifth day of the following month (CX 78H; CX
78H; CX 78P).
125. Distributors who receive the percent override are not required
to sell product to the Masters doing the purchasing from Holiday
Magic, Inc. and do not service them in any other way:
(a) at Cx 79Z31:
Now, let's look at the next 30 days in the businessyour
third month.
Each one of these people will do the same thing that Mary had
done and for the very same reasonthey will reproduce
themselves five times. And now that that has happened, you have
reproduced yourself five times.
Each one of your original five people is now moving the same volume
that you moved last month$9,000. And now we have a
bit of a problem.
If you will look back on that chart, [Refund Bonus Schedule] you
will find that they are earning 55% and you are at 55% and there
is nothing left over. You are not making anything.
Well, there was one thing that I didn't tell you about this plateau
that you reached when you went above $5000 in volume.
At that time you became a Master Distributor. As a Master Distributor
you buy directly from Holiday Magic, You receive as their sponsor
an override. In this case that override is 2%.
2% of $9000 is $180.00. You have five people doing that and that's
total of $900.00.
So, in your third month you have earned a total of $900.00 from
your first five people. Again, all the new people in the business
this month were sponsored by someone you sponsored in a prior
month. As yet you haven't done anything.
(b) At Physical Exhibit B, TR. 9807:
At this point, you may desire to consider the possibility of working
full time in your Holiday Magic cosmetic business. By the end
of your third month with Holiday Magic, you will be pleased to
discover that your first five outlets have reached the volume
of $9,000 each and, as you have done, they, too, become Master
Distributors. At this point, they begin to purchase directly from
the company.
Although you are no longer required to service them with product
and they no longer need your service or your help, you begin to
receive 2 percent of their volume. Two percent of $9,000 is $180
times five, which equals $900. This 2 percent is a perpetual override
for you each and every month so long as both remain a part of
the Holiday Magic organization or until either of you or they
become General Distributors.
Your total profit for the third month is calculated as follows:
You receive $900 as an override from your first five outlets without
lifting a finger.
126. The 2 percent override is an absolute requirement of Holiday
Magic, Inc. It must be paid by the General Distributor. General
Distributors have been terminated by Holiday Magic, Inc. for failure
to pay the said money.
See CX 658A, B, where in Holiday Magic, Inc. terminated a Distributor
for failure to pay a 2 percent override:
As you know, the payment of this 2% override is a definite requirement
of our marketing plan and no deviations will be allowed.
XIII. The Ten Percent Override
127. General Distributors receive directly from Holiday Magic,
Inc. a monthly payment equal to 10 percent of the retail list
price value of products purchased by Master Distributors (CX 790;
Physical Exhibit BTR. 9808; CX 152B; CX 104N; CX 78M; CX
79M; CX 1842U).
128. Along with the 10 percent override, the General Distributor
receives a copy of the Master Distributor's official monthly purchase
record (CX 790; CX 780; CX 2053AM; CX 2054AL; TR.
52235227).
129. General Distributors also receive directly from Holiday Magic,
Inc. a payment equal to 10 percent of the purchase volume of Master
Distributors recruited by themselves or by Organizers or Holiday
Girls to whom they sell, directly or indirectly:
CX90R:
For just a moment, put yourself in the position of a General Distributor
working at 65%. Each time you create a new Master Distributor
you receive a cash override of 10% of the total retail value of
the merchandise which must be purchased from the company to establish
that Master Distributor. Ten percent of $5,000 will earn you $500
cash.
When this replacement Master is brought into the business, an
additional $5,000 in retail product is purchased from Holiday
Magic and you, with your 10% override, would be paid another $500
in cash. But since the rules require you to pay out $200 in cash
as a finder's fee to whomever brought in this Master, you net
only $300 on replacement Masters.
130. All Master Distributors are assigned to a General Distributor
who receives the 10 percent override on the Master Distributor's
purchases. (CX 200AZ177).
131. There are, however, General Distributors who have no Master
Distributors assigned to them and over whom they collect a 10
percent override.
(a) Since there are more Masters than Generals this is inevitable.
See Part VIII.
(b) Specific Examples at TR 40554069; TR. 13351409;
TR. 14851625; TR. 16941822; TR. 4814; TR. 6947).
132. Replacement Masters are included in the group of Master Distributors
who are assigned to a General Distributor who receives a 10 percent
override on their purchases.
(a) This follows from XIII 3.
(b) For specific examples, See: TR. 9560, 9571).
(c) CX 1842V; CX 90RS).
133. Replacement Masters of replacement Masters are included in
the group of Master Distributors who are assigned to a General
Distributor who receives a 10 percent override on their purchases.
(a) This follows from XIII 3.
(b) For specific examples, see: TR. 9560; 957172).
(c) At CX 1842: WHOLESALE ENROLLMENTFor just a moment
* * *, put yourself in the position of a General Distributor working
at 65%. Each time you create a new Master Distributor you receive
10% of the total retail volume that must change hands. Ten percent
of $5,000 has just earned you $500.00 cash!
This newly created Master Distributor that you have just enrolled
will want to become a General Distributor like you so that he
may earn the kind of money that you are earning here. * * *
* * * This means he must bring in a replacement Master Distributor
to you, his Sponsoring General Distributor, before you will release
him from Master Distributor to become a General Distributor.
Hereinlies the strength of the Holiday Magic marketing
planwhy Holiday Magic has grown so rapidly because
he must always replace himself with a working indian before he
can become a chief. Your number of Masters will never decreaseyou
will only grow in number of Generals you have.
This replacement Master was brought into the sponsoring General
Distributor which just caused another $5,000 in retail product
to be purchased from the factory and you, with you 10% overruled,
have just been paid another your 10% override, have just been
paid another
134. Holiday Girls and Organizers who become Master Distributors,
who are not themselves replacement Masters, are included in the
group of Master Distributors upon which the General Distributor
in whose buying organization they had been, gets the 10 percent
override (CX 90T).
135. Holiday Girls and Organizers who were in the buying organization
of a Master Distributor upon which a General Distributor receives
a 10 percent override, when becoming Masters themselves will also
produce the 10 percent override for the General Distributor, unless
the first Master became a General Distributor himself prior to
the movement to Master. A Master Distributor takes his entire
Organization with him when he moves into the General position
(Wolfson Stipulation; TR. 4938; CX 90Z5).
136. Procedure for Paying 10 Percent override
(a) As soon as the Master order comes into Holiday Magic, Inc.
checks are cut for the General's override. It is a routine office
procedure. (Alexander TR. 553031.)
(b) There is an obligation on the part of Holiday Magic, Inc.
to pay this Commission [override] the minute of Recruiter [general]
takes a check from a Recruitee [New Master]. (Stipulation of Attorney
WolfsonTR. 5659; Alexander TR. 5699.)
(c) Holiday Magic, Inc. asks for no reports requires no reports,
and receives no reports with respect to the payment of the 10
percent override in connection with 'services' performed. (AlexanderTR.
5531; TR. 553738; 5539.)
(d) However, many reports are received that General Distributors
perform no services; the response from Holiday Magic, Inc. is
that all purchases are final (RugglesTR. 555556.)
See also Tr. 5351, 5350, 184244, 158990, 1679, 1546;
CX 1342 A, B, CX 1380, CX 1411, CX 1353, CX 1382AB:
(e) General Distributors who in fact perform no services receive
the 10 percent override. (Tr. 204647, 8852, 907275,
6978, 7016, 7110, 632021, 6344, 6978, 8962.)
(f) Holiday Magic President Al Pangerl testified that a Master
of this went to California when he was the top producing General
in the country, residing in New York, but continued to receive
the 10 percent override because 'he knew what it was all about
as a Master.' (Tr. 9649.)
137. General Distributors can live anywhere in the country and
receive the 10 percent override on other Master Distributors living
anywhere else in the country.
See Tr. 9649, 103391, 5349, 8852, 9118.
XIV. The One Percent Override
138. General Distributors receive directly from Holiday Magic,
Inc. a monthly payment equal to 1% of the retail list price value
of products purchased by other General Distributors, and by Master
Distributors over whom the second General Distributor is receiving
a 10 percent override (CX 79M, CX 790, CX 2053AM, CX 2054AL,
CX 90P; Tr. 52235227).
At CX 790
This [1%] override is paid by Holiday Magic to the old General
of a Master who has been promoted to the General position. It
is paid monthly by the Main Office and is based on the purchases
of the new General, plus the purchases of all of this new General's
Master Distributors.
139. All General Distributors are assigned to another General
Distributor who receives the 1 percent override (CX 200AZ177).
140. There are, however, General Distributors who have no General
Distributors assigned to them, and therefore they collect no 1
percent override.
(Since there are Generals without Masters, there are no Masters
to become Generals (XIII4).)
141. Since replacement Masters and replacement Masters of replacement
Masters may be assigned to a General over whom a 10 percent override
is obtained, replacement Masters and replacement Masters of replacement
Masters, upon becoming Generals, are assigned to that same General
who now receives a 1 percent override instead of the 10 percent
override.
(a) See XIII5, 6.
(b) See Tr. 6057, Testimony of Corporate Official Dempsey that
Jim Hean was a replacement Master in his organizationsponsored
by a man Dempsey brought in the businessand Dempsey
received a 1 percent override in 1966 on Jim Hean's $300,000 volume,
amounting to $3,000.
(c) See Tr. 6483.
142. The General receiving a 1 percent override on the purchase
volume of another General is not required to have any business
relationship with the second General, has no business relationship
with the second General, and performs no services for either the
second General or Holiday Magic, Inc. To this effect are the following
sources:
(a) Stipulation of Attorney Wolfson at Tr. 4613: 'This man as
a General doesn't have to have any business relationship with
the General from whom he receives the one percent. That's a contractsettlement
sum, Judge. He's not supposed to supervise the old General.'
(b) Instructor General and former National Field Director Christie,
at Tr. 5955'A General Distributor should be able to
run the business on his own.'
Mr. Christie continues to receive overrides from his New York
Distributor Although no longer there (Tr. 5979).
(c) Tr. 69916992 of Respondent's witness Kobayaski; a General
Distributor from California since 1965:
Q. Who was the General before you in your organization?
A. General before me, Keoshi Hagashi.
Q. Where is he?
A. He travels all over.
Q. When was the last time you saw him?
A. I haven't seen him recently.
Q. Well, when was the last time that you saw him?
A. I saw him last year. I saw him once.
Q. Let's take the calendar year 1971. How often did you see him
in 1971?
A. I didn't see him. What for?
(d) Testimony of Holiday Magic president Al Pangerl at Tr. 955657:
Q. * * * Were you assigned another sponsoring General after [Mr.
Birni] left [Holiday Magic]?
A. Yes.
Q. Who was he?
A. Tony Rubio.
Q. So Mr. Rubio had been Mr. Birni's sponsoring General?
A. Yes.
Q. Where did this Rubio conduct his business?
A. In California.
Q. Did you have any business relationship with this man?
A. No.
Q. As far as you know he received one percent override on all
of your business?
A. Yes.
And at Tr. 9621:
Q. I ask you if Tony Rubio's profit from his business, namely
the one percent he received from your volume, was determined by
the effort that he, Mr. Rubio, put into the business.
A. If he was working with me then the answer to that would be
'yes.'
Q. And if the answer to that was that he was not working with
you, the answer would be 'no'?
A. The answer would be 'no.'
Q. And he was not working with you?
A. No. I saw him on occasion when I was in California and he called
me. I knew more than he did, so he couldn't help me much.
Mr. Pangerls' Sponsoring General received 1 percent of $400,000(Tr.
9557).
(e) A distributorship and the 1 percent override is inheritable,
and in effect [Aug. 1967] is included in the estate of the deceased
distributor (CX 25GWand, Solution Box867).
(f) See also Tr. 960102, 6072, 6481, 6482, 9420, 9647, 715860.
General Distributors can live anywhere in the country and receive
the 1 percent override on other General Distributors living anywhere
else in the country (Tr. 9621, 5349, 8963, 8199, 8352, 8685).
XV. Distributor Contracts
143. The Holiday Magic Contract or 'Application and Agreement'
is entered into by all three entering levels of distributorsHoliday
Girls, Organizers and Masters (RugglesTr. 667; PangerlTr.
9514; Tr. 1929).
144. Contract forms appear in the record at CX 403, CX 402; CX
1925; CX 1880 A, C; CX 1887).
145. All Holiday Magic rules and regulations either appear on
the document itself, or the contract embraces all the rules and
regulations of Holiday Magic, Inc. (PangerlTr. 9514; CX
404; WolfsonTr. 5658, stipulation); or are specifically
referred to in the face of the contract as being an integral part
of the contract as set forth in the Holiday Magic Sales Manuals,
and distributors agree to abide by all of rules and regulations
of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX 403).
146. Holiday Magic, Inc. maintains in its files a copy of contracts
entered into with all levels of distributors (Tr. 9368; CX 405)
and requires that this be done. See also the following sources:
(a) At CX 405, bulletin from Holiday Magic, Inc. to all Masters
and General Distributors.
Company policy dictates that a distributor to be recognized by
the company as an authorized distributor, his application and
agreement must be on file in this office.
You Master and General Distributors * * * should forward to this
office any such applications you may now be holding.
(b) CX 78Z98, Rule 17, CX 79Z94, CX 81Z48, CX82Z48, CX 83Z48:
For a person to have status with the company as an authorized
Distributor, the Company must have in its records an Application
and Agreement form signed by the Distributor.
147. The Holiday Magic rules and regulations apply to all four
levels of distributor, i.e., Holiday Girls, Organizers, Masters
and Generals, except to the extent that a rule may relate to a
specific distributor level only (GillespieTr. 93579364).
148. In 1967, Holiday Magic, Inc. paid out $2,721,092.19 in overrides
to General Distributors (Tr. 9251) or approximately 9 percent
of the company's gross sales at retail list price value. Since
1 percent of all the gross sales at retail list price value is
payable to General Distributors, it can be determined that for
1967, $303,608.13 went to Generals on the 1 percent override,
and the remainder, or $2,417,394 was based upon the 10 percent
overrice, or purchases of Masters. Approximately 12 1/2 percent
of the total override payments is based upon the 1 percent override.
149. The override payments for the years ending Sept. 1968, 1970,
and 1971 can be determined in the same manner. Nine percent of
the total of the figures appearing in RX 16 is the override payment
to all Generals, and 12 1/2 percent of that figure is the 1 percent
override payment 87 1/2 percent is the 10 percent override payment.
150. For the fiscal year ending Sept. 1970, Holiday Magic's gross
sales at retail list price value was $15,334,830 (RX 16). Nine
percent of this figure, or approximately $1,380,000 was the override
payment, of which $172,500 was a payment on the 1 percent override
and $1,207,500 on the 10 percent override.
151. For the month of June 1970, twentynine Holiday Magic
General Distributors earned over $2,000 in overrides, for July
1970, 58 Holiday Magic General Distributors earned at least $2,000
in overrides, and in Aug. 1970, $2,000 or more in override checks
were mailed out by Holiday Magic, Inc. to 61 General Distributors,
some of whom received as much as $13,000 (CX 61DE; CX 60F).
No applications for Organizers and Holiday Girls are refused (CoultasTr.
9762).
XVI. New Master DistributorProcedures
152. Applications come into the customer service department, accompanied
by a certified check made out to Holiday Magic, Inc. (RugglesTr.
653; AlexanderTr. 5512, ,5560).
153. Holiday Magic, Inc. requires that only cashier's checks or
certified checks should be sent with the Master orderas
well as with all orders (Tr. 1512; Tr. 5654; CX 28B; CX 155H;
CX 79Z93 (Rules 7)).
154. A distributor who received the check couldn't cash it since
it was made out to Holiday Magic, Inc. and even cash has been
refused by recruiting distributors (Tr. 1512).
155. The reason for the certified check policy is that no one
could stop payment on the check once it was turned over to the
recruiting distributor (AlexanderTr. 5654).
156. Once the check was in the Holiday Magic office, it was deposited
(AlexanderTr. 5652).
157. The new Master Distributor was then automatically assigned
a number, the contract was time stamped, and a distributor file
was set up (RugglesTr. 653 654; AlexanderTr.
5512).
158. New Master Distributor 'Applications' never reached anyone
in Holiday Magic, Inc. at the executive level (AlexanderTr.
5313; GayTr. 956).
159. Money is the only 'qualification' to become a distributor
in Holiday Magic.
(a) This follows from XVII174.
(b) Witness Jane Alexander, former Executive Secretary to William
Penn Patrick, related a story of how she pleaded with Patrick
in 1968 or 1969 to refund the money to a boy who had borrowed
money from his mother to become a Master, but had been drafted
in the interim before the product inventory was shipped.
Patrick asked if product was sent, Mrs. Alexander said 'no' and
Patrick replied 'Make sure it gets out of warehouse tonight.'
(Tr. 5653, 5697, 5652).
(c) It is Holiday Magic, Inc. policy not to issue refunds on new
Master orders (AlexanderTr. 5652; CX 466D; CX 79Z93 (Rule
5)).
(d) At CX 78Z7 and CX 79Z7:
When a Distributor deliberately holds people back, the result
is, at best, undesirable. The untrained and/or unthinking Distributor
who discourages a ork in' Master or 'Qualifiying' Master
from entering into the program until the Distributor is 'ready'
will find that this type of greed will ultimately hinder and stop
his own growth.
XVII. Inflexibility of Marketing Plan
160. Distributors at all levels, i.e., Holiday Girls, Organizers,
Masters and Generals are required to abide by all rules and regulations
of Holiday Magic, Inc., as well as all procedure contained in
other company publications such as bulletins and sales manuals
(CX 105H, Rule 1; CX 77L, Rule 1; CX 78Z96, Rule 1; CX 79Z93,
Rule 1; CX 105H, Rule 1; CX 104HK; CX 81Z4851; CX
82Z4851; GillespieTr. 93579364).
161. Distributors at all levels, i.e., Holiday Girls, Organizers,
Masters and Generals agree to abide by all rules and regulations
of Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX 105H, Rule 1; CX 77L, Rule 1; CX 78Z96,
Rule 1; CX 79Z93, Rule 1; CX 105H, Rule 1; CX 403A, B, Rule 1).
162. Violation of any Holiday Magic rule or regulation subjects
the offending distributor to termination by Holiday Magic, Inc.
(CX 78K; CX 104D; CX 105D; CX 77L; Rule 13 CX 78Z9, Rule 25; CX
78Z95; Rule 25; CX 81Z48; Rule 25; CX 82Z48; Rule 25; CX 104HK,
Rule 25; CX 105H, Rule 25 Tr. 5604).
163. Holiday Magic, inc. has terminated various distributors at
all levels for violating certain of its rules, regulations and
policies (CX 457 A; CX 656AB; CX 657AB; CX 658AB;
CX 659; CX 688AC; CX 689).
164. Termination of any individual in Holiday Magic, Inc. is the
responsibility of the Holiday Magic board of directors (CX 78Z8689;
CX 79Z89 90; CX 78Z9, Rule 25; CX 105H, Rule 25).
165. Other statements by corporate officials emphasizing the inflexibility
of the Holiday Magic marketing plan are the following:
(a) Statement by John Hart, board of directors vice chairman,
at CX 15C WandOctober 1966:
It's always amazing, and heartening to observe the rapid rise
of members of our family of distributors.
However, this relation is tinged with disappointment when note
some of our most successful distributors showing evidence that
they feel the marketing planwhich has been highly
instrumental in their successis a flexible process.
My friends, such is not the case!
The Marketing process is a rigid plan, evolved after exhausting
research, backbreaking experience, detailed analysis and brilliant
planning.
The basic strength of the marketing plan lies in its rigidity!
You can find that which we all are seeking only by strick adherence
to this most unique plan.
(b) Respondent Jan Gillespie, Holiday Magic administrative vice
president and member of the board of directors advised Distributors
to 'memorize' all rules and regulations (CX EWandJan.
1967).
(c) At CX 27CWandOct. 1967[H]aving the
right to buy and sell the Holiday Magic cosmetics is conditioned
on your adhering to the company trade rules and practices.'
(d) At CX 679, letter from respondent and then executive vice
president of Holiday Magic, Inc., Fred Pape, dated 1/19/67.
There is absolutely no justification for tampering with any of
our rules and regulations.
(e) Stipulation of respondents' counsel that distributors are
subject to dismissal for violation of rules and regulations (Tr.
5604).
XVIII. TerminationProcedures
166. In late 1969, witness Jackie Ruggles testified that respondent
William Penn Patrick told her that it was her job to see to it
that the Holiday Magic marketing plan was followed by distributors,
and that she was to use the Holiday Magic rules and regulations
as a guide (RugglesTr. 673674, 674676; CX 79;
CX 112; CX 113; CX 114; AlexanderTr. 5496; RugglesTr.
584588).
167. Mrs Ruggles would receive letters from Master Distributors
and General Distributors concerning alleged violation of the marketing
plan. She would research the matterand point out to
the offending distributor what rules were violated. The distributor
in violation of the rules had ten days to respond to a letter
asking him if he was in violation of the rules as alleged (RugglesTr.
522, 564, 571).
168. If no response was received from the offending distributor,
Mrs. Ruggles would turn the matter over to Mr. Gay, then vice
president and later president of Holiday Magic, Inc. (RugglesTr.
564).
169. It was the job of Mrs. Jane Alexander to contact the distributor
if he was unhappy with the clarification or interpretation given
to him by Mrs. Ruggles. Mrs. Alexander would also have Mr. Patrick
talk to the distributor at times (AlexanderTr. 5496).
170. In connection with her responsibilities, Mrs. Ruggles would
read the Holiday Magic Wands, Bulletins and Family News as well
as the manuals to keep informed (RugglesTr. 590591,
594597).
171. Holiday Magic, Inc. utilizes its General Distributors as
an instrumentality in reporting instances of violation of the
rules and regulations to Holiday Magic, Inc. and recommendation
of termination:
At CX 79Z8990 and CX 79Z8687:
TERMINATION OF A DISTRIBUTOR
To begin with, let us understand very clearly that the only person
or persons who may effect the final termination of any individual
in Holiday Magic is the Board of Directors of Holiday Magic.
However, anyone may recommend to his General that termination
procedures be initiated against any other individual for due cause.
The General Distributor is obligated to commence such action based
on the written statement of person or persons who make the initial
request for cause.
Upon receipt of this request, the company will send an official
letter to the party in question stating the accusations and violations
and offering a hearing on the matter if return comment and request
for consideration is given within ten days. Should no reply be
forthcoming, the Distributor will automatically be sent his letter
of termination.
See also CX 645C; Tr. 533839; Tr. 390; CX 686A.
XIX. Vertical Price FixingWholesale Sales
172. Holiday Magic, Inc., in its rules and regulations, requires
that all distributors adhere to the refund bonus schedule in reselling
products to Organizers and Holiday Girls (CX 78Z96, Rule 14; CX
79Z93, Rule 14; CX 81Z48, Rule 14; CX 82Z48, Rule 14; CX 83Z48,
Rule 14, CX 104H, Rule 14; CX 1051, Rule 12; CX 403B, Rule 12;
CX 77L, Rule 2; CX 108K, Rule 14).
(a) Rule 14, which appeared in the manuals at least through Jan.
1969, reads:
Distributor agrees to pay the cash refunds based on sales volume
produced during the month (per refund bonus schedule) to his distributors
as soon as possible after the end of the month and no later that
the fifth day of the succeeding month.
(b) The Jan. 1969 version of the old Rule 14, as Rule 12, reads:
CX 105H, Rule 12 (Jan. 1969):
Distributor agrees to pay cash bonuses on sales volume produced
during the month (per bonus schedule) to his directors no later
than the fifth day of the succeeding month.
173. The Holiday Magic Wands and Family News continually make
reference to the requirements of all distributors or all levels
to adhere to the discount schedule.
(a) CX 4CWandSolution BoxNov.
1965:
Question: How do I explain to an Organizer why he doesn't get
a bigger percentage in his monthly refund schedule?
Answer: If an Organizer, who is actually a SubWholesaler,
buys a Distributor Kit and a One Pack, he has purchased $120.40
plus applicable taxes in his area. Thus, if his Holiday Girl sells
any amount over $100, this means a 35% on our volume schedule.
Obviously, then, the Organizer cannot have any override since
they are both in the 35% area * * *
(b) CX 10HWandMay 1966Solution
Box:
Question: It is encouraging to observe that Holiday Magic has
terminated several distributors who failed to comply with the
company marketing plan. However, we are concerned for fear Holiday
Magic could take action on short notice to modify its present
marketing system. Does the distributor have any assurance that
this will not happen?
Answer: Holiday Magic is working for the day when it will become
a household word and is thereby committed to continue its present
course of retailing. There is no intention of modifying the discount
rates, bonus structure or marketing plan. Besides, why change
a successful formula?
(c) CX 12FWandJuly 1966Solution
Box:
Question: Some of us are confused about the discount in price
on products. Could you clarity this?
Answer: The discount with respect to cosmetics is fixed according
to the marketing plan; i.e., 65%, 55% or 30% with refund according
to the distributor's position * * *
(d) CX 27AWandOctober 1967:
Depending on the amount of her cosmetics sales, the Holiday Girl
may receive a bonus. For example, if she sells an average of $1000
worth of cosmetics per month, she would receive an 11% bonus.
Added to her 30% commissions, she would earn a total of $410 commissions
for the month.
(e) See also CX 150B; CX 46A; CX 27A; CX 153H.
174. The Holiday Magic bulletins also clearly require Master and
General Distributors to sell at specified discounts to Organizers
and Holiday Girls.
See Bulletin #4 from respondent Patrick dated Oct. 1965, identified
at Tr. 1233, 1262:
TO ALL MASTERS AND GENERAL DISTRIBUTORS * * *
CLARIFICATION OF POLICY:
There has been some question as to whether or not a Beauty Salon
or Health Food Stores can start with an original percentage of
40% off retail.
Beauty Salons and Health Food Stores, and all other outlets, must
conform fully to the Marketing Plan. If the Beauty Salon is below
the level of Master Distributor, they must purchase at 30% discount
during the month and be paid a refund based upon their volume.
HOLIDAY MAGIC has no deal. There is but one Marketing plan.
175. The Holiday Magic sales manuals also require all distributors
to adhere to the discount schedule and refund discount schedule
in selling to Organizers and Holiday Girls.
(a) CX 79Z87:
One of the most serious offenses a Distributor can be guilty of
is not paying refunds by the fifth of the month for the preceding
month's business volume. When this offense is committed and is
proven, termination occurs immediately. The procedure for paying
refunds due is as follows:
Sponsor of the terminated individual may elect to pay the refund
and become the new Sponsor of the directs of the individual who
was terminated. Should this sponsor be unable to do so within
five (5) days after the 5th, the Master of the organization may
elect to do so, thereby filling the vacant position. The Master
may elect to fill this position with another person of his choice
at a price mutually satisfactory. The old Sponsor of the terminated
person is still entitled to the volume flow without interruption.
Should the Master fail to accept the responsibility, his General
may do so. Should the General fail, the Corporation will.
ALL REFUNDS WILL BE PAID. This is a Corporate Guarantee.
(b) CX 104C and CX 105C (Jan. 1969):
Secondly, in the case of a 'Workin' Master, his Master Must
pay the 25% Refund Bonus on his purchase volume to date on the
day that the new Master decides to purchase the remaining volume
that makes up to $5,000 or on the day on which he reaches total
purchases of $5,000. He is not allowed to wait until the 5th of
the following month for his refund.
For this would defeat the whole program of 'Workin' Master
Distributors.
(c) CX 78Z33:
Here is how your profit is figured. Everyone earns a basic profit
of 30% at least. Then, they receive extra bonuses, based on their
monthly volume * * *
(d) CX 78Z61; CX 79Z58; CX 104D; CX 105D (Jan. 1969):
These are the steps that must be taken:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
3. That same day, Joe must pay Mary a 25% Refund Bonus on all
the product she purchased directly from him that month ($3,500
x 25% = $875.00). This means that Mary is still ahead $200.00
($875 refund minus $675 cosmetics cost = $200.00).
4. Mary now computes the overrides which she will owe her organization
the first of April. Five percent of $500 each means that she must
pay at least $175.00 in bonuses (probably more, since they still
have 10 days to go.) [Emphasis in original].
(e) CX 78Z8, CX 79Z8:
* * * She is shown how she can make no less than 30% in the future
by entering into the program with her own kit.
(f) See also CX 76Z2; CX 76Z4; CX 76Z5; CX 76Z12; CX 76Z28; CX
77G; CX 107E; CX 108E; CX 109C.
176. The price fixing requirement on wholesale sales applies to
Organizers as well as Masters and Generals. See CX 78Z2 and CX
79Z1.
177. Distributors are threatened with termination for failure
to pay refunds according to the refund bonus schedule.
(a) CX 78Z90; CX 79Z87:
One of the most serious offenses a Distributor can be guilty of
is not paying refunds by the fifth of the month for the preceding
month's business volume. When the offense is committed and is
proven, termination occurs immediately * * *
(b) See Sections XVII and XVIII.
178. Witness testimony relative to refunds and manufal adherence:
(a) Charles Madden. Witness Charles Madden, appointed senior general
of the Kansas City Council by Holiday Magic, Inc. and senior general
of the month for Holiday Magic, Inc., testified that he was instructed
by the manuals (CX 79) to follow the refund schedule as it appeared
on CX 649 (Tr. 5332, 5325, 5323, 5321, 5324). Mr. Madden stated
that in Kansas City the manual (CX 79) was followed implicitly
at the Holiday Magic Distributors councils (Tr. 5330).
(b) Witness Arrowood. Witness, who was Holiday Magic's vice president
of training and education (Tr. 6155, 6168) and Holiday Magic senior
trainer general (Tr. 6166) through 1971 (Tr. 6171), and who was
also in charge of all Council Training (Tr. 6168) testified for
respondents that Holiday Girls and Organizers buy at the same
prices and that there is 'never any deviation.' (Tr. 6176).
(c) John Wells. Mr. Wells, a General Distributor who resides in
Nevada (Tr. 993), stated that he sold to his Holiday Girls at
30 percent discount off list price 'to stay in good standing with
Holiday Magic' (Tr. 1024). The manual he followed is CX 1469 (Tr.
10131016).
(d) Thirftone Jones. Mr. Jones, a Master Distributor (Tr. 5388),
who does business in Wash., D.C., testified that he follows the
refund discount schedule (CX 649) 'to the letter' (Tr. 5391) for
fear of losing his distributorship (Tr. 5390).
(e) Charles C. Spellers. Mr. Spellers, a Master Distributor (Tr.
5403) who engaged in his business activities in Washington, D.C.
(Tr. 5389), testified that he followed the refund discount schedule
of CX 649 (Tr. 54085410) and that this document was given
to him by Holiday Magic Instructor General McKelvey (Tr. 540809),
who told him in Instructor General class as well as privately
(Tr. 54065409) in the Spring of 1968 (Tr. 5408), to follow
the discounts (Tr. 5409) lest Holiday Magic, Inc. take action
against him (Tr. 5407).
(f) Lester Small. Mr. Small, a Master Distributor until late 1968
(Tr. 5378, 5382) who engaged in his activities in Wash., D.C.
(Tr. 5382), testified that he sold to his Organizer and Holiday
Girls at the 'prescribed discount' as described in CX 649 (Tr.
5385).
(g) Judy Hurd. Witness Hurd, a Master Distributor (Tr. 5358) who
engaged in her business activities in Kansas City, Kan. (Tr. 5357,
5358, 5361), testified that she followed the rules in CX 81 (Tr.
5361). She followed the refund schedule of CX 649 (Tr. 5362) and
sold to her Holiday Girls at 30 percent discount (Tr. 5361).
(h) Deith Janz. Witness Janz, a General Distributor (Tr. 5343)
who engaged in business activities in Wichita, Kan. (Tr. 5343),
testified that she followed the refund bonus schedule of CX 649
(Tr 534849) and sold Holiday Magic products to her Holiday
Girls at 30 percent discount (Tr. 5348) for fear of being terminated
by the company (Tr. 5346).
XX. Vertical Price FixingRetail Sales
179. Holiday Magic, Inc. entered into agreements with its distributors,
and its rules and regulations require that all distributors adhere
to the retail list prices of the Holiday Magic products in reselling
products to the consuming public.
(a) CX79Z93, Rule 3; CX 81Z48, Rule 3; CX 82Z48, Rule 3:
Distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from the Company
or his Sponsor in accordance with the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and to sell merchandise only at those prices established
by the Company.
(b) After Oct. 1967 Rule 3 as appearing in manuals in the record
at CX 104H, was apparently changed to read as follows;
Distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from the company
or his Sponsor in accordance with the marketing plan and to sell
merchandise only at those prices established by the company, in
accordance with Fair Trade Statutes in those states having Fair
Trade Laws.
Then in the same manual, Rule 8 reads as follows:
Distributor agrees to be responsible for the delivery of product
and obtaining of the price from his or her customers.
And again in the same manual at Rule 14:
Distributor agrees to pay the cash refunds based on sales volume
produced during the month (per refund bonus schedule) to his directs
as soon as possible after the end of the month and no later than
the fifth day of the succeeding month.
Also in the same manual at CX 104'3':
UNAUTHORIZED OUTLETS
Drug stores, * * * discount stores * * * are unauthorized outlets.
Also in the same Manual at CX 104C:
* * * must pay the 25% rebate * * *
And at CX 104D:
* * * Joe must pay Mary a 25% Refund * * *
* * * she must pay at least $175.00 in bonuses * * *
Also in the same manual at CX 104G:
ALL REFUNDS WILL BE PAID. This is a Corporate Guarantee.
(c) Even though the Holiday Magic rule change on its face relates
only to the fixing of prices in Fair Trade States and is silent
on the rule in nonfair trade states, there is considerable
doubt that this rule was other than pro forma.
(1) At CX 645C, a letter from Holiday Magic National Field director
on Holiday Magic stationery, dated Mar. 8, 1968, indicates the
old rule was not rescinded at all!
Dear Mr. Winge:
We are in receipt of a letter enclosing an advertisement allegedly
placed by you in the Decatur Dekalb News which is in violation
of rule number three in the Master's and General's Manual which
states:
Distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from the company
or his Sponsor in accordance with the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and to sell merchandise only at those prices established
by the Company.
Mr. Winge was terminated by Holiday Magic President Fred Pape
on 7/9/68 (CX 645A).
180. Holiday Magic, Inc. constantly publishes information in its
Wands and Family News telling its distributors the retail prices
to charge for its products. Neither the words 'suggested' nor
'recommended' appear in conjunction therewith.
(a) CX 155GFamily News1/30/70:
February 128, 1970, your Holiday Girls will be authorized
to sell Strawberry Frappe Cleanser for just $1.99 a jar * * *
a savings of 96 cents to their customers!!! More sales in Februarymore
profits for everybody!
(b) CX 158AFamily News3/27/70:
BY POPULAR DEMAND: HM XXI Deodorant will remain on the price listCode
#580, retail price $1.50 each.
(c) At CX 122DFamily News10/16/67:
REPLY #2In answer to the many requests (6), the prices
for Christmas gift goodies are:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
(d) See also CX 164C; CX 165D; CX 166F; CX 167C; CX 168B; CX 170B;
CX 158A; CX 158E.
181. Product brochures put out by Holiday Magic, Inc. contained
pictures of the products and the retail prices affixed thereto.
No mention of 'suggested' price or 'recommended' price appears
in conjunction therewith (CX 631AP; CX 633PW (July
1968); CX 634AD).
182. Holiday Magic, Inc. also distributes retail customer order
forms to its distributors containing the resale prices appearing
directly on the retail customer's order (CX 635 (May 1967)).
183. Distributor price lists containing the retail price of the
Holiday Magic products are also distributed by Holiday Magic,
Inc. to its distributors (CX 636A; CX 636B (Nov.Dec.
1968); CX 637; CX 410; CX 413).
184. Discounting Holiday Magic products by distributor is a violation
of the Holiday Magic marketing plan, and Holiday Magic, Inc. required
its distributors to adhere to the retail prices.
(a) (RugglesTr. 554).
(b) Respondent GillespieTr. 9311 (referring to Holiday Magic,
Inc.), who was with the company until June 1968 (Tr. 9293) testified:
JUDGE BUTTLE: They [Holiday Magic] simply told them [distributors]
what to charge, is that is?
THE WITNESS: They had a price list.
JUDGE BUTTLE: That they had to charge?
THE WITNESS: Basically, but it was never policed.
JUDGE BUTTLE: Unless they did not follow the price list?
THE WITNESS: Right.
185. Holiday Magic, Inc. entered into agreements with distributors
and prohibited its distributors from placing their Holiday Magic
merchandise in 'discount' stores (GillespieTr. 9454; CX
104'0').
186. Witness testimony relative to price adherence:
(a) Charles Madden, appointed Senior General of the Kansas City
council by Holiday Magic, Inc. (Tr. 5320) and Senior General of
the month for Holiday Magic, Inc. (Tr. 5332), testified that he
never deviated from Holiday Magic policy with respect to retail
prices as expressed in the sales manuals and sales brochures (Tr.
532122). He abided by CX 79AZ103 '100%' (Tr. 5323).
He used CX 631 (brochure) in his business (Tr. 5323). The price
of the Holiday Magic products was part of the training he gave
to his new Holiday Girls (Tr. 5330).
(b) Warren Haskins. Mr. Haskins, the Senior General of Kansas
City council from the last part of 1967 to early 1968 (Tr. 5338),
and who engaged in business activities in Kansas and Missouri
(Tr. 5335), testified that Ben Gay told him at the time that Haskins
was Senior General and Gay was vice president of Holiday Magic,
Inc. (Tr. 5336, 5338), that he could not cut prices in a fund
raising program to Boy Scouts since the Boy Scouts couldn't sell
at less than list price and that he would lose his distributorship
if he did (Tr. 5337), and on a second occasion in Sept. 1967,
Mr. Gay told him that he couldn't run specials and sales on products
placed in a retail store in Kansas City, Mo. (Tr. 5338).
On another occasion, Mr. Haskins, as Senior General, reported
to Mr. Gay of a distributor discounting; Gay wrote back asking
for information and stated that it was against Holiday Magic rules
to discount. Mr. Haskins supplied the information (Tr. 533839).
Mr. Haskins has maintained his inventory of Holiday Magic products,
and didn't discount same for fear of losing his distributorship.
He used CX 631 in his business, and instructed his Holiday Girls
to sell out of it; the selling prices were in there.
(c) Bruce J. Longballa. Mr. Longballa, a Master Distributor (Tr.
1064) doing business in Nevada (Tr. 1064), put product in a store
because he wanted to discount it, but removed it because he was
told by his Sponsoring General that a Senior General in town would
see it and as a consequence he would lose his distributorship
(Tr. 10681069).
(d) John Wells. Mr. Wells, a General Distributor (Tr. 988) doing
business in Nevada (Tr. 995, 993) who is still active (Tr. 988,
1057) testified that he told his Holiday Girls that they 'had
to sell at the prices in the books' (Tr. 1011) because of the
Holiday Magic rules (Tr. 1011). Until approximately Sept. 1, 1971,
Mr. Wells had had only the rules as appearing in CX 1469, and
this was the manual he followed (Tr. 10131017). Mr. Wells
added that Mr. Percy taught him as part of his training to sell
at the Holiday Magic prices (Tr. 1009), and he was not permitted
to advertise products as loss leaders (Tr. 1023). The rule in
CX 1469 is the same as appears in Part XXI (a) hereof.
Mr. Percy was a Holiday Magic vice president in early 1969 (Tr.
7155), and in the first group of Instructor Generals in Feb. 1967
(CX 19C).
(e) Thriftone Jones. Mr. Jones was a Master Distributor (Tr. 5388)
doing business in Wash. D.C. (Tr. 5389) who testified he sold
at the prices of Holiday Magic as required by his Sponsor and
Holiday Magic (Tr. 5389). His Sponsor told him he would lose his
distributorship if he didn't (Tr. 5390). Mr. Jones became a Master
in Nov. 1968 (Tr. 5388).
(f) Gelanine Hutchinson. Mr. Hutchinson, a General Distributor
and Senior General from Fort Pierce, Fla. who did business in
Kansas (Tr. 216162), distributed price lists to his Holiday
Girls in Kansas as set forth by Holiday Magic, Inc. and contacted
his girls to sell at the specified prices because of Holiday Magic
rules (Tr. 216465).
(g) Charles C. Spellers. Witness Spellers, who was a Master Distributor
(Tr. 5403) until the latter part of 1968 (Tr. 5403), and who engaged
in his business activities in Wash. D.C. (Tr. 5403), testified
that it was Holiday Magic's requirement to sell at the list prices
as indicated in CX 636AB (Tr. 5403 5404, 5412).
Mr. Spellers also testified that Holiday Magic Instructor General
McKelvey taught him that if he didn't follow the prices established
by the company (Tr. 5405) the company would take action against
him (Tr. 5407). McKelvey told him that at IG school in Arlington,
Va. and again in Wash. D.C. (Tr. 5406).
Price lists appeared in cartons of Holiday Magic products (Tr.
5411, 5412).
(h) Lester Small. Mr. Small, who was a Master Distributor (Tr.
5377) operating in Wash D.C. (Tr. 5382, 5384) until the last half
of 1968 (Tr. 5382), testified that he retailed at the retail prices
indicated in the Holiday Magic catalogs at CX 633 PW (Tr
53795380).
Holiday Magic IG McKelvey (Tr. 5381) told him to stick to the
list prices or else he probably would lose his distributorship
(Tr. 5381).
(i) Hudy Hurd. Mrs. Hurd, who was a Master Distributor (Tr. 5358)
operating from her home in Kansas City, Kan. (Tr. 5357, 5358,
5361), testified that she retailed at the Holiday Magic prices
from the retail prices given in the price lists (Tr. 5358). She
also testified that Gerry Arrowood, a Holiday Magic Trainer General,
gave a course in Kansas City in which she had to memorize the
prices of all the products (Tr. 5359).
(NOTE: Gerry Arrowood thereafter testified for respondents and
never denied this.) She also heard Ben Gay speak at a hotel in
Kansas City in Apr. or May 1967 (Tr. 5363, 5365) and say Holiday
Magic products would never go on sale, and that they should 'follow
the program or else' (Tr. 5364). At the time Mr. Gay was assistant
to Holiday Magic president Fred Pape (Tr. 9823).
She also testified that Senior General Temps of the Kansas City
area, who was Senior General after Madden (Tr. 5365), instructed
her not to discount the product and to sell at the retail prices
(Tr. 5367).
(j) Edith Janz. Mrs. Janz, a General Distributor in Holiday Magic,
Inc. (Tr. 5343), who was active through mid1967 (Tr. 5343)
and who engaged in her business activities in Wichita, Kan. (Tr.
5343), testified that she sold at retail at the list prices as
appearing in the manuals, master order forms and price list as
CX 635 (Tr. 5344). She was instructed to do so by her Master's
and General's manual (Tr. 53435346, 5347).
At training classes in Kansas City and Dallas she was told to
sell at the Holiday Magic prices (Tr. 5346).
XXI. Purchase Restrictions
187. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires all Organizer and Holiday Girl
distributors in its rules and regulations to purchase Holiday
Magic merchandise only from their sponsors.
(a) CX 79Z93, Rule 3
Distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from the Company
or his Sponsor in accordance with the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and to sell merchandise only at those prices established
by the Company. See also CX 104H, Rule 3; CX 77L, Rule 4.
(b) A 'sponsor' is a Distributor who recruits or enlists a new
Distributor (CX 79Z100).
(c) CX 7HWandSolution BoxFeb.
1966:
Question: I am an Organizer in the MidWest. My Master is
in California. Can I fill my orders from a Master who is close
to my area?
Answer: Unfortunately, you cannot. Masters can only fill orders
to their own organization. If you find that you cannot obtain
merchandise from you own Master you may apply for a transfer to
a Master that is close to you. This is but one of the many reasons
that we constantly suggest to Distributors that they recruit within
an area they can realistically service, not only for cosmetic
purchases but also for business guidance, training, etc.
(NOTE: Refers to Masters recruiting Organizers, not Generals recruiting
Masters!)
(d) CX 79Z29 (from opportunity meeting script):
Now as you will recall in the film, this is you, and your first
30 days you sponsored five people into the business. Now, because
you sponsored them, they must buy their product from you. They
cannot buy it anywhere else.
As you saw in the film, these particular people that sponsored
could have been * * * health food stores, barber shops, beauty
salons, Holiday Girls or other organizers * * *
See also CX 76Z20
(e) Manuals CX 78Z49 and CX 79Z46 state:
Once a distributor reaches a total volume of $5000 in any one
calendar month, he has earned the right to buy permanently at
55% off retail. He is then classified as a Master Distributor,
and will buy directly from the Company. Master Distributors supply
only their directs and conversely, their directs or recruitees
must order through their sponsoring distributors.
Manual CX 106C states:
Only Master and General Distributor's orders should be submitted
to Holiday Magic. All other distributors purchase through their
sponsor.
188. Packaging Changes
(a) Holiday Magic, Inc. has over the years engaged in numerous
packaging changes of its products, such as changes in bottle shapes,
labels, and colors of caps of the bottles or jars of its cosmetic
products.
CX 121D ( 9/67 ) (black caps to colored caps)
CX 23B ( 6/67 ) (golden caps for all)
CX 26A ( 9/67 ) (new shape for bottles and jars)
Tr. 602324 (Kajioka)
(b) The constant packaging changes made it impossible for the
distributors to purchase (or sell) their products to other distributors
as well as at retail.
Tr. 3723 (Pence);
Tr. 5368 (Hurd);
Tr. 32343235, 3248 (Sharpe);
Tr. 1022 (Wells).
(c) Holiday Magic, Inc. would refuse to take the old packaging
back when a change occurred (WellsTr. 1023; CX 79Z93, Rule
5).
189. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into contracts and agreements
with its distributors and requires all distributors in its rules
and regulations to agree not to buy back merchandise from his
direct distributors. CX 79Z93, Rule 4:
Distributor agrees not to buy back any merchandise from his direct
distributors. $tSee also CX 78Z96, Rule 4; CX 82Z48, Rule 4; CX
83Z48, Rule 4; CX 104H, Rule 4; CX 105H, Rule 4; CX 77L, Rule
4. Incident to agreement arrangements, Holiday Magic, Inc. requires
its sponsoring distributors to file copies of the applications
and agreements of distributors they recruit into the business
with Holiday Magic, Inc. in order to protect their sponsorship
rights.
See CX 427HM bulletin9/23/66.
190. Holiday Magic, Inc. in entering into agreements and contracts
with its distributors also requires all distributors in its rules
and regulations to agree not to transfer to another organization
without a prior release from all distributors above them in the
marketing chain. Such transfers are discouraged by Holiday Magic,
Inc.
(a) CX 78Z8990 and CX 79Z8586 read:
TRANSFERS OF DISTRIBUTORS
Occasionally you will be approached by a Distributor who wishes
to effect a transfer from one sponsor to another. You know that
Holiday Magic has promised, by policy, to protect each organization.
In 90% of the cases such transfers should be discouraged and/or
refused. It is usually due to a supposed personality conflict
and social differences which have little place in business.
However, in a small percentage of these cases, it might be agreeable
and for the good of all parties if such a transfer is accomplished.
In such a case, the following must occur before a voluntary transfer
can be accomplished:
All the parties listed below must clearly indicate their consent
to the transfer in writing to the Company:
1. The Sponsorstating whether or not he agrees to
release the organization of the transferee or keep them himself,
according to the Rules and Regulations.
2. All members of the organization between the Sponsor and the
first Master, since they too have a financial interest.
3. The Master Distributor above the Distributor requesting transfer.
4. The Organization's General as well as the General who is receiving
the 1% override.
Should any one of the above persons fail to give their release,
the Company will not approve the transfer. The Distributor who
desires the transfer has only one other alternative. He may resign
as a distributor upon giving notice to the company, and, after
a period of six months inactivity, may then rejoin the company
under any other Sponsor he desires. Any subterfugeworking
as a 'silent partner,' working 'on salary,' etc.will
not be tolerated by the Corporation during this inactive six month
period.
(b) CX 78Z99, Rule 24 states:
Distributor agrees not to transfer to another organization without
a prior release or written consent from all Distributors above
him in the marketing chain, including the Company as well as any
other person with a financial interest in his organization.
See also CX 79Z96, Rule 24 (word 'organization' substituted for
'chain'); CX 105H, Rule 23.
See CX 1382AE regarding the transfer request from witness
Vermilye to Holiday Magic, to seek to get out of the organization
of Rick Spranzo. Holiday Magic notes that:
When transferring from one organization to another, you do not
automatically take your organization with you * * *
See CX 1382CE for transfer forms.
XXII. Customer Restrictions
191. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires in its rules and regulations
that distributors may resell their Holiday Magic products at wholesale
only to Organizers and Holiday Girl distributors whom they have
sponsored into the Holiday Magic program.
(a) The distributor agrees to purchase Holiday Magic merchandise
from respondent company, or from his sponsor only (Answer, p.
10).
(b) See Part XXI.
(c) Letter from Holiday Magic General Counsel to Mr. Glascock,
dated 10/17/67 (CX 686A):
We have just been advised by a distributor in Bartlesville, Oklahoma,
that you had made a telephone call to Doris Sanford and Francis
Stephenson of the Bartlesville distributors' organization advising
them that you had spent a week in Chicago with Fred Pape and that
Mr. Pape had told you that you could supply product to anyone
you pleased and that he, Mr. Pape, would stand behind you.
As you know, this is contrary to the marketing plan and totally
unacceptable tothis corporation. Mr. Pape denies having any such
conversation with you and we take this opportunity to advise you
of the allegations that have thus been madeagainst you. Please
respond to these charges within ten days, supporting any denial
you may care to make with corroborating evidence and advancing
any explanation that you may have of the aforesaid report. Failing
to hear from you within ten days in this matter, we will have
no alternative but to turn the matter over to the Board of Directors
for further action.
Due to the fact that Doris Sanford and Francis Stephenson have
received a false impression as a result of your phone call, we
request that you immediately contact Miss Sanford and Mr. Stehpenson
to advise them that they are under a misapprehension and that
you do not have corporate authorization to furnish product to
just anyone, and assuring them that you intend to operate within
the framework of the marketing plan and in no other fashion.
Mr. Glascock was subsequently terminated (CX 686A, F).
(d) Letter from former Miami Senior General Vincent Fechtel (Tr.
2422) to complaint counsel (CX 1470A, B):
Through our telephone conversations, I understand you are filing
suit against Holiday Magic because they restrict those distributors
who buy their goods to certain limited methods and certain types
of retail establishments.
When distributors buy merchandise from Holiday Magic they do so
with the agreement to restrict their selling methods and customers.
192. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires that distributors may not recruit
or sponsor other Holiday Magic distributors who have already been
sponsored into the business.
(a) See CX 79Z94, Rule 16:
Distributor agrees not to recruit or sponsor other Holiday Magic
Distributors. Further, a Distributor is considered sponsored by
that individual who first signs him as a Distributor and executes
an Application and Agreement Form. The Individual has the freedom
of choice as to which Distributor shall sponsor him.
(b) See also CX 77L, Rule 6; CX 78Z97, Rule 16; CX 105H, Rule
14.
193. Holiday Magic, Inc. instituted a policy requiring all distributors
to refrain from selling at the retail level to consumers or retail
customers who are being serviced by other Holiday Magic distributors.
(a) Policy of Holiday Magic, Inc. under threat of termination
(Tr. 8083, 8612, 8644, 4666).
(b) Taught at Instructor General school (Tr. 833839, 8691).
(c) Taught at Trainer General school (Tr. 8571, 857778,
8722).
(d) Taught in Cosmetic Training Classes at Councils (Tr. 8691,
8037, 8518, 8570, 8577, 8671).
(e) Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. sent a bulletin out to all
Masters and General Distributors 3/27/70 requesting that no distributors
contact any DECA Chapter in regard to a fund raising project for
sales to that organization, since another distributor had the
'exclusive' (CX 655; CX 1680; CX 170F).
XXIII. Retail Outlet Restriction
194. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires all distributors in its rules
and regulations to refrain from selling or placing Holiday Magic
merchandise in retail outlets such as drug stores, department
or variety chain stores, grocery stores or discount stores.
(a) Distributors are specifically threatened with termination
for placing Holiday Magic merchandise in these restricted retail
outlets.
CX 1802EF Holiday Magic Bulletin #4 (Tr. 1233, 1262).
TO ALL MASTERS AND GENERAL DISTRIBUTORS CLARIFICATION OF INFORMATION
AND COMPANY POLICY
POLICY GUARANTEE:
This product will not be displayed or sold in drug stores, discount
stores, grocery stores, chain stores, or department stores.
Anyone placing Holiday Magic Cosmetics in any of the aforementioned,
will be subject to termination.
THIS POLICY WILL NOT CHANGE!
[Signed]
William P. Patrick
Chairman of the Board
(b) CX 6FWandSolution BoxJan.
1966.
Question: I own a retail store and have never displayed or sold
cosmetics. I am now in the Holiday Magic program. Am I permitted
to display and sell Holiday Magic cosmetics in my own store?
Answer: No. The rules, and Regulations specifically state where
Holiday Magic Cosmetics may be displayed and sold and no deviation
from these locations can be authorized.
(c) Rules and RegulationsCX 79Z94, Rule 13, reads:
Distributor agrees to restrict the retail sales and display of
cosmetics to those authorized retail markets: Home Service Routes
(Door to Door), Beauty Salons, Wig Shops, Beauty Schools, Barber
Shops, Health Food Stores, Holiday Magic Retail Salons, and TEMPORARY
Booths (such as: bazaars, fairs or conventions). No other commercial
retail market will be authorized in the interest of protecting
the Home Service Route.
See also CX 82Z49, Rule 13; CX 79Z97, Rule 13; CX 81Z49, Rule
13; CX 105H, Rule 11; CX 1071, Rule 11; CX 108K, Rule 13; CX 105H,
Rule 11.
(d) Statements in sales manuals.
CX 1055 (Jan. 1969) reads:
UNAUTHORIZED OUTLETS. Drug stores, grocery stores, chain stores
(Department or variety), discount stores, or any store not related
to cosmetic or Home Magic product sales such as real estate, camera,
stationery, etc. are unauthorized outlets.
See also CX 104'0'.
(e) As of Jan. 1969, Holiday Magic had in its records '574 authorized
retail outlets in the United States now stocking Holiday Magic
Products.' (CX 517).
(f) Witness testimony confirms enforcement policy:
1. Vincent Fechtel, former Miami Senior General (Tr. 2422), testified
that according to Holiday Magic's rules he could not have Holiday
Magic products in a retail store (Tr. 2384), and when he placed
said products in a store in Leesburg, Fla., in Nov. or Dec. 1967
(Tr. 2382), he removed these products after receiving a letter
from Holiday Magic asking him if he had products there (Tr. 2383)
See also CX 1470A, B.
2. Witness Sowinski, former Holiday Magic Instructor General,
taught his students in IG class that drug stores were not in the
scope of retailing as specified in the manuals (Tr. 2022).
3. Witness Norma Wegner, a Master Distributor in 1969 (Tr. 4074)
testified that she was told by the manuals, by her General, and
by her Holiday Magic Trainer General that she could not place
product on sale in chain stores or places like that (Tr. 40554087).
4. Witness Sharpe testified that Bill Dempsey told him not to
sell product in durg stores, grocery stores and other outlets
(Tr. 3242), when he first joined as well as on subsequent occasions.
Dempsey said it was against company rules (Tr. 3242).
Dempsey, who testified for respondents, was Holiday Magic Eastern
Regional Vice President in 1966 (Tr. 6043), and failed to deny
the said charge, although he testified after Mr. Sharpe did.
5. Witness John Wells was told he couldn't have product placed
in chain stores by Holiday Magic (Tr. 1047).
6. Witness Longballa testified that he put product in his store
but was told by his General that he would be in jeopardy of losing
his distributorship if he didn't remove it (Tr. 1066) and was
similarly warned by his General distributor that he might lose
his distributorship by the mere display of products in his store
because a Senior General was in town (Tr. 1068).
XXIV. Advertising Restriction
195. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires in its rules and regulations
that prior company approval must be obtained for advertising or
promotion of Holiday Magic products.
(a) Manuals: CX 1800Z1 (Nov. or Dec. 1965, Tr. 835):
3. All consumer advertising copy must be approved by the corporation.
4. All advertising for recruitment must be submitted and approved
in each area to the Senior General in that area. All Senior Generals
are appointed by the corporation. Poor advertising can be destructive.
(b) CX 2GWand 9/65.
(c) Rules and regulationsCX 78Z99, Rule 22:
Distributor agrees to obtain prior Company approval for any advertising
or promotion of the product or his Distributorship.
See also CX 79Z95, Rule 22; CX 83Z50, Rule 22; CX 104J, Rule 22;
CX 195H, Rule 21; Answer pp. 1415.
196. The device of requiring Holiday Magic distributors to supply
in advance prospective advertising to Holiday Magic, Inc. is a
device which enables Holiday Magic, Inc. to control and supervise
by prior restraint the price fixing and retail outlet restriction
requirements of Holiday Magic, Inc. although, of course, it may
also serve as a medium to protect against deceptive advertising
if so utilized.
See Part XVII 6.
XXV. Private Arrangements
197. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors, and requires all distributors in its rules
and regulations that in the event a partnershipdistributorship
dissolves, the departing partner is required to revert back to
his original sponsor. (CX 78Z99100, Rule 27; CX 79Z96, Rule
27; CX 104KL, Rule 27; CX 105H, Rule 26; Answer, p. 15.)
198. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its General Distributors and requires all General Distributors
in its rules and regulations that in the event a General Distributorship
dissolves, the principal or partner who is departing, should he
continue with Holiday Magic, must requalify as a new Master Distributor
under his original sponsor, create a Replacement Master, and pay
the release fee to qualify for the General position again (CX
78Z99 100, Rule 27; CX 79Z96, Rule 27; CX 104KL, Rule
27; CX 105H, Rule 26; Answer, p. 15).
199. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its Master Distributors and General Distributors and requires
all Master Distributors and General Distributors in its rules
and regulations that the addition of partners to an existing General
or Master distributorship or the sale of a General or Master Distributorship
must meet the same retail list price value purchase requirement
as do workin Masters (GayTr. 1002526; Answer
p. 15; CX 2078; PorstTr. 3116).
200. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its distributors and requires all distributors in its rules
and regulations that they may only have a financial interest in
one Holiday Magic distributorship at a time, and may not simultaneously
be a part of two separate distributorships (CX 78Z100, Rule 29;
CX 79Z97, Rule 29; CX 104L, Rule 29; CX 105H, Rule 28; Answer,
pp. 1516; CX 677 (enforcement of Rule as of 6/22/70).
201. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its Distributors and requires all Distributors in its rules
and regulations that they must not enter into any agreement with
a distributor in another Holiday Magic organization to make a
division of profits, assets or new recruits in violation of the
marketing plan.
(a) CX 78Z100, Rule 32; CX 79Z97, Rule 32; CX 104L, Rule 32; CX
105H, Rule 31; Answer, p. 16.
(b) Tr. 5901Holiday Magic Vice President SemlingViolation
of Holiday Magic marketing plan for distributors to pool inventories
(except through CRS).
(c) CX 672 (Bulletin from Holiday Magic to Master and General
Distributor, dated 6/9/67):
We have not, are not, and will not approve of individual marketing
plans within 'The Marketing Plan.'
202. Holiday Magic, Inc. enters into agreements and contracts
with its Distributors and requires all Distributors in its rules
and regulations that they must not make any consignment of the
merchandise to any person (CX 79Z93, Rule 6; CX 78Z96, Rule 6;
CX 104H, Rule 6; CX 81Z48, Rule 6; CX 82Z48, Rule 6; CX 83Z48,
Rule 6; CX 104H, Rule 6 (Oct. 1967)).
XXVI. Contacts And Controls By Holiday Magic, Inc. Over Organizers
And Holiday
Girls
203. See Chapters V, VII, XI, XII, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX,
XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV to this effect.
204. CX 40Wand 11/65 Solution
box where an additional rule prohibits organizers from combining
and also reflects required adherence to controls:
Question: Can a Master combine the monthly volume of two or three
of his Organizers and give this total to one of them to help him
qualify for the Master Distributor position?
Answer: Absolutely, positively, definitely, emphaticallyNo!
205. CX 76Z26, CX 79Z26 reflects dues assessment regulation:
The Corporation feels that no Distributor below the rank of Master
should ever be assessed dues for his attendance or the attendance
of his prospects at any Opportunity Meeting.
206. All Holiday Girls are in business for themselves, and are
never allowed to go on salary or be hired (GillespieTr.
9307).
But a Holiday Girl may be given a guaranteed weekly draw, in which
case certain requirements must be met such as attending all sales
meetings, and having a minimum number of sales.
At CX 91V (Instructor Manual):
You may give your Holiday Girls a guaranteed weekly draw if you
wish. As a matter of fact, it is recommended. However, if a girl
is to qualify for a draw of $90.00 per week (gear your guarantee
towards the wage scale in your area. It varies around the country)
she must fulfill certain requirements.
1. She must attend every sales meeting. This means all your daily
meetings as well as the Monday morning enthusiasm meeting.
2. She must put on 4 demonstrations per day, five days per week
and establish proof to you that she has done this. (If you have
a parttime girl on guarantee, she must give two demonstrations
per day.)
3. She must give one Block Seminar per week, whether she is full
or part time. Five ladies must be in attendance at this
Seminar.
4. She must have at least 60% of her route covered within 60 days.
5. She must have automatic sales on at least 75% of her customers.
6. After her route is established, she must service her customers
each month.
If you are to use this guarantee system, which is very effective,
two things should be kept in mind. No 1, the draw does not start
until the second week. (The Holiday Girl is basically in training
the first week although she will be selling, but you should know
after a week's probation if she will work out.)
(NOTE: Earnings of $90 per week presupposes that the Holiday Girls
monthly volume will total approximately $900 per month. ($900
volume at 30 percent discount plus 10 percent refund equals $360
per month.)
207. Holiday Magic, Inc. has a consumer customer refund policy
whereby merchandise can be returned to the Holiday Girl or other
retailing distributor for refund for any reason (GillespieTr.
9324; PangerlTr. 9523; RX 134D).
208. Failure to forward an application and agreement of a Holiday
Girl or Organizer is a violation of the Holiday Magic marketing
plan (CX 688B; CX 79Z94, Rule 17).
XXVII. Instructor General Program
209. Effective Feb. 1, 1967, Holiday Magic, Inc. initiated its
Instructor General program, the purpose of which was to train
General Distributors so that they will have 'proper knowledge'
and tools no one else will have who hasn't taken the course (CX
18AWandJan. 1967; SowinskiTr. 2017).
210. Effective midnight Apr. 30, 1970, Holiday Magic, Inc. imposed
a requirement that to become a Master Distributor, a person must
have a paid reservation in Instructor General school (and Trainer
General school) (CX 159FFamily NewsApr.
10, 1970.)
211. Although a specific requirement for Generals as of Feb. 1,
1967 and for Masters (and therefore Generals also) as of Apr.
10, 1970, Holiday Magic, Inc. recommends the course 'to ALL distributors
regardless of position' and states that 'it is extremely vital
to those just coming into the business.' (Quoted from IG manual,
CX 90N.)
(a) IG Sowinski testified that IG school is for Organizers also
(SowinskiTr. 2017).
(b) And Holiday Girls (SowinskiTr. 2021).
212. Before Feb. 1, 1967, Holiday Magic, Inc. conceded in its
Wand that 'Heretofore, qualification for a Generalship has been
primarily on a financial basis.' (CX 18AWandJan.
1967).
213. Prior to Feb. 1, 1967, the Holiday Magic corporate team covered
the 'councils' of every state making special training classes
available (CX 18A WandJan. 1967).
214. The Holiday Magic Instructor Generals became available to
provide the necessary and valuable training formerly conducted
by the corporate team (CX 18AWandJan.
1967).
215. The 'Instructor Generals are outstanding distributors who
have been singled out because of their individual successful field
achievements, and further trained by Holiday Magic, Inc. to insure
that they are fully qualified to instruct other distributors in
the total Holiday Magic marketing concept, principles and philosophy.'
(Quoted from CX 90NIG manual.)
216. 'Every detail necessary for the proper and effective conduct
of Holiday Magic business is included in the [Instructor General
course].' (Quoted from CX 19CWandAug.
1967; CX 20MWandMar. 1967.)
217. Instructor General school teaches procedures of an opportunity
meeting, business training, the general operation of a distributorship
(SowinskiTr. 2017) and the background and history of the
company (BeltonTr. 496465) and supervisory information
and sales and motivational techniques (CX 508).
218. The Instructor General training would in turn enable distributors
taking the course to be better able to train their own people
(SowinskiTr. 2017).
219. The Instructor Generals are all appointed to their positions
by Holiday Magic, Inc. (AlexanderTr. 5523, 5524; NapoletanoTr.
3493).
220. Among the group of Instructor Generals appointed in Feb.
1967, were Bill Dempsey, Mark Evans, Ben Gay, Jim Hearn, Ed Persey
and Jim Sowinski (CX 19C WandAug. 1967).
221. CX 1840AZ114 is the Instructor General manual which
Mr. Sowinski received from Holiday Magic, Inc. (SowinskiTr.
2040). It states 'You, as an Instructor [General] are the representative
of a multimillion dollar corporation, therefore, you physically
reflect the corporation's image as well as does your own business
conduct.' (CX 1840P). '[I]nstructor Generals reflect the total
knowledge and philosophy of the founder of Holiday Magic.' (CX
1840H.)
222. Holiday Magic, Inc. imposes rules and regulations upon the
Instructor Generals. They are:
1. Instructor General agrees to abide by all rules and regulations
established by the Company and to all subsequent changes.
2. Instructor General is responsible for all specific rules and
procedures not enumerated here, but which are contained in other
Company publications, i.e. bulletins and sales manuals.
3. This manual may not be reproduced for any reason, and is the
sole property of Holiday Magic, Inc.
4. Upon receipt of additional pages from the Corporation, Instructor
General agrees to insert them into the appropriate section of
this manual.
5. Upon receipt of superseding pages from the Corporation, Instructor
General agrees to return immediately the obsolete pages to the
Corporation.
6. Each Instructor General will conduct one regular sixday
class per month during their designated week.
7. Instructor General will teach the class in accordance with
the lesson plan in this manual without exception.
8. Each class will be limited to 15 students.
9. The fee for each student is $200, paid to Instructor General
by student by cash, money order, certified check or cashier's
check.
10. Reservations for class are valid only upon receipt of $200
fee.
11. All regular classes in Instructor General's designated week
must be held in Instructor General's home town.
12. Additional classes may be held only upon the personal approval
of Fred Pape. There must be 15 students booked in before this
will be allowed.
13. Instructor General's total expenses (travel, meals, lodging,
training facility) are to be paid by students for outoftown
classes.
14. Instructor General will not use their position as a recruiting
tool.
15. Instructor General will be paid $300 per week plus expenses
on a per diem basis when working with or for the Corporation.
16. Effective February 1, 1967, one of the qualifications for
the appointment to the position of General Distributor will be
the completion of the Instructor General course or a paid reservation
for a class to be attended by student within 60 days of reservation
booking.
17. Instructor General will issue two (2) receipts to each student
for the $200 fee, so that the student can forward one copy of
the receipt to the Corporation in order to qualify for the position
of General.
18. Only those who successfully complete an Instructor General
course will be permitted to conduct an Opportunity Meeting, and
this Opportunity Meeting must follow verbatim the script provided
in the Instructor General course. (CX 1840Z111Z113.)
223. In addition, no tape recordings are permitted by Holiday
Magic, Inc. in the courses taught by its Instructor Generals.
CX 1840QUnder no circumstances will tape recorders
be allowed during these [Instructor General] training sessions.
RepeatNO TAPE RECORDERS.
224. Another Instructor General duty is to see to it that all
distributors followed the rules of Holiday Magic, Inc. (NapoletanoTr.
3497). This Mr. Gay, when he was president or senior vice president
informed Mr. Napoletano when he was Instructor General (NapoletanoTr.
3497).
225. Instructor Generals would receive reports of distributor
complaints because of their position as Instructor Generals (NapoletanoTr.
3513, 3517).
226. Instructor Generals are also utilized by Holiday Magic to
distribute corporate literature (CX 30C).
227. Holiday Magic, Inc. lists the following items which an Instructor
General must make certain are available in his training classes:
WPP records; phonograph; Instructor General manual; 15 general
workbooks; Distributor's manual; Masters' and Generals' manual;
blackboard; chalk; eraser; yellow note pads; extra pencils; ashtrays;
water; coffee arrangements if desired (CX 1840P Q).
228. Instructor General manuals appear in the record at CX 1840AZ114;
CX 90A Z8 (Tr. 1710, 2040).
229. Instructor Generals were given uniforms consisting of an
'HM' crest, which were owned by Holiday Magic. It was a Holiday
Magic rule that the uniform be worn by Instructor Generals when
attending council functions (NapoletanoTr. 35073511).
230. To the distributors, Instructor Generals were representatives
of Holiday Magic, Inc. (Tr. 8378, 8532).
231. The fee for the Instructor General program was paid for by
the person taking the course (Tr. 6340; 4965; CX 1856C;
Tr. 8160, 8211, 737576, 7681, 5134, 3052).
232. Holiday Magic, Inc. has the following policy issued to distributors
with respect to the Instructor General school fees:
POLICY CLARIFICATION
The only way you can make a reservation in an Instructor General
or Trainer General class is to give the IG or TG a certified check
to reserve your seat. This check is NOT REFUNDABLE. You have purchased
a piece of real estateyou may sell it to someone else,
use it yourself, or leave it vacant. But the seat is your property
(CX 151KFamilyNewsSept. 5,1969).
Cost for the newly revised course will be $260, after February
15, 1970. However, all Instructor Generals are authorized to accept
students who present a receipt for $225, paid before February
15 (CX 508BulletinDec. 24, 1969).
233. According to Holiday Magic, Inc. 'Once individuals are graduated
from Instructor General and Trainer General Schools they are then
truly qualified and able to function as independent business people.'
(CX 90NInstructor General Manual).
XXVIII. Trainer General Program
234. The Trainer General school is made available by Holiday Magic,
Inc. to 'distributors who desire a greater depth of understanding
of the customer benefits and practical retail sales techniques.'
(CX 90N.)
235. The Holiday Magic Trainer Generals are trained by Holiday
Magic, Inc. at its main offices (AlexanderTr. 5526).
236. The Trainer General class is available to all distributors
at all levels, i.e., Generals, Masters, Organizers or Holiday
Girls, for a fee of $25 (BaehleinTr. 50855086).
237. 'Holiday Girls, Organizers, Masters, Generals and even prospects
have flocked by the thousands to attend the [Trainer General]
School.' (CX 609 Holiday Magic BulletinMar.
14, 1969.)
238. The fee for the TG school was paid by the person taking the
course (BaehleinTr. 5087; Tr. 2837, 8212, 8160, 4114, 5141;
CX 2062; CX 1926A; Tr. 5352, 7787, 8002).
239. The Trainer General training program was set up by Holiday
Magic, Inc. (BaehleinTr. 5086; CX 90N).
240. The Holiday Magic Trainer Generals taught their students
about makeup techniques, how to build a retail organization,
how to sell cosmetics, and how to work with the people in their
organizations (ArrowoodTr. 6161; Alexander Tr. 5526;
BaehleinTr. 5081; CX 133A).
241. Effective midnight Apr. 30, 1970, Holiday Magic, Inc. imposed
a requirement that to become a Master Distributor, a person must
have a paid reservation in Trainer General school (and Instructor
General school). (CX 159F.)
242. It is the duty of the Trainer General to see to it that training
is held at councils throughout the United States (NapoletanoTr.
3557).
243. Only 'Instructors' who have been trained by Holiday Magic
Trainer Generals are authorized to instruct Holiday Girls effective
Jan. 1967 (CX 19E WandJan. 1967; CX 17E).
244. Examples of Trainer General manuals appear in the record
at CX 91AZ90; CX 92AZ55.
245. According to Holiday Magic, Inc. 'Once individuals are graduated
from Instructor General and Trainer General schools they are then
truly qualified and able to function as independent business people.'
(CX 90NIG Manual.)
XXIX. Other Corporate Training for Distributors
246. Holiday Magic, Inc. sells records to its Master and General
Distributors for purposes of selfmotivation (CX 136E; CX
136B; CX 130D; CX 129F; CX 28H; CX 32A). Cost of the series of
records is $75 (CX 28H).
247. In May 1970, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Gay led a corporate team
into various cities to provide 'intensive motivational and sales
training.' The program was open to Masters and Generals, for the
cost of $20by certified check (CX 56C
WandMay 1970).
248. Leadership Dynamics Institute
(a) At a cost of $1,000 distributors are invited to attend this
self improvement type session (CX 60C; CX 62C; CX 63C; CX
59D, E; CX 151L).
(b) Although not a requirement for distributors, it is recommended
by Holiday Magic, Inc., and is required for the positions of Instructor
General, Trainer General, and Senior General (CX 163H; CX 164C;
CX 153A; CX 154B; CX 60C; CX 62C; CX 63C; CX 57C; CX 50G; CX 54I;
CX 155F; CX 157B; CX 171D; CX 47B; AlexanderTr. 56325635;
Tr. 6343).
(c) Holiday Magic distributors have taken the LDI course and have
considered it as a Holiday Magic business expense (Tr. 6918, 6924,
6343; CX 2057; Tr. 8211, 8680).
(d) Respondent William Penn Patrick is chairman of the board of
directors of Leadership Dynamics Institute, and Holiday Magic
secretary and comptroller, Harold Lipska, a secretary and director
(CX 57C); formed by Mr. Patrick (AlexanderTr. 5635).
249. Mind Dynamics
(a) Another course formed by respondent Patrick and made available
to distributors for a fee is Mind Dynamics (AlexanderTr.
56375639; CX 57H; CX 60B; CX 69B; CX 163D; CX 165C).
This course, of which Mr. Patrick is chairman of the board of
directors (CX 57H) is a 'means of achieving personal success through
the conscious use of the subconscious mind.' (CX 57H.)
(b) Holiday Magic Distributors have taken the Mind Dynamics course
and have considered it as a Holiday Magic Business expense (Tr.
6919; CX 2007; CX 2062; Tr. 8680).
250. Another program of instruction for pay available to Holiday
Magic Distributors to help them in their business activities is
Sales Dynamics (CX 68A).
XXX. Distribution Centers
251. Ninetyfive percent of Distributors who are in business
today (as of Jan. 1973) belong to the CRS distribution centers
(PangerlTr. 9629). Not all Masters and Generals belong to
CRS (Tr. 5828).
252. Approximately 2700 Master and General Distributors today
belong to the CRS Distribution Centers (Tr. 5881), and pay the
same dues of approximately $50 to $60 per month (Tr. 5825; Tr.
10368) with an additional assessment of 5 percent of the retail
value of products taken from CRS inventories by Distributors (Tr.
5829, 5877).
253. There are approximately 36 such centers nationwide (Tr. 5825).
254. CRS requires that its Master and General members maintain
an inventory account at $4,000 worth of merchandise (Tr. 5884)
and CRS orders product from Holiday Magic, Inc. in the Distributor's
name and account (Tr. 5884) at 55 percent off list for Masters
and at 65 percent discount for Generals (Tr. 5885) CRS members
can also buy directly from Holiday Magic (Tr. 5898).
255. CRS performs the same services for Master Distributors and
for General Distributors (Tr. 5881, 5882). These services are
product warehousing, additional training, supervision of retail
activities, collection of sales tax, and immediate delivery of
product (Tr. 6827).
256. The CRS's operate in the following manner: Holiday Girls
of a member's organization come to the CRS center to pick up merchandise
and pay for the product at 30 percent discount as per the refund
schedule (Tr. 5882, 5826). A sale is thereby recorded on the member's
card file, and he is entitled to the difference in price between
the discount at which he (or CRS for him) buys and the price that
the Holiday Girl paid for the product (Tr. 5826). The Holiday
Girls are given cards by the CRS members to show when they pick
up their merchandise (Tr. 5880).
257. Holiday Magic, Inc. has a controlling interest in CRS (Tr.
5827).
258. CDC, which was the forerunner of CRS, served the same functions
that CRS now serves (Tr. 5883, 45004511); CDC was not owned
by Holiday Magic, Inc.
259. As in CRS, CDC members were Masters and Generals (Tr. 4500)
who paid the same dues (Tr. 4511).
260. CDC, which stands for Combined Distributors Centers, was
first promoted by Holiday Magic for its distributors in July 1969
(CX 46A).
261. The CRS and CDC distribution centers were and are highly
recommended by Holiday Magic, Inc.
CX 49E, 50C, 42E, 55F, 58C, 59B, 59F, 64B, 65A, 150D, 151C, 151H,
151P, 152E, 153A, 153C, 62F, 63L, 65E.
XXI. Councils
262. A council is an association of General and Master distributors
formed in a given geographical area to share in the costs of retailing,
business training, recruiting, and participating jointly in any
Holiday Magic activity of mutual interest (CX 78Z73, CX 79Z70,
CX 93B).
263. The combined efforts of the distributors thereby reduce the
costs to the individual distributor members who might otherwise
be required to expend additional monies were they to be acting
alone (CX 78Z74, 78; CX 79Z75; CX 93C, G).
264. The combined efforts of the local Master and General distributors
in providing for a single establishment means an improved physical
facility in furthering the Holiday Magic image (CX 78Z74, CX 79Z71,
CX 93C).
265. Although the specific amount of the dues is fixed at the
discretion of the council members, Holiday Magic requires of the
councils that Masters and Generals pay the same dues (CX 78Z74,
CX 79Z72, CX 93D, CX 95C).
All distributor witnesses who testified with respect to council
membership consistently testified that Masters and Generals paid
the same dues at the council to which they belonged (Tr. 2279,
2598, 2411, 2071, 5119, 3068). Council dues today, Jan. 1973,
on the average are approximately $60 per month (PangerlTr.
10368).
266. Holiday Magic, Inc. requires that a council must provide
for:
1. Approved company business training.
2. Approved retail sales training.
3. Regular opportunity meetings.
4. Training classes for Holiday Girls.
5. Weekly meetings to discuss questions of mutual interest and
to conduct sales and motivation seminars.
(CX 78Z7677, CX 79Z7374, CX 93EF.)
267. Masters and General Distributors join the councils in order
to have a place to have their Holiday Girls trained (ChristieTr.
5985; Tr. 616869, 5126, 5092, 4968, 439192 (stipulation))
have the business explained (Christie Tr. 5985); and to
bring prospects to opportunity meetings (ChristieTr. 5985;
Tr. 4689).
268. Holiday Magic, Inc. has a reciprocal training policy for
its councils whereby a reasonable amount of training will be given
by a council in another area for members who send their recruits
there. This policy of Holiday Magic, Inc. was established to save
Master and General distributors the traveling expenses which would
otherwise be necessary if their recruits were in an area some
distance from the recruiting distributor's base of operation (CX
78Z78, CX 79Z75, CX 93G, CX 75L, CX 1394).
269. [The Councils'] Master and General Retail Route Training
class is designed to prepare the Masters and Generals for their
responsibilities in the retail field and toteach them how
to run a retail organization (CX 91C).
270. Holiday Girl Council Training is designed to provide fundamental
education of product, its application, block seminars, retail
sales and closing. (CX 91D.)
271. Council training classes are taught by instructors (CX 27A;
CX 35E, G, H; CX 49B; CX 131A; CX 171C) who have been trained
by Trainer Generals (See XXVIII 8).
272. The councils render the same services to Masters and Generals
and treat all members alike (ChristieTr. 598485; CX
94AT; CX 93AH; CX 95AH; CX 96A H).
273. The council formation is subject to the approval of Holiday
Magic, Inc. (CX 78Z74, CX 79Z71, CX 93D) and once a council is
formed and receives confirmation from Holiday Magic, Inc., the
council and each member therein automatically assume responsibility
for enforcing and complying with the rules, regulations and directions
stated in the Masters' and Generals' council manual (CX 95C).
274. The councils are highly recommended by Holiday Magic, Inc.
for Master and General Distributors to join.
(a) CX 630A (Bulletin to Masters and Generals7/7/67:
'Remember!To have a voice in the operation of your
area and to insure your own successyou should belong
to and take an active part in, your local Council!'
(b) The desirable and advantageous CDC is available only to council
members (CX 46AWand 7/69).
(c) CX 483 and CX 1382B (Letter from Holiday Magic, Inc. to distributors
requesting a transfer from their Generals dated 2/16/70 and 11/19/69board
of directors) 'feeling is that since you are a Master distributor,
you deal directly with the company. You promote your own programs,
and you service the interests of those in your organization. If
you do not belong to a Council, we suggest you join a Council
in your area. This action will keep you in the center of business
and promotional activities.'
(d) Leads from Holiday Magic advertising activities go to the
councils (CX 29H) by way of the Senior General (CX 122C).
(e) PangerlTr. 10370.
275. Holiday Magic field directors help local distributors establish
councils in every area, working to create a synergistic effect
(CX 42BWand 3/69).
276. Holiday Magic, Inc. exercises such controls over the councils
as requiring all council meetings to begin with the pledge of
allegiance (CX 162C), prohibiting councils from holding special
classes on eye makeup or corrective makeup (CX 493)
and requires the councils to abide by Holiday Magic Rules (CX
94C; CX 95F). Other controls with respect to opportunity meetings
appear in part XXXII.
277. Holiday Magic, Inc. recognizes 'only one council per city
or market area' with the exceptions of New York and Los Angeles
(CX 630A).
278. The material in the council manuals are 'obligations' of
a council (CX 622).
279. Council manuals appear in the record at CX 78Z76; CX 79Z73;
CX 93, CX 94, CX 95.
280. Holiday Magic, Inc. determines the membership requirements
of councils in membership disputes (CX 621) and has required councils
to admit certain persons to council functions whom the councils
sought to terminate (CX 1126).
281. Holiday Magic, Inc. has also required councils to turn over
their financial statements to Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX 1123A6/15/70).
282. The council head is termed the 'Senior General' (CX 78Z74;
CX 79Z71; CX 93D; Tr. 4688, 334748, 4683, 2069).
283. Holiday Magic, Inc. appoints the Senior General to his position
as council leader (CX 1155; CX 1156; CX 619; GayTr. 10009;
CX 79Z72; CX 78Z69; CX 93D) and even has had corporate officials
run councils (Tr. 5937).
284. Holiday Magic, Inc. has described the Senior General 'as
a representative of the Corporation.' (CX 29GWandJan.
1968.)
285. As compensation for his various duties and functions as council
leader, the Senior General receives a 1 percent override on new
Master orders sponsored by his Member Masters and Generals (CX
94M, CX 95F) as well as a 1 percent override on all business produced
by purchases from Holiday Magic by council members (CX 78Z74,
CX 79Z77, CX 93I, CX 95F). This override is based on direct sponsorship
only and the sponsor must be a member of the council in order
for the override to be paid by Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX 512).
286. As of 1/23/69, there were approximately 66 active councils
throughout the United States, with a total membership of 1,459
for 44 of them (CX 616).
XXXII. Opportunity Meetings
287. A Holiday Magic 'companyapproved' opportunity meeting
is really an opportunity procedure consisting of at least three
partsthe films shown thereat, an 'on script' blackboard
presentation or 'chalktalk' of the opportunity meeting script,
and a discussion of the 'prospect's qualification' which is a
thorough explanation of the advantages of the distributorship
levels by an 'on script' presentation of 'the Six Enrollments'
(CX 136CFamily News 5/24/68; CX 90K; GayTr.
987879).
288. The films shown at the opportunity meetings appear in the
record as Physical Exhibits A and B; and a transcript thereof
at Tr. 97829808; the 'opportunity meeting scripts' appear
in the record at CX 78Z2737; CX 79Z27 z40; cx 96an;
cx 97ap; cx 98an; cx 99ao; cx 100ap; cx
1468ap; cx 102ap; CX 103AK; and the 'Six Enrollments'
appear in the record at 1840; CX 90PW; CX 85P; CX 86; CX
1842).
289. Physical Exhibits A and B are shown at opportunity meetings
presented by councils, since at least 1967 or 1968. They are films
sent to the councils by Holiday Magic, Inc. (AlexanderTr.
55995600; CX 166D (cost of film regularly $135Family
News8/4/70)).
290. Opportunity meetings are held throughout the country, and
are often attended by hundreds and sometimes thousands of persons
(CX 1C (250); CX 11E (452); CX 14A (600); CX 15B (1,000); CX 15C
(400); CX 21A (2,300); CX 13C (300)).
291. Holiday Magic, Inc. advises its directors that 'the attendance
at the Opportunity Meeting should be as large as you can make
it' (CX 90EInstructor General manual; CX 1840U).
292. The opportunity meeting is the only place where all the facts
are given to prospects (CX 90I).
293. Holiday Magic advises its distributors not to go into details
with the prospects over the Holiday Magic marketing plan: 'if
you could explain it correctly and easily over a 10 cents cup
of coffee or a 15 minute telephone call or amidst the confusion
and distractions of the normal situation, why do you think thousands
of dollars are being spent setting up and conducting these meetings.'
(CX 78Z39.)
294. Holiday Magic relies heavily on the emotional impact of these
carefully staged meetings:
(a) CX 90G: Our objective is to bring our prospect to the point
where he feels excited at the end of the meetinghe
feels a ray of hope and an inkling that this may be his way out
of his financial problemshe can think of only three
thingshimself, Money and Holiday Magic. See also CX
1840Z62; CX 1840B; Tr. 2060.
(b) See witness descriptions of opportunity meetings at Tr. 405:
'Jesus, it looks unreal. How can it be possible? Gee, if a guy
could just make half that. It really looks easy.' And at Tr. 4058:
'I see where I can make $100,000 a year. See also Tr. 10941095,
Tr. 22592261, 1990, 2132, 2137, 2270, 3050, 1996.
295. Holiday Magic, Inc. in the Instructor General manual provided
to its first group of Instructor Generals, explains the purpose
of the opportunity meetings as follows:
The opportunity meeting is designed primarily to aid in the recruiting
of new Organizers and Master Distributors. It is not really designed
to help recruit retailers.
We explain how a great deal of money can be earned by using the
Holiday Magic concept.
We talk of earning in excess of $100,000 a year. Anyone should
be able to expect, therefore, that your meetings are being held
by men capable of earning more than $100,000 a year and would
run smoothly and with much polish.
A hundred thousand dollars a year is a great deal for any prospect
to accept. We tell our prospects that we will teach them, show
them and supply them with everything they need to be successful
in this business. Unless they feel you can actually do this they
will not accept the idea.
The Opportunity Meeting may be the only contact they have had
with the Company. We will therefore rely heavily on any and all
impressions given. The product presented at these opportunity
meetings is not truly cosmetics, but actually a fantastic financial
opportunity (money) (CX 1840TV); see also CX 78Z39, CX 79Z29).
296. Holiday Magic tells its distributors that the 'Product' at
the Opportunity Meetings is not cosmetics, but 'money' (CX 1840U;
CX 90E).
297. Holiday Magic, Inc. controls the Opportunity Meeting presentations
and attains in it the appearance of a corporate presentation.
(a) Holiday Magic, Inc. instructs its people in the Instructor
General manual that the Opportunity Meeting room 'should be draped
with our banners, as to take on an appearance of a Holiday Magic
Opportunity Meeting and note a Hotel meeting room' (CX 1840Z2;
CX 90F; CX 95DE) with 'a 20"' by 40"' framed photograph
of William Penn Patrick' (CX 90F; Tr. 3898).
(b) The 'tools' required by Holiday Magic, Inc. to present a Holiday
Magic Opportunity Meeting are stated in its Instructor General
Manual:
With the proper tools to enroll, the proper setting for the presentation,
the proper speakers for your guests and with the right prospects,
your Opportunity Meetings and your business will be successful.
The tools needed to present Holiday Magic Opportunity Meetings:
1. 'Formula for Happy Living' and the 'Story of Holiday Magic'
films
2. A 16mm projector
3. Extra lamps and fuses for the projector, splicing tape for
the film
4. A portable projection screen (approximately 4' x 5')
5. A large black board, chalk and eraser
6. Product display and sales aid display
7. Distributor kits and minikits
8. Recruiting kits
9. One packs
10. Applications
11. Refund investment schedule
12. Banners
13. Guest register
(c) Holiday Magic, Inc. prescribes the details for an opportunity
meeting down to the last ash tray, to wit:
Before the meeting he will check the sound projector to be absolutely
sure it is in working order. He will locate the light switches
so there will be no running at the time the film is to be shown.
He will see that there is a riser at the front of the room upon
which there will be a projection screen and a speaker's stand.
To one side of the projection screen will be the large blackboard;
he has to make sure of the availability of chalk and eraser. The
product display will be set up to the left of the riser, and the
sales aids display will be set up to the right of the riser. Refund
investment schedule cards will be placed on each chair and ash
trays on every second or third chair. One table will be set up
with glasses and water and one will be set up at the door for
the registering of guests.
It is imperative that the Opportunity Meeting leader be responsible
for the setting up of this room with the tools prescribed.
The room should be a large conference or meeting room, preferably
in an outstanding hotel or motel. It will add prestige to the
meeting if the room is carpeted and draped.
Acquire a room that is away from any dining room or dance area
to insure quiet. The room may be set up in either classroom or
theater style. If set up classroom style, the long rectangular
tables are preferable. An alternative would be to set up the front
of the room classroom style and the back of the room theater style,
insuring those who arrive on time a table on which to write. The
location of the meeting should be posted in the hotel with signs
directing distributors and guests to the room.
A Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting will start at 7:59 p.m. sharp
and the Opportunity Meeting leader and speakers will be there
at 7:30 p.m. to set up the room with the prescribed tools.
Attempt to make your meeting place a permanent one. This creates
a feeling of security much preferable to the confusion created
by moving from one place to another. Meeting dates should be posted
30 days in advance, and you should try to make them on the same
days each week.
Make sure everyone is informed of any changes in the meeting place,
date or time far enough in advance to prevent embarrassment, either
to you, the distributors or their guests.
Your speaker for the evening should be at the prescribed place
at 7:30 p.m. to greet guests on their arrival. The guests will
be more at ease while he gives his speech if they have met him
a few minutes earlier.
Next, we suggest what the Corporation feels should be the tools
and setting for the 'ideal' Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting.
The basic tools would remain the same except for a few additions.
These would include a 20"' x 40"' framed photograph
of William Patrick set up on the product display table.
Add at least two girls in uniformed dress, one to help the guests
sign in and the other to usher. We say at least twoyou
may have more.
The speaker's area could be illuminated with two spotlights approximately
300 to 500 watts each. These should be placed on either side of
the speaker's area at approximately a 45degree angle, eliminating
any glare on the blackboard. The latest issue of 'The Wand' could
be placed on each chair or on the table in front of each chair
if the body of the room were set up schoolroom style. A dimmer
switch should be used as follows: Instead of switching off the
lights completely, just before the film the light should be dimmed
slightly but not all the way into blackness. At the end of the
film, the reverse procedure should take place. Bring the lights
up slowly but not all the way. At this time your two spots should
be turned on the speaker. As he is speaking, the lights are brought
up very slowly so those in the audience will
not notice the change.
The room should be draped with Holiday Magic banners to give the
appearance of a Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting and not a bare
meeting room.
Slate blackboards are the best for use in the Opportunity Meeting
presentation. Unfortunately, slate boards are very difficult to
obtain. As a second choice, use a Duracite board in green. This
is usually a standard item at most hotels so there should not
be too much difficulty in obtaining one.
We suggest using a florescent, light green chalk. If white chalk
is the only thing available, use a dustless brand that is not
too heavily enamelled or laminated. (CX 90F; see also CX 95DE.)
(d) Holiday Magic, Inc. coaches its distributors in techniques
of bringing prospects to opportunity meetings down to the finest
details. Distributors are told not to discuss any details of the
business with their prospects before the meeting (CX 1840Z45;
CX 78Z39) and that the word 'cosmetics' should be deleted from
their recruiting business cards (CX 90I) or in talking to a man
(CX 1840Z51).
(e) Distributors are also told by Holiday Magic, Inc. that they
'have' to pick up their prospects and bring them to the opportunity
meetings (CX 1840Z; CX 78Z39).
(f) Distributors are advised always to carry blank checks in the
event the new distributorprospect does not have cash or
his checkbook with him (CX 1840A68).
298. Distributors are told to use the following methods to invite
a 'suspect' to an opportunity meeting:
(a) I have discovered a business opportunity that is really great!
And there is more money in it than anything I have ever seen and
I would like to invite you to come with me and look at a real
money tree! (CX 1840Z44.)
(b) I would like to have your personal opinion on a business opportunity!
Could you please come with me this evening? (CX 1840Z44.)
(c) Joe, I've discovered something that is really great! There's
more money in it than anything I've seen and I'd like to show
it to you, too. I think it would fit you like a glove. (CX 78Z38.)
299. The formal Opportunity Meetings are required by Holiday Magic,
Inc. to be given 'on script' and only by those distributors who
are holders of socalled 'Black Certificates' given out by
Instructor Generals in Instructor General school (CX 90K; CX 95D).
300. Holiday Magic, Inc. threatens distributors with termination
for not presenting the formal opportunity meetings on script,
which script first appeared approximately Mar. 1967 (CX 79Z27,
CX95D, CX 136C, CX 90K).
301. However, the threatened termination by Holiday Magic, Inc.
for an off script presentation of the Opportunity Meeting
relates only to 'public' meetings and 'company' meetings at 'Council
or CRS' places (PangerlTr. 9650).
Holiday Magic policies the Opportunity Meetings to insure that
it is given 'on script' (Tr. 6043; Tr. 6163).
302. Every Opportunity Meeting speaker closes with 'At this time
I would like you to turn to the person who invited you and ask
him to help you select one of the four portions for you in Holiday
Magic. Thank you.' At this point it is the job of the wouldbe
distributorrecruiter to enroll his prospect and he attempts
to do so by presenting 'The Six Enrollments' (CX 90K; CX 1842Z29).
303. Holiday Magic, Inc. tells its distributors that following
the Opportunity Meeting they are to train their people to 'applaud
the final speaker' and to 'sign up their prospects on the spot.'
(CX 1800QMasters and Generals manuals; CX 90E.) 'Prospect
should be able to make a decision at the time he attends the meeting.
If both husband and wife are necessary to the decision, then both
should be present at the meeting.'
304. Distributors are advised by Holiday Magic, Inc. to show up
at Opportunity Meetings with Holiday Magic application forms and
distributors lists (CX 78Z30; CX 90K).
305. The 'Six Enrollments' which is utilized on an individual
basis with prospect after the formal opportunity meeting (Tr.
599697) is an explanation of what can be done using the
Holiday Magic marketing plan (ChristieTr. 5999; CX 90K).
306. Holiday Magic, Inc. states in its Instructor General manuals
that 'The Six Enrollments factually present the advantages of
the four positions [and] totally explains the entire marketing
program in a most concise manner.' (CX 90K.)
307. The 'Wholesale Enrollment' for example, explains how to become
a General Distributor (ChristieTr. 5997).
308. The format of the six enrollments actually appears in current
versions of the Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting scripts. The
words are different, but the presentation and impact is the same
(See RX 29AM; CX 103AK; CX 102AP).
309. The psychological hard sell of the six enrollments takes
over the emotionalism of the Opportunity Meeting at which point
the 'scripts' are no longer policed. Prospects are urged to sign
up during the six enrollments presentations.
(a) See CX 90K.
Holiday Magic Instructor General manuals further describe the
six enrollments procedure:
Each [of the Six Enrollment presentation] ends with an obligating
question, so that when your prospect qualifies himself by giving
an affirmative reply, you can start filling out the application.
When the application is completed make the cash arrangements.
This is accomplished by merely pointing to the amount equivalent
to the position selected and ask 'How would you prefer to handle
this, by cash or by check?' (CX 90K.)
(b) See McKinnanTr. 4060: I am naive. All I can see is a
whole lot of money. I knew if you got to be a General you had
it made.
310. Holiday Magic requires that all council opportunity Meetings
be open and free to any other Holiday Magic distributor or his
prospects, regardless of who is conducting them (CX 79F26). Nor
should any distributor below the rank of Master be assessed dues
for his attendance at an opportunity meeting (CX 79Z26).
Any Holiday Magic distributor who is a member of some 'company
recognized council' shall have the right to take his prospects
to another council's Opportunity Meetings (CX 79Z75, CX 79Z78,
CX 93G).
311. Holiday Magic, Inc. utilizes the opportunity meetings in
order to obtain persons to come into the program based upon emotional
rather than logical considerations (SowinskiTr. 2060; DavisTr.
6282), to the point that they 'lusted over money' and thought
they could become rich overnight (SowinskiTr. 2060).
312. Holiday Magic, Inc. in its Instructor General manuals, highlights
the emotional aspects of the opportunity meetings:
Our objective is to bring our prospect to the point where he feels
excited at the end of the meeting, he feels a ray of hope and
an inkling that this may be his way out of his financial problemshe
can think of only three things: himself, money and Holiday Magiche
likes the way he feels, so his thoughts must be compatibleHIMSELF
AND MONEY THROUGH HOLIDAY MAGIC!
He feels, he feels, he feelsherein lie's the key.
FEELING is an emotional reaction. It is obvious that to achieve
our objective with our prospect good feelings associated about
Holiday Magicwe will be dealing on an emotional basis
constantly.
If this emotional tone could be charted, it would look like this:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
And at CX 1840Z5:
What are some of the techniques we are using to bring this about?
Remember:
(1) We are all 'Happy birds'. We know where we are going and we
like it because it's where we want to go. Everyone wants on a
team that obviously knows where it's going and is excited about
it. There is a wonderful feeling of comradery shown among the
Holiday Magic Family members.
(2) We know what we are doing. It is obvious because we show confidence
and planning perfection. We are living proof that the program
is successful.
(3) The film is loaded with emotionstimulating thoughts.
'* * * my income and my bills just didn't match up * * * it may
be charity * * * children * * * these four walls * * * future
didn't look too bright * * * I'd hate to think it passed me by
* * * your chance, your choice and your challenge * * *' and literally
hundreds more.
(4) Our speakers are outstanding and obviously successful.
(5) We are excitedly enthusiastic.
Never forget, emotional selling is what we are doing. Our propects
are going to make their decisions to join us because they 'feel'
right about it in 99 cases out of 100. The remaining 1% will come
in because he has 'logically reasoned' that it is the proper thing
to do.
313. Holiday Magic Opportunity Meetings are difficult to impossible
to comprehend to prospects attending same, and are so intended
to be by Holiday Magic, Inc. (CX 97AP, CX 98AN, CX
99AD, CX 100AP, CX 101AP, CX 102AP, CX
103AK).
See Opportunity Meeting scripts (CX 18420, Tr. 3969).
314. The atmosphere at Opportunity Meetings is one of potential
overwhelming financial gains, dramatized by stories of great riches,
and a parade of toys as in the movies. The unusual incomes are
described as earned by ordinary people, so that the prospect can
easily put himself in the shoes of the spender (Tr. 2281, CX 97AP,
CX 98, CX 99, CX 100AP, CX 101AP, CX 102AP,
CX 103AK).
See opportunity meeting scripts.
315. The major emphasis of the Opportunity Meeting is on earning
'big money' by becoming a master and then general distributor
in Holiday Magic.
See Opportunity Meeting scripts (CX 97AP, CX 98AN,
CX 99AD, CX 100AP, CX 101AP, CX 102AP,
CX 103AK).
316. With a changing in the language but not the impact of the
Opportunity Meeting script, respondents have resorted to unrealistic
'hypothetical' examples of spectacular profits which replaced
the nonhypothetical blatantly fraudulent misrepresentations
of earlier opportunity meeting scripts.
See Opportunity Meeting scripts (Tr. 7328, Tr. 88898890,
CX 97AP, CX 98AN, CX 99AD, CX 100AP, CX
101AP, CX 102AP, CX 103AK).
317. The opportunity Meetings and six enrollments or closing formats
have not been altered by Holiday Magic in any significant respects.
See above cited Opportunity Meeting scripts (Tr. 7334, CX 86AF,
CX 1840A Z114).
XXXIII. Emotional Lure to Selling
318. Holiday Magic, Inc. utilizes emotional keys to selling distributorships
and tells its distributor to do likewise. As they appear in the
Instructor General manual, they are:
(a) The Assumptive AttitudeAssume at all times your
prospect is going to enroll (CX 1840Z6566).
(b) Using Subordinate QuestionsThis is getting your
prospect to agree on minor issues so that he is in the habit pattern
of saying yes and will not be able to refuse you (CX 1840Z60).
(c) The Impending EventThis is a PowerHouse
method of enrolling your prospect though presenting to him a situation
which he can take advantage of only today and which will not be
available tomorrow (CX1840Z66).
(d) The InducementGive something to your prospect
that is and have the normal program which will induce him to make
a decision right now (CX 1840Z66).
(e) Physical ActionAssist your prospect in filling
out the paper work or demonstrating the product (CX 1840Z66).
(f) The Narrative KeyTell short positive or negative
story. Enroll prospect through 'Hope of reward' or 'fear of Loss'
(CX 1840Z67).
(g) The Persistence KeyBe stronger than your prospect
at all times by continually asking him to buy from you (CX 1840Z67,
CX 79U).
319. Holiday Magic Inc. also informs its distributors through
their Instructor Generals in connection with seeking to enroll
prospect that 'Many people have a desire to be misunderstood'
(CX 1842E).
320. The Holiday Magic enrollment keys to selling were utilized
throughout by corporate officers and Holiday Magic distributors
in recruitment efforts. For example, the record is replete with
instances of the 'Impending Event' technique:
(a) Holiday Magic President Al Pangerl testified that RX 137,
which discontinued a 1 percent override for new Generals only,
as well as an additioned requirement of $1,000 per month in override
purchases (Tr. 9526) was mailed to distributors in October even
though it was effective Nov. 30, 1972, to give distributors an
opportunity to become General prior to the deadline (Tr. 9191).
(b) 1. CX 2067A:
EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 1, 1972, THE REQUIREMENT FOR A GENERAL DISTRIBUTORSHIP
OF HOLIDAY MAGIC PRODUCTS WILL INCREASE TO $4,000.
We're telling you this in advance so that you will have these
remaining weeks to take advantage of the present requirement of
$3,000 before the deadline. That means that all applications postmarked
after 12:01 A.M. on February 1, 1972, will be approved only if
the new requirement of $4,000 is paid.
Sincerely,
Roland R. Nocera, President
2. CX 2067B:
THE GENERAL DISTRIBUTOR NEW REQUIREMENT OF $4,000 WILL BE EXTENDED
TO BEGIN MARCH 1, 1972 * * * instead of becoming effective on
February 1, 1972, as previously announced.
This 20 day postponement is required to give Distributors more
time, since there seems to be confusion in the field regarding
the program.
All applications for General Distributorship will be honored when
accompanied by payment of $3,000 to be placed in escrow, if postmarked
before 12 midnight on February 29th. It is not necessary to have
a replacement Master by that deadline date, the replacement Master
may be submitted at a later date.
I give you my word that there will be no further extension of
this deadline. Don't waste one minute of this extra month. You'll
be very glad you didn't.
Sincerely,
Roland R. Nocera,
President.
(c) 1. CX 2068A:
MASTER REQUIREMENT$4500
STARTING ON MARCH 1, 1972, THE REQUIREMENT TO BECOME A MASTER
DISTRIBUTOR WILL INCREASE FROM $3,000 TO $4,500. THAT MEANS THAT
FEBRUARY WILL BE THE LAST MONTH TO BECOME A MASTER DISTRIBUTOR
FOR $3,000. ALL APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR MASTER DISTRIBUTORSHIPS
POSTMARKED AFTER 12:01 A.M. ON MARCH 1, 1972 WILL BE APPROVED
ONLY IF THE NEW $4,500 REQUIREMENT IS PAID.
CANDIDLY,
ROLAND R. NOCERA,
PRESIDENT.
2. CX 2068B:
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!
THE MASTER REQUIREMENT WILL POSITIVELY INCREASE TO $4,500 ON MARCH
29
I give you my word there will be no further extension of the old
$3,000 price beyond that date. We are determined that every new
Master Distributor has all the help possible to become an outstanding
success in the Holiday Magic program. To do this, we have made
certain adjustments in the required Master training and product
and sales aids inventory. These changes mean increasing the Master
cash requirement to $4,500. We strongly feel that, as a result
of these changes, every new Master will be more fully prepared
than at any time in the past to achieve total success with his
distributorship.
The $4,500 cash requirement will cover the cost of a greater amount
of product at retail; a standardized, special assortment of sales
aids for Masters, and the finest professional management and sales
training anyone can get anywhere.
As you know, the true value of a Holiday Magic Distributorship
is growing by leaps and bounds. Thus, I have no way of predicting
how long we can hold the line at $4,500. I advise you to take
advantage of the current situation.
Every day you wait can cost you money instead of making you some.
We're on our way.
Roland R. Nocera
President.
3. CX 2060A:
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!
MASTER REQUIREMENT TO INCREASE TO $6,000 ON JULY 6
Effective July 6, 1972, the cost of a Holiday Magic Master Distributorship
will rise from $4,500 to $6,000.
This rise reflects the enormous growth in value of every Holiday
Magic Distributorship. You all see evidence of this in the large
numbers of Distributors who appear in each months' Wand as Moneymakersand
in the rapid upsurge in retail business at every CRS facility
in the country.
This means that all applications received for Master Distributorships
postmarked after 12:01 A.M. on July 6, 1972 will be approved only
if the new $6,000 cost is paid.
The Holiday Magic opportunity continues to reach outward on all
sides toward the distant horizon. Reach with itand
you may be richly rewarded. Every day you wait is money you aren't
earning.
Yours for the future,
Roland R. Nocera
President.
4. CX 2069B:
FOR THE IMMEDIATE ATTENTION OF ALL DISTRIBUTORS
WE ARE EXTENDING THE MASTER REQUIREMENT!
The deadline for the $4500 requirement has been extended to July
28, 1972. This means that all applications received for Master
Distributorships postmarked after 12:01 A.M. on July 28, 1972
will be approved only if the new $6,000 requirement is paid.
I advise you to take advantage of the limited time remainingnow.
Cordially,
Roland R. Nocera,
President.
5. CX 2069C:
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
MASTER REQUIREMENT EXTENSION
We have decided to extend the current Master Distributor price
requirement of $4,500 to August 23, 1972. Applications received
after 12:01 a.m. on this date must be accompanied by the new price
requirement of $6,000.
Take this opportunity while you may.
Cordially,
Roland R. Nocera,
Chairman of the Board.
6. CX 2069D:
FOR YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!
MASTER REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN AT $4,500
We will be taking major steps in improving distributor sales training
and sales aidstools with which a Master can achieve
greater success than at any time in the past, but we have decided
to let the Master requirement cost remain at just $4,500.
Holiday Magic believes in its people, and has faith in their ability
to continue to work hard towards personal achievementachievement
which in turn contributes to the success of the companyand
to the success of the American economy.
The Master requirement will remain, for the time being at $4,500.
Sincerely,
Alfred W. Pangerl,
Senior Vice President.
(d) 1. CX 207AC:
A NEW FINANCE PLAN FOR YOUR NEW MASTERS
Effective October 1 through October 31, 1971, we're offering to
finance up to $1500 of the purchase price of a Master Distributor
* * * at an interest rate of 6% on the declining balance.
2. CX 2071:
You only have a few more days to take advantage of the Finance
Plan for New Masters that ends January 31st * * * THERE WILL BE
NO FURTHER EXTENSIONS OF THE DATE.
If you've heard any rumors to the contrary, don't believe them.
If you're counting on an extension for any reason, you're going
to be disappointed. Even though this program has been very successful
for all of us * * * and we did extend it from the original December
31st date * * * there will be no further extension! I'm advising
you of this now, so you will take full advantage of the time remaining
and you have my word for it * * * there will be no further extension
beyond the January 31st deadline.
Sincerely,
Roland R. Nocera
President.
3. CX 2072AD:
A NEW FINANCE PLAN FOR YOUR NEW MASTERS!
New effective through April 19, 1972, we're offering to finance
up to $2500 of the purchase price of a Master Distributor order
* * * at an interest rate of 6% on the declining balance.
4. CX 2073AC:
A NEW FINANCE PLAN FOR YOUR MASTERS!
Effective now through June 13, 1972, we're offering to finance
up to $2000 of purchase price of a Master Distributor order *
* * at an interest rate of 6% on the declining balance.
5. CX 2074AC:
A NEW FINANCE PLAN FOR YOUR NEW MASTERS!
Effective December 10th through December 31st, we're offering
to finance up to $1500 of purchase price of a Master Distributor
order * * * at an interest rate of 6% on the declining balance.
6. CX 2076AC:
A PRESENT FOR THE NEW YEARA SPECIAL MASTER TOTAL PRICE OF
$3000 PLUS THE NEW FINANCE PLAN FOR NEW MASTERS
Effective through January 31st, we're offering to finance up to
$500 of purchase price of a Master Distributor order * * * at
an interest rate of 6% of the declining balance.
(e) See GayTr. 1001010011 describing the impending
event as utilized by Holiday Magic, Inc.
(f) See also CX 1395A.
321. Holiday Magic, Inc. has utilized as an 'impending event'
the fear of distributors that limitations in their recruiting
activities may at some future date occur.
CX 90Z3, opportunity meeting statement dated Jan. 1970, for example,
states:
There are only a limited number of Generalships in any given area.
Achieving this level depends in part on your own abilities to
produce and in part on how many have gotten there before you.
As in any other test of achievement, the race goes to the swift.
322. There is considerable doubt that any such limitation has
actually been imposed; and this doubt is generated by the following:
(a) RX 84 purports to be an interoffice memorandum distributed
to all Senior Generals and Instructor Generals some time after
Roland Nocera became Holiday Magic Presidentwhich
was in Nov. 1970 (Tr. 10016; Tr. 9655). RX 84 states that on Mar.
22, 1967, the Holiday Magic Board of Directors adopted a policy
of one General Distributor per 10,000 population in a given market
area.
(b) RX, 163AO, which is the minutes of the meeting of Mar.
22, 1967, contains no such statement.
(c) Two Holiday Magic officials, Coultas and Pangerl, testified
with respect to the alleged limitation of Generalships, and their
testimony indicates an incredible lack of knowledge by these two
officialsthe president and the director of legal service,
about such 'limitation.'
For example, we learned that a limitation was placed in recruiting
Generals in Red Lion, Pa. (Tr. 9701) but we are not told, and
corporate officials do not know Red Lion's population, geographic
area, size or number of Generals there (Tr. 972930, 10331)
or the number of Masters or Generals operating out of Red Lion
(Tr. 10331).
See Tr. 1033110339 and Tr. 1035610374, which is president
Pangerl's entire testimony on the subject.
(d) At least through June 1968, the time that respondent Jan Gillespie,
a member of the board of directors, left Holiday Magic, Inc. (Tr.
9293), she testified that the company had no filing for Masters
and Generals by geographic area (Tr. 9557Gillespie).
XXXIV. Business Training
,323. The term 'Business Training' as used throughout the Holiday
Magic program is really nothing more than the 'Six Enrollments'
being taught and given at the various councils (FechtalTr.
238991, PenceTr. 3674, GayTr. 9940, CX 1840Z8586)
and is given to educate newly enrolled people and to motivate
individuals at lower levels to move up (SowinskiTr. 2017,
CX 1842Z29). For this reason, business training II and III is
referred to by Holiday Magic, Inc. as opportunity meeting II and
III (NapoletanoTr. 3609, GayTr. 9857).
324. The purpose and design of 'Business Training' was to 'close'
prospects and to teach others how to recruit and close prospects
(NapoletanoTr. 3611, FechtalTr. 2391, CX 1840Z8586).
The Instructor General manual states:
Business training is provided by functioning councilsMasters
and Generals who belong to these Councils pay small monthly fees
to support them. When your guest is invited to a council training
meeting he will have to sign into the guest register and you're
going to try to use the training facilities to sponsor your guests
into the program. (CX 1840Z8586).
See also CX 1842Z2728; CX 1842Z29.
325. The closing techniques for prospective distributors, not
for the sale of cosmetics, as described by Holiday Magic, Inc.
to the Instructor Generals, contained in the material of CX 1844AN
and CX 1842AZ30 (SowinskiTr. 203536, 2053) are
all psychological hardsell techniques, as follows:
(a) Application EnrollmentThe filling out of the application
by asking your prospects questions and writing down the answers.
Prospect is asked to 'O.K.' the form (Z18).
(b) Enrollment QuestionsIs the use of questions the
answers to which will confirm the fact of enrollment. Example'What
is your correct mailing address?' (Z18).
(c) Alternates of Choice EnrollmentExample'Do
you want to handle this by cash or by check?' (Z18).
(d) Call Back EnrollmentDon't ever ask your guest
if he has thought it over because he will normally tell you the
answer is 'no.' Use standard enrollment procedure all over again
(CX 1842Z19).
(e) Summary Question EnrollmentOral method of enrolling
your guest through using a negative yes enrollment each time he
says no. Example'Is it the integrity of the company
that is keeping you from enrolling?' (CX 1842Z19).
(f) Lost Sale EnrollmentTo be used when your guest
has been lost and is starting to leave. Ask prospect to excuse
his 'ineptness' and ask where he has gone wrong. When guest answers,
go back into the presentation. Apologize to your guest for not
enrolling him (CX 1842Z19).
(g) secondary Question EnrollmentUse minor question
following an alternate of choice enrollment (Z20).
(h) Sharp Angle EnrollmentWhen prospect asks 'Can
it earn money?' 'Do you want to enroll if you can make money?'
(Z20).
(i) I'll Think It over EnrollmentAsk what phase of
the program you want to think overthen you have a
final objection enrollment (Z 20).
(j) Final Objection EnrollmentMake guest explain his
objection until he feels 'stupid' (Z2021).
(k) The Puppy Dog EnrollmentFor skeptical guests on
the try it before you buy it approach. Take the demo kit home
and let your wife play with it. Prospect will have to enroll if
wife wants to keep kit (Z21).
(1) Ben Franklin Balance Sheet EnrollmentUsed for
indecisive prospects. Put down reasons pro and con for joining.
Help prospect with pro reasons. Subconscious mind won't be able
to switch to the con so fast (Z21).
(m) Similar Situation EnrollmentUse a positive or
negative story to influence your prospect's decision.
(1) Positive story 'Oh, boy! am I happy that I made that decision
because now I have the world by the tail enrollment.'
(2) Negative'Make them cry enrollment' or the 'back
the hearse up to the door and let them smell the flowers enrollment'
(Z2122).
(n) Obligatory Question EnrollmentLet prospect answer
yes to any question he asks by asking him the same question. Example'Can
I have retail girls?' 'Do you want to have retail girls?' (Z22).
(o) The Budget EnrollmentUse when losing your propect
due to his lack of available funds. We'll start your training
right away so you can become a financial success (Z22).
(p) Trial EnrollmentBook him in training class where
you can obtain more information (Z22).
(q) Impending EnrollmentYou should get started with
us right now! And reap the cash benefits available by expanding
in these new areas before someone else comes along ahead of you
and takes home the cash money you could have earned (Z22).
(r) Buddy EnrollmentLet's record your name at the
main office so you will be able to sponsor your friend into the
program (Z23).
(s) Name EnrollmentAsk prospect to write down names
of five people who would like to make an extra $25,000 a year.
Then explain how much money these five people will make for your
prospect if he sponsors them into the business. But in order to
sponsor you have to enroll. If he doesn't enroll, threaten him
that you will sponsor the people. The moment you enroll one of
his contacts you will have leverage to enroll him again (Z23,
see also CX 78WX).
(t) Circle EnrollmentCan you do it? Product, Industry,
Marketing Plan & Company explained already (Z23).
(u) Cash Money EnrollmentUsed when you have a prospect
who is a non believer. Pull roll of $100 bills out of your
pocket and say 'Now, I am not trying to impress you with the money
that I'm making, but would earning this kind of money each week
interest you? Wonderful' (Z24).
(v) Direct Enrollment'I believe this program will
directly benefit you by increasing your income' (Z24).
(w) Indirect Enrollment'Now in order to start earning
big money right away I think you should start in this position.'
When a prospect turns down a position that you select for him
just automatically assure that he is selecting the position directly
below the one you have just offered him. 'Well, that's all right,
we'll start you in this position and you can work your way up'
(Z24).
(x) Choice EnrollmentNow that I have explained all
four positions to you which to you feel will suit your needs best?'
(Z24).
(y) Pen Handling Techniques
(1) Pen CirclingAlways circle pen into your prospect's
hand beneath his eye level (between the first finger and thumb)
(Z2425).
(2) Pen SnappingMake a mark on the application where
you want him to write, then snap the pen down upon the top (indicating
you want him to use it). 'Please put your name and mailing address
right here' (Z25).
(3) Pen ReachingWhen you have a wide distance to cover
in placing your pen in prospect's hand. Place pen in prospect's
hand while keeping your eyes at his level (Z25).
(4) Pen DroppingShould only be used after several
unsuccessful attempts have been made to place your pen in your
prospect's hand. You must become extremely nervous and accidently
on purpose drop your pen, saying 'Whoops.' When prospect picks
up pen, don't thank him, but tell him to put his name on the application
(Z25).
(5) Pen Tapping'Is used to bring about fast signature.'
'Let's go' (Z25).
(6) Pen BorrowingUsed when prospect has his own pen
close at hand. Borrow his pen to make a mark on application, then
give it back to prospect, telling him to finish filling out application
(Z25).
(7) Pen Priming TechniquesUsed to get prospect to
start writing after pen successfully placed in his hand.
(i) Quick PrimePick up second pen and puickly point
to place you want him to sign'Just like a small bird
sitting on your prospect's shoulder and softly whispering into
his ear 'You forgot to sign your name' (Z26).
(ii) Hot and Cold Pen SwitchPut pen that has started
writing into prospect's hand. Clear the negative deception from
his conscious mind first.
326. Examples of the utilization of the 'pen' techniques are found
in the record at Tr. 3611Napoletano and Tr. 3715Pence.
On both occasions, they were demonstrated by either Instructor
Generals or corporation team personnel.
Utilization and teaching of the 'Cash Money Enrollment' is very
prevalent:
(a) Mark Evans, Holiday Magic's national sales manager, said HM
stood for 'Hot Money' and threw 25 $100 bills in the air (PenceTr.
3711).
(b) Bill Dempsey, V.P. for East Coast of Holiday Magic, Inc.,
flashed 3 or 4 $100 bills in the air during his talk (PenceTr.
3710).
(c) See also LangstonTr. 3851.
(d) Jerry Booz at his Instructor General class opened his coat
and it was lined with bills of all denomination (NapoletanoTr.
3612). (Mr. Booz testified for respondents after Mr. Napoletano,
but never denied the incident.)
XXXV. How Money May Be Made Under The Holiday Magic Program
327. Money can be made in the Holiday Magic marketing plan without
moving product to the consumer (Professor LappTr.
6739; SloaneTr. 2119).
328. There are many ways to make money in the Holiday Magic marketing
plan. This can be accomplished by either selling product, recruiting
people to sell product, or recruiting people to become Masters
who in turn will be upgraded to the General position and the money
can be made in the release fees (Respondents' Marketing Professor
BaumgartenTr. 660809, 6616). See also CX 79Z45:
In other words, the distributor * * * may function as a retailer
and/or recruiter of other distributors. What the distributor becomes
in Holiday Magic depends mainly on his or her interest and ability.
329. It requires only two Masters going General for the individual
General to reach his breakeven point (Professor BaumgartenTr.
6609, 6626).
330. It is clear from the record in this case that there are many
ways that Master and General Distributors have worked the Holiday
Magic program. They can do so by: (a) Retailing the product directly
to the consumer (Tr. 5256, 4481 4482, 5114).
(b) Selling Holiday Magic products directly to Organizers and
Holiday Girls at wholesale (Tr. 2452, 2479, 4187, 2525, 2518,
4554).
(c) Recruiting Master Distributors and receiving a 10 percent
override if a General (Tr. 4841; CX 2009AB; Tr. 49894990).
(d) As a General, upgrading Master distributors to the General
position, and collecting the release fees and subsequent 1 percent
overrides (Tr. 5314, 8963, 4612).
331. The record is clear that the most successful Holiday Magic
Distributors have made the vast majority of their money in Holiday
Magic, Inc. by collecting release fees on upgrading Masters in
their organizations to the position of General:
(a) Cf. Al Pangerl, the top producer for 1967, 1968 and 1970 (Tr.
9558 who sold only $15,000 at retail value at wholesale in 1970
(Tr. 9562) which means approximately a gross income in wholesale
business of $5250 (35 percent differential between selling price
of 30 percent undercut to Holiday Girls and 65 percent discount
from Holiday Magic) received at least $15,000 in overrides on
his Master Distributors (Tr. 956062) and with 50 Generals
totally made at least $125,000 in release fees since 1967 (Tr.
9570).
(b) Bill Dempsey, the third highest Holiday Magic producer for
a six month period in 1966 (Tr. 6062), made between $40,000$100,000
every year in Holiday Magic, made at least $125,000 on release
fees (Tr. 605960 Generals) and at least $50,000 on 10 percent
overrides (Tr. 605960 Masters plus 50 Generals who were
Masters.
(c) Distributor Ben Gay, who like Pangerl also became president,
testified that of $100,000 he made his first year in Holiday Magic,
$98,500 was from recruiting activities and $1500 was from wholesale
sales (Tr. 9871).
332. Distributors are aware that the big money to be made in Holiday
Magic is through recruiting and sponsoring Masters and Generals.
Cf. Tr. 2246, 2119, 2288, 371720, 3388, 3784, 5137, 1093,
119495, 5314, 7307, 7309, 7338, 7667, 77247725.
333. Holiday Magic, Inc. tells its distributors and prospects
in the six enrollments that the 'big money' is made by recruiting
and sponsoring General Distributors, and collecting the release
fees. Cf. CX 86BC:
Now for just a moment lets put you in the position of a General
Distributor working at 65%. Each time you bring a new Master you
receive 10% of the total retail volume that must change hands.
10% of $5000 is $500, you have just earned by bringing in a new
Master Distributor, this newly created Master will want to become
a General Distributor like yourself, so that he may earn the big
money.
* * * [T]he moment this replacement Master has been signed in
at the factory, the $2500 that has been sitting there in escrow
is released back to you, the General Distributor, for a total
of $3300 each time you bring in a new General Distributor.
If you did this once each month you would earn a total of $39,009
a year and still have twelve Masters. Now, this is part time because,
believe me, anyone who only brings in one Master a month is working
part time! But, if you could bring in one distributor a week you
would earn in excess of $150,000 by this time next year.
334. The backbone of the success of Holiday Magic was based upon
the Mark Evans lecture notes, which appears in the record at CX
85AZ29 (Quoted by witness Rountree of Fred PapeTr.
941).
335. The Mark Evans Lectures were given when Evans was a member
of the Holiday Magic Corporate Team (Tr. 924).
336. A comparison of the Evans notes with the six enrollments
scripts utilized by Holiday Magic reveals that the six enrollments
follow the Evans lecture notes. Cf. CX 852AZ29, CX 86AF
(handed out by Holiday Magic Corporate Team at meeting conducted
by EvansTr. 2972) and CX 1842RZ10. Given to
all Instructor GeneralsTr. Sowinski).
337. Holiday Magic distributors make money under the Holiday Magic
marketing plan off of other people's efforts. Cf. Tr. 1097, Part
XIV 5, CX 1800P, Tr. 2276, 6236, 4543; CX 1983, D.E.G.
338. No 'top achievers' in Holiday Magic have made more money
in Holiday Magic selling to organizers and Holiday Girls than
they have in generating release fees and overrides for themselves
(CoultasTr. 9755).
339. Under the Holiday Magic marketing program, according to Robert
DePew, Holiday Magic's first vice president, 'a tremendous amount
of money could have been earned by many without must regard at
all for quality of product or retail sales or repeat orders' (CX
2BWand 9/65).
340. The record establishes that Holiday Magic, Inc. provides
the distributor with the marketing plan, and lets the individual
distributor decide for himself how he chooses to make his money
in the Holiday Magic program (Tr. 1320, CX 79Z45).
341. Because there are so many ways to make money in Holiday Magic,
Inc. one cannot properly compare the Holiday Magic business at
the Master or General Distributor level with any other business
in which release fees and replacements are not present. Respondents'
own expert on motivational selling testified that 'there are motivational
factors which cause a distributor to go into Holiday Magic which
are different from a Salesman going into any other business' (DavisTr.
6306).
342. Because of the nature of the marketing plan, the intent of
a distributor in coming into Holiday Magic could be to do so without
the desire to resell products, but to just recruit Masters (PangerlTr.
96509651):
Q. You indicated also on redirect examination, Mr. Pangerl, that
you knew of no distributor who didn't intend to resale [sic] products
he purchased from Holiday Magic. Do you recall saying that?
A. If you bought product from the company, you bought it to sell
to someone.
Q. If a distributor in a Holiday Magic Program was interested
only in recruiting Master Distributors and not reselling the product
and if a requirement was that before he could recruit Master Distributors
he had to buy inventories, would this not be a situation where
the intent of the distributor would be to come into Holiday Magic
not to sell product but instead to recruit Masters?
A. No, the company frowned on headhunting. That would be called
headhunting.
Q. It would be called headhunting, but that would not change the
intent of the distributor coming into the program, would it?
A. I guess not.
343. Holiday Magic, Inc. did not frown on 'headhunting' but fostered
it 100 percent. (All of Holiday Magic's earnings representations
in the Record substantiates this.) See CX 82Z47 Holiday Magic
Distributor's Manual:
There will be those who join our ranks from greed alone, seeing
an opportunity to 'get rich quick.' It is alright that they join
with the intent of getting rich quick,for indeed they
can * * *
344. One cannot be successful in the Holiday Magic program unless
one is competent to sponsor other distributors into the program
at the Organizer, Master and General Level.
(a) CX 1800Q (Masters' and Generals' Manual):
The position of Master Distributor has been designed as a leadership
position with many responsibilities and rewards commensurate with
those responsibilities. A Master Distributor who conducts himself
ambitiously in following the Holiday Magic formula for success
will have a business which he can enjoy for the balance of his
life with an income of $15,000 to $24,000 per year. To achieve
this income level is not difficult, but there are several things
that must be done:
1. RECRUITING: You must maintain a constant Personnel Recruiting
Program and encourage your distributors to do likewise.
a. Have no less than one recruiting meeting per week. Evening
recruiting meeting should begin at 8:00 p.m. sharp.
(Note: Opportunity Meetings are not designed for Recruiting Holiday
GirlsSee CX 79Z29.)
(b) CX 1800P:
Our job this evening has not been to sell you, but to thoroughly
explain our program so that you might see how this opportunity
can be used by you. It is obvious that the person who invited
you here must have respect for your ability. Further, if you understand
the opportunity, it is obvious to you that unless you make progress,
he can make none.
345. The sponsorship or recruitment act, of itself, is an income
generating event in the Holiday Magic marketing plan and Holiday
Magic, Inc. points out to its distributor that money is to be
made in the act of recruiting (and not in selling of the product).
(a) CX 1840Z48:
Having personally escorted your prospects to an opportunity meeting
it behooves you to remember that it is not only your prospect's
opportunity, but your opportunity also.
This is the point of your being there. You are there to present
an opportunity to your prospects which will directly affect your
financial well being. Because of this you are enthused!
(b) CX 1842U, CX 1840Z74:
[P]ut yourself in the position of a General Distributor working
at 65%. Each time you create a new Master Distributor you receive
10% of the total retail volume that must change hands. 10% of
$5000 has just earned you $500 cash!
This newly created Master Distributor that you have just enrolled
will want to become a General Distributor like you so that he
may earn the kind of money that you are earning here.
(c) See also CX 1842V, CX 1840Z77.
(d) CX 1842V, CX 1840Z75:
But the moment that the replacement Master is received at the
factor the $2500 cash, being held in escrow, is released to you,
the sponsoring General Distributor, for a total of $3300 cash
each time you sponsor in a new General Distributor as a General
Distributor.
(e) CX 1395Aletter from Holiday Magic to Distributor
Davis(9/16/68):
Just a reminder that at midnight, September 30, 1969, as a General
you will earn one hundred and sixtysix dollars more for
every Master Distributor you bring into the business and three
hundred and sixtysix dollars more by the time he becomes
a General Distributor!
In the meantime, your prospects will save $750 by joining the
business before the deadline.
See you at the topand at the bank!
346. Holiday Magic, Inc. rewards its General Distributors to the
extent of $300 or $500 as a result of someone else's activity
in merely sponsoring a new Master distributor. The money has been
received, yet there has been no training, no supervision and no
control:
When this replacement Master is brought into the business, an
additional $5000 in retail product is purchased from Holiday Magic
and you [the General], with your 10% override, would be paid another
$500 * * * in cash. But since the rules require you to pay out
$200 in cash as a finder's fee to whomever brought in this Master,
you net only $300 * * * on replacement Masters (CX 90R).
347. Holiday Magic, Inc. rewards General Distributors with release
fees of at least $2500 the moment a replacement Master is recruited
by a Master in the General's Organization.
However, the moment that the replacement Master is effectively
recorded by the company, the $2500 cash, being held in escrow,
is released to you * * * Thus, you have earned a total of $3300
each time you sponsor a new General Distributor. (CX 90S).
348. Holiday Magic, Inc. rewards its distributors who recruit
Masters by paying a 10 percent override on the retail list price
purchase volume of the new Master's order.
(a) See CX 2054AL and CX 2053AM, overrides of Dale
Schmidt, who testified that he made the $25,000 round table five
times and that the round table indicates a volume of $25,000 in
one month (Tr. 5229). Schmidt recruited 46 Masters and received
between $500$777.77 apiece therefor for a total of $29,914.04.
(b) CX 1842U, CX 1840Z74, CX 90R.
349. Holiday Magic, Inc. also rewards its distributors for recruiting
Masters by socalled 'RoundTable' clubs, and gives
prizes to members of the round table:
(a) Witness Barry Toepfer testified that he was a member of the
$25,000 'Round Table' in July 1970, because his 'sales volume'
totaled $25,000 that month. Mr. Toepfer recruited five Masters
that month, each of whom purchased $5000 at retail value for a
total volume of $25,000. Mr. Toepfer stated the $25,000 was achieved
through recruiting (Tr. 49804989).
(b) Witness Dale Schmidt was an Instructor General (Tr. 5198)
and a member of the round table five times (Tr. 5229). He testified
he made the Round Table as a result of recruitment of Masters
(Tr. 5231, 5223). See CX 2053AM and CX 2054AL).
350. Another way Holiday Magic, Inc. rewards its distributors
who recruit Masters, is in 'Mugs' or trophies.
(a) CX 140DFamily News8/2/68.
MUG YOUR MASTERS
We're getting more and more orders for the mugs which have been
used so successfully by success squal leaders. These mugs are
a humble symbol of achievement in recruiting. Smart people are
building a large set.
(b) RegglerTr. 665, 687.
(c) CX 1634.
351. Holiday Magic, Inc. would also reward its distributors for
recruiting Master Distributors by holding socalled 'retail
volume' contests, which are nothing more than Master recruiting
contests.
(a) Former Instructor General Napoletano testified that contests
were based upon retail volume, but a credit of $5000 volume for
each Master recruited was attained (Tr. 3618).
(b) Former Instructor General Sowinski testified that contests
depend upon the volume of products that flowed from Holiday Magic,
Inc. and gave as an example that if a person brought in 10 Master
distributors, this would result in a volume to him of $50,000
or $5,000 per Master (Tr. 20442045).
(c) Former Holiday Magic president Ben F. Gay III testified that
the retail volume contests were thinly disguised Master recruiting
contests (Tr. 9833 9840).
(d) CX 537A(7/15/66) Bulletin from Holiday Magic, Inc. to
all Master and General Distributors, announcing the 'GET JIM HEARN'
CONTEST.
If you think he's [Jim Hearn] resting on his laurels and counting
his money, you're wrong! He's opened up a new office in Miami,
stormed the Southland, signing up distributors and his business
is better than ever.
See also weekly bulletin announcing the standings of the 'GET
JIM HEARN' Contest at CX 538AB, CX 539A, B, CX 540, CX 541A, B,
CX 542AB, CX 543AB, CX 544AB, CX 545 AB, CX 546, CX 547, CX 548.
(e) Top producer Pangerl at Tr. 1037677:
Q. Mr. Pangerl, what did you state with respect to Mr. Patrick
telling you to concentrate on retailing or not just now?
A. He didn't make any statement.
Q. He didn't tell you not to engage in retail activities?
A. He didn't tell me not to engage in wholesale activities either.
Q. He did reward you for engaging in wholesale activities, didn't
he?
A. He rewarded me for my total overall effort in my business.
Q. You had four cars, the use of four automobiles?
A. That is right.
Q. That was because of your wholesale or retail volume?
A. It was the total volume of sales that I had.
Q. And you made the President's $75,000 Club?
A. That is right.
Q. And that was based on wholesale volume whether to you or to
masters in your organization?
A. That was based on total volume of everything.
Q. How much of that was master purchases, and how much of that
was sales to you as a general?
A. I state earlier, 90%. [FN3]
Q. All right. 90%. What did you get for the $75,000 Club?
A. I got a year's lease on Cadillac. I got a ring and pin.
Q. What did you get for the $50,000 Club?
A. I got a trip to any city anywhere in the world.
Q. Where did you go?
A. Which world?
Q. Where did you go?
A. I never took the trips. I was too busy.
Q. Too busy recruiting?
A. Too busy doing everything there was in my business.
JUDGE BUTTLE: Mr. Gay was considered one of the top recruiters
also, wasn't he?
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
JUDGE BUTTLE: All right. [FN4]
352. Holiday Magic, Inc. innundates its distributors with news
stories of contests and clubs in which they can win prizes such
as trips around the world and RollsRoyce automobiles by
having the highest 'volume' of all other distributors (Cf. CX
158D, CX 7A, CX 14C, CX 4, CX 155A, 155D, 156C, 30A, 41A, 165A,
166A, 41DI, 45C, 160A, 164A, 163A, 39G, 48A, 49A, 51A, 51C,
47CE, 53A, 54A, 54J, 55D, 57A, 57D, 166E, 60A, 61A, 61C,
63A, 63J, 64B, 64E, 64H, 129D, 129G, 135C, 144A, 147A, 165M, 147M,
148A, 151H, 151'o,' 153C, 172A, 13B, 165H, 46A, 167C, 56A, 57D,
59A, 59H, 60F, 61D, 62A, 63C, 64G, 68C, 133B, 136G, 156A, 172B,
CX 47A, CX 63C, CX 65C, CX 165H, CX 167A, CX 36E, CX 53A).
XXXVI. The Geometry of the Marketing Plan
353. The Holiday Magic marketing program is designed and intended
to increase the number of distributors geometrically, that is,
it is designed to produce an even broadening base of new distributors
at the same functional levels:
(a) CX 1800Z8:
It is important that you make your Opportunity and Training meetings
open to everyone and members of their organizations. Since your
organization will grow beyond your local area and spread across
the country, it is important that full cooperation be extended
to everyone in the Holiday Magic organizations.
(b) CX 278:
Between your associates and their associates you can easily reach
2500 people. If you are diligent you can easily affect one half
of the people or 1250 over a period of one year. If you are not
so diligent you can at least affect 400 to 500 individuals. Do
you realize what this could mean for you?
(c) At CX 76L, Holiday Magic explains that everyone has the 'same
opportunity.'
(d) Witness S. Price Holton, former Secretary to the Miami council,
testified that the opportunity meeting script was a recruitment
in geometrical progression (Tr. 2287).
(e) CX 1842V, CX 1840Z75:
Herein lies the strength of the Holiday Magic marketing plan.
Why Holiday Magic has grown so readily, because he must always
replace himself with a working indian [sic] before he can become
a chief. Your number of Masters will never decreaseyou
will only grow in the number of Generals you have.
(f) CX 1842V, CX 1840Z75.
354. The operation of the Holiday grown so rapidly, because he
must always to recruiting persons who become Masters and/or Generals
contemplates geometrical increases in the number of distributors
at each level.
(a) Holiday Magic's Instructor General Manual describes 'Holiday
Magic's Formula for Financial Success' based on a quota system
of recruitment of organizers, Masters and Generals, to wit:
There is a scientific way to assure your financial success in
'Holiday Magic'. It is the proper use of the 'Quota System.'
A. Set the goals or quotas as follows:
(a) Each organizer in your organization is responsible for enrolling
one other organizer into Holiday Magic each week.
(b) Each Master Distributor is responsible for enrolling two new
organizers per week into the program, through his organization.
(c) And every General Distributor is responsible for enrolling
four new organizers each week into the program through his entire
distributorship.
Note that at the General level there is a total of sixteen new
organizers each month being brought into his organization. Four
or more of these new organizers will become Master Distributors.
(If they are being trained properly). The new Master Distributors
will become General Distributors by the following month if they
are filling their own quotas. Which means that any General Distributor
who will establish the 'Quota System' in his own organization
will be sponsoring one new General Distributor into Holiday Magic
each week by the end of the second month which will earn him three
thousand three hundred dollars per week which is well over one
hundred thousand dollars per year!
This is Holiday Magic's Formula for Financial Success (CX 1840Z4748).
(b) In diagram form the quota systems for organizers is as follows:
(1) 'Each Organizer in your organization is responsible for enrolling
one other organizer into Holiday Magic each week.' Therefore,
if all organizers follows the Quota System:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
(c) Any General Distributor who will establish the 'Quota System'
in his own organization will be sponsoring one new General Distributor
into Holiday Magic each week by the end of the second month *
* *' Therefore, if all Generals follow the Quota System, the multiples
will increase at an even greater rate literally a
multiple on top of a multiple, after the fifth month.
(d) The wholesale enrollment describes a recruiting aspect of
the Holiday Magic marketing plan whereby a General distributor
can make $39,600 at the end of twelve months by recruiting and
sponsoring one General distributor a month (CX 1840Z74Z77).
The diagram looks as follows, assuming that all generals do the
same thing:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
(e) According to respondents' former National field director,
Senior General and Instructor General Christie, it is possible
under the HM program for a General to recruit one Master and for
that Master in turn to keep replacing himself to the point where
the General has 12 General distributors under him after a year
(Christie5999). This has already been shown to have occurred
for a lesser period of six steps for respondents' witness Carlson
at 64836484, to wit:
Q. All right, do you know if any of the general distributors that
we are talking about now were replacement masters of replacement
masters?
A. Well, the ones I told you about this morning, I have one rather
long line of replacements.
Q. Would you tell the Court what you mean by that one long line,
please?
A. Yes, I sponsored a Japanese man, George Nakashigi, and he sponsored
a woman, Taina Haapamaki, and he sponsored Taina Haapamaki, and
Taina sponsored a woman named Salma Linne, and Linne sponsored
a man named Caslanoz, and he sponsored a man named Hernandez,
and I don't remember his last name.
Q. Is that the end of that line?
A. That's the end of that line.
Q. Were all of these persons masters in your organization?
A. They were at one time.
Q. All of these persons now are generals?
A. All but one, all but the last replacement.
If all General distributors were able to conduct their business
in this manner, the diagram pictured above would be accurate in
this instance.
355. It is reasonable to assume that a Master wants to become
a General for the same reason that the original Sponsoring General
became a General (BaumgartenTr. 6618).
356. The Holiday Magic marketing plan also describes a situation
whereby if an organizer brings in five other organizers each month,
then at the end of three months there will have been 190 [FN5]
distributors recruited into the program (see CX 79Z28Z38).
But since Organizers can become workin Masters solely by
recruiting other Organizers (ChristieTr. 6001) or
by recruiting other Organizers who in turn recruit other Organizers
(ChristieTr. 6001) the recruited distributors will
not remain at the Organizer level, but will become Masters instead
and stay at that same functional level (see CX 79Z31, CX 1840Z72,
CX 1842T, Part VII B 7).
357. Respondents called Professor Baumgarten to testify, and he
conceded that under the Holiday Magic marketing plan there is
the possibility of a General only being interested in recruiting
Masters who in turn are only interested in becoming Generals and
bringing in Masters (BaumgartenTr. 6638).
358. Professor Baumgarten also concedes the possibility of a geometric
progression occurring, in theory, in the Holiday Magic marketing
plan (BaumgartenTr. 6584).
359. Professor Baumgarten also concedes that the Holiday Magic
program can be characterized as primarily horizontal proliferation,
up to her about 8 p.m. and asked if she would be interested number
of distributors at horizontal levels (BaumgartenTr.
6611).
360. An example of the geometrical effect of the Holiday Magic
marketing plan appears in the Holiday Magic Wand at CX 30CFebruary
1968:
When you throw a pebble into a pond, the resulting action is far
more widespread than the first tiny plink of a pebble into the
water. Two Holiday Magic pebbles who might well be classified
in the boulder category are Vincent Talluto and Tony Rubio, partners
in KonTiki Distributors of Santa Clara, California.
The two Generals estimate the people they have sponsored and those
sponsored by their organization must run far into the hundreds.
They have distributors in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York, New
Jersey, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Monterey and Santa Clara, California.
The livewire partners sponsored New York's Jim McKelvey, a wellknown
Holiday Magic InstructorSenior General, and Mike Brini of
New York, another General Distributor. Brini in turn sponsored
Al Pangerl of Hartsdale, N.Y., one of the nation's top Distributors.
361. Mr. Pangerl, Holiday Magic's 'top producer' for 1967, 1968
and 1970 (Tr. 9558) had recruited 200 Masters and 50 Generals
in his Organization (Tr. 9562, 9570) with approximately only $15,000
in products at list price value sold to his Organizers and Holiday
Girls (at wholesale) for the year 1970. In 1970, Pangerl recruited
50 Masters. His release fee earnings alone since he has been in
the business would range from approximately $125,000 to $150,000.
362. At a 65 percent discount, and selling to Organizers and Holiday
Girls at 30 percent off, Pangerl's gross income on wholesaling
cosmetics, as the year's top producer, would be only approximately
$5,000.
363. The diagram of Opportunity Meeting at CX 79Z37, as drawn
by Holiday Magic, Inc. is as follows, after only three months:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
364. Another example of the geometry of the marketing plan can
be gleaned from CX 200AZ177, which is a list of Master and
General Distributors in the State of Illinois, and the identification
of their sponsoring Generals (see also Tr. 9119, 9101).
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
365. A Holiday Magis distributor is not limited to recruiting
other Distributors to a specific geographic area. (CX 78W; CX
86D; CX 1842Z6; CX 1800Z8).
366. There is no limit to the number of Master Distributors that
a General Distributor may recruit into Holiday Magic, Inc.
CX 200AZ177, where General Distributor Joseph T. LaRose,
#1681, has 36 Masters and 37 Generals; General Distributor John
Carr, #1035, has 79 Masters and 61 General Distributors; David
Dow, #1607, has 5 Masters and 8 Generals; Kreitling, #4214, has
15 Masters and 21 Generals; Bush, #864, 8 Masters and 7 Generals;
Berlco, #21124, 17 Masters and 17 Generals; Earl Miller, #5106,
has 12 Masters and 29 Generals; Distributor #3260 has 5 Masters
and 17 Generals; Distributor Dempsey recruited 50 Masters and
50 Generals (Tr. 6071); Distributor Pangerl has 200 Masters and
50 Generals (Tr. 9562, 9570). (Note: All Generals had previously
been in the organization of the same General as a Master.)
367. There is no limit to the number of General Distributors that
a General Distributor may recruit or sponsor into Holiday Magic.
CX 200AZ177, where General Distributor La Rose, #1681, has
37 Generals under his sponsorship; Carr, #1035, has 61 Generals;
Kreitling, #4214, has 21 Generals; Berlco, #21124, has 17 Generals;
Miller, #5106, has 29 Generals, Distributor #3626 has 17 Generals;
Distributor Pangerl had 50 General (Tr. 9570); Distributor Dempsey
had 50 General Distributors (Tr. 6071).
368. There is no limitation as to the number of Master distributors
that may be recruited in any geographic or market area.
(a) Chicago Metropolitan area, where approximately 1600 Masters
and Generals were recruited in Cook County and DuPage County,
of which approximately 600 became Generals (CX 200AZ177).
(b) (Tr. 10339): Pangerl, who in testifying of an alleged limitation
of one General per 10,000 population in Red Lion, Pa. and an alleged
limitation of 57 Masters per General, stated that these
Master distributors may be located anywhere in the country. (Therefore,
even with the socalled limitationswhere complaint
counsel have shown to be nonexistent, the Masters could literally
wind up in one town. It is meaningless!)
369. Holiday Magic, Inc. has never announced a limitation on the
number of distributors that may be recruited in any geographic
area, except to use the concept of 'limitation' as an impending
event to apply greater psychological pressures for enrollment
and upgrading distributors to the General position.
(a) See Part XXXII 4.
(b) Holiday Magic's witness Gerry Arrowood, the vice president
of training and education (Tr. 6155) in 1969 (Tr. 6170) and supervisor
of all the Trainer Generals (Tr. 6167) through 1971 (Tr. 6171)
testified that she didn't know what the 'limitations' were, but
was sure 'the company had it worked out.' (Tr. 6175).
370. There is no limit to the number of Distributors that can
be recruited into the program overall, or in any geographic area.
(a) CX 78Z52 and CX 79Z49:
There is no limit as to the number of direct distributors that
you are allowed to recruit.
(b) CX 78J and CX 79J:
RECRUITINGYou must maintain a constant Personnel Recruiting
Program and encourage your distributor to do likewise. You should
have no less than one recruiting meeting per week.
(c) CX 79Z33 (Opportunity Meeting script):
You know, there was only one other thing that I could possibly
see that was wrong with this marketing concept, and that was the
element of chance. The element of chance is right here (point)
with this fifth man. He may do as he has always done and sponsor
no one.
If this happens to you, that cuts down the size of your initial
organization 20%. You don't want that to happen. Now obviously,
the way to take the element of chance out is not to stop with
five people. Sponsor as many as you can.
The same as _____ has done,
the same as _____ has done,
the same as _____ did.
[Spaces in original] [Emphasis added]
(d) CX 76Z7:
There are thousands of ways to recruit and hundred of thousands
of people to be recruited.
* * * Everyone is a potential recruit * * *
(e) CX 78M:
A General can recruit persons as Master Distributors and should
make every effort to do so.
(f) Holiday Magic vice president of sales Habuary testified that
the Holiday Magic marketing program would never reach 'saturation'
because 'Christianity * * * is the same kind of program and they
haven't saturated their field yet over 2,000 years.' (Tr. 6091)
(g) CX 1800H:
NOTE: IN ALL CASES we have but one single objectivethat
is to use every situation to increase the size of our Distributor
Organization. Build a Distributor Organization under a Health
Food Store, Beauty Salon, Barber Shop, and the force of the marketing
plan will do the balance of your job for you without the normal
pampering required with retailers or the fear of competitors cutting
you out. You may always lose the retail outlet but you will keep
the Organization.
(h) Testimony of Instructor General Napoletano, who was an IG
from July 1969 to Jan. ,1970 that there had been no limitation
on recruiting Master Distributors or General Distributors (Tr.
3614).
(i) The executive secretary to William Penn Patrick, Jane Alexander,
who was with Holiday Magic through Jan. 1970 (Tr. 5494), testified
that she never heard of any restrictions as to the numbers of
distributors, either in geographic areas or in the organization
of a particular distributor (Tr. 5522).
(j) Former Holiday Magic president Ben F. Gay testified that until
he left Holiday Magic in Mar. 1971 (Tr. 9823), there were no limitations
on recruiting in Fort Pierce, or anywhere (Tr. 9936).
(k) Judge Dudley, former Senior General of the Miami council,
spoke to Fred Pape in Sept. or Oct. 1966 (Tr. 3369) when Dudley
was Senior General (Tr. 3369) and Pape was a Holiday Magic official
with the corporate team (Tr. 3368, 3370) and Dudley told Pape
about the problems in Dade County and Broward County (in the presence
of Judge HoustonSenior General of Broward County)
and that there was an overpopulation of distributorships in Dade
and Broward. Pape said Holiday Magic had no intention of limiting
the number of distributorships whatsoever (Tr. 3371).
As Judge Dudley viewed the marketing plan, he felt it was a 'fast
buck deal similar to pyramid clubs in New England' that
he had seen earlier in his youth (Tr. 3338, 3387, 3391) and that
it was only a matter of time before everyone in the State of Florida
would be selling Holiday Magic (Tr. 3372). The number of distributorships
had been a matter of discussion for some time in the Miami council
(Tr. 3373) and as Senior General Judge Dudley wrote to Pape, but
all letters were ignored (Tr. 3375). On another conversation with
Pape later on, inthe presence of council members, Pape said, 'When
you have a bad crop, you burn the field.' (Tr. 3377).
Pape did not at the time admonish the council that by headhunting
they had brought about their own difficulties (Tr. 3405). Pape
offered nothing constructive to alleviate the problems (Tr. 3406).
Judge Dudley's interpretation of Pape's remark was that all distributors
who had proliferated through the territory were to be abandoned
by Holiday Magic (Tr. 3406).
Other Witnesses from Miami:
(1) Witness Braddock ceased activity after the first year in business
because the council fell apart and she understood the whole area
to be 'saturated' with distributors (Tr. 3152).
(2) Witness Yanaros testified that she became inactive in Miami
(Tr. 8166) because there were too many in Holiday Magic trying
to sell the product (Tr. 3020, See also Tr. 2822, 2891, 2901).
371. Holiday Magic, Inc. refers to its marketing plan as a 'people
business,' and the plan is a people business.
(a) Corporate team member Mark Evans informed his audiences, with
the approval of Fred Pape (CX 85; Tr. 93941) as follows:
Only way to Sponsor.
Bring your prospects to opportunity meetings. Realize that this
is a 'people business'. (CX 85B).
(b) Witness Pence saw HM Instructor General Jerry Booth, at Business
Training in February 1968, tell men not to worry since they would
not be retailing the product. 'He said men are concerned with
the wholesale side of business, and Wholesale is people, and people
equals money.' (Tr. 371920). The Business Training class
conducted by Booth 'led us to believe this was a people business
for men.'
XXXVII. FT. PIERCE, FLORIDARECRUITMENT
372. Ft. Pierce, Fla., is an excellent example of the recruitment
syndrome which is omnipresent in the Holiday Magic marketing plan
because people in Ft. Pierce were essentially interested in recruiting
other people, and not in selling cosmetics. See testimony of respondents'
official Dempsey at 60466047, to wit:
Q. Would you describe what happened when you arrived in Ft. Pierce
in connection with the distributors in Ft. Pierce in 1967?
A. We held a meeting with the
Q. (Interposing) Who is we?
A. Mr. Pape and Miss McBath and myself, with the distributors
in the council, the local council, and urged them to start getting
serious about the retail, about their retail organization, because
we felt it was an unhealthy situation there
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
due to the fact that they were recruiting people but
were not building a solid retail organization.
Q. All right.
A. And in the middle of our discussion a fellow from the audience,
Glen Harned, stood up and interrupted the meeting and said, 'We
don't want to get any Holiday Girls, and we don't want you people
coming out here from California telling us how to run our business.
We want to do it the way we are doing it, we just want to be left
alone.'
And then the other distributors clapped, applauded, and it was
a bad scene.
Q. What did Pape say if anything?
A. Well, it got into a real heated open discussion, and it was
not a success. I mean, the meeting was never concluded with them
agreeing to do what we wanted them to do.
Q. What did he want them to do, Mr. Dempsey, what did he tell
them he wanted them to do?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
THE WITNESS: We wanted them to build a serious retail organization
because
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Q. (Interposing) Wait, wait, did Pape tell them this?
A. Yes.
Q. O.K. Go ahead, tell us what he said.
A. He told them if he didn't start building a healthy retail organization
that the whole program there in that area was going to go down
the tubes, because all they were doing was head hunting.
373. Other witnesses testified substantially as Mr. Dempsey did
on this occasion:
(a) Gelaine Hutchinson. Pape said the problem in Ft. Pierce could
be overcome by retailing the product. Pape was told there were
so many people selling the Holiday Magic product that the distributors
would have to sell to each other. Pape said 'you have a problem
here.' (Tr. 21842187). Hutchinson ceased doing business
in Ft. Pierce; there was no one to sell products to. They had
all been approached by other Holiday Magic distributors (Tr. 2215).
(b) Jane Alexander. Pape said Jim Hearn put Ft. Pierce on the
map, and that everybody in Ft. Pierce has Holiday Magic in their
garages but no product is moving. Pape went to Ft. Pierce because
there were so many complaints about Holiday Magic he had to find
out what was going on (Tr. 5521, 5703).
(c) Jim Sowinski. Pape asked Sowinski to become an Instructor
General. Sowinski told Pape that there were a lot of people in
Ft. Pierce who were not successful and that Pape should screen
them better. Pape's reply was that you can't tell how a person
will eventually turn out (Tr. 2010).
(d) K. C. Sloane. He wrote to Holiday Magic, saying there were
too many distributors in Ft. Pierce and asked for help. Pape,
Dempsey and others came, and Pape said 'go out and retail.' He
said the problem was 'of our own making and the solution was to
retail.' Pape said to Sloane 'Mr. Sloane, you have a problem'
(Tr. 2087, 2123).
374. (a) Holiday Magic, Inc. never imposed any restrictions of
any kind to recruiting activities in Ft. Pierce even after it
was made aware of the fact that nobody wanted to sell the products
and that there were too many Masters and Generals in Ft. Pierce
(AlexanderTr. 5707, GayTr. 9936).
(b) Other than the limitations on recruiting testified to by respondents'
witnesses Coultas and Pangerl, neither Coultas nor Pangerl testified
that they were aware of any restrictions placed by Holiday Magic
on recruiting in any other market area (see testimony of CoultasTr.
96529772; PangerlTr. 9209 9651, Tr. 1022310377).
XXXVIII. Eugene, OregonRecruitment
375. Eugene, Ore., a city with a population of 76,346 in 1970
(RX 158) and growing, had approximately 89 General Distributors
and 45 Masters, with a total of approximately 145 Organizers,
Masters and Generals (George Shephard Tr. 1916, 1917, 1919,
1920).
376. People in Holiday Magic were unable to make a living in Eugene
there was no opportunity there any more (General ShephardTr.
19191920). Mr. Shephard was aware of this situation because
he was a General Distributor over everyone else in Eugene, and
so he knew from his override statements that distributors were
not making money (George ShephardTr. 1920).
377. Many people left Eugene to practice Holiday Magic elsewhere
(Tr. 1919, 119192, 1945, 1313, 1232).
378. The problem in Eugene was that no one wanted to producethey
all wanted to bring in distributors instead (Tr. 119495,
108991, 1170, 1172, 1174).
379. Witness George Shephard testified that he informed Bill Bailey
and Fred Pape abot this, but neither did anything (Tr. 1937, 1939,
1940). Mr. Pape was presented with the problem in Eugene again
when he was president of Holiday Magic, Inc. (Tr. 1940).
380. Witnesses from Eugene all told similar stores:
(a) Bill Shephard (Tr. 1191, 1192, 1195).
(b) McCrory (Tr. 10891091, 1097).
(c) Creasy (Tr. 1170, 1172, 1174).
(d) Richard Shephard (Tr. 1297, 1299, 1303).
The testimony of witness Jim Creasy vividly describes saturation
in Eugene:
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: He has a right to render a business judgment.
By Mr. Cameron:
Q. Mr. Creasy, what do you mean by the word 'saturation'?
A. Well, everybody I talked to, after a fashion, not at first,
but after maybe two months, everyone that I talked to that was
in my caliber of person, people I knew or people that were friends
of people I knew, had all heard about Holiday Magic. They had
an ad on T.V., and everyone in Eugenethey were really
hitting the ads, and everyone I talked to really knew about Holiday
Magic, and that's what I mean about saturation, and it was tough
to talk to them about it, because they were sick of Holiday Magic.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: How do you know they were sick of Holiday
Magic?
THE WITNESS: Because they told me, Judge, they were upset because
everybody was talking to them about it. Everyone I would talk
to they would say, 'Hey, you too, you are in the program.' This
is why I got out, it was insane to go any further. (Tr. 11591160).
XXXIX. Corporate Teams
381. Holiday Magic, Inc. sends its representatives, agents and
corporate officials out into the field to recruit and 'close'
prospects brought to opportunity meeting by distributors, which
are also conducted by the corporate teams.
(a) CX 14EWand 9/66 : The corporate team
met with fantastic success during its twoweek visit in Chicago.
Dustributors from 12 states brought in record numbers of recruits.
Daily training classes were conducted by Ern Westmore, Mark Evans,
Saul Davis, Bill Dempsey, and Anne Marie McBath. Also present
were Trainer Generals Mary Ellen Yaggy, Margert Robertson and
Avie Hearn.
The net result of the corporate team's Chicago effort, 564 new
distributors were signed including more than 60 Masters who are
already active producers. Opportunity meetings attracted as many
as 200 people an evening. Mark Evans conducted business training
classes with over 100 people. Retail training attracted over 50
people per class.
[Mark Evans] also broke his own record by signing 26 people for
area distributors singlehandedly in a single evening following
an opportunity meeting. We are convinced that this guy is the
finest mass closer in the United States.
All he did during the corporate team's twoweek stay in Chicago
was to single handedly sign 278 new distributors. Not for
himself, but for other distributors who brought in their own recruits.
* * * Corporate team opportunity meetings are the easiest means
of bringing recruits into the program. All you do is bring people
in and let the experts sign them up. And, in addition, your people
will also gain invaluable experience in the cosmetic, and business
training meetings held during these sessions.
The corporate team is working to help you. Take advantage of their
capabilities. If you are not convinced how successful this group
is, just ask your fellow distributors who have already profited
from this program.
(b) CX 11E Wand 16/66 : Special Holiday Magic corporate
team carrying the message and training to distributors and prospects
throughout Florida. During the entire fiveday Hegira, Fred
Pape, Saul Davis, Sam Gillespie, Mark Evans and Jim Hearn held
nine training meetings and six opportunity meetings from Orlando
to Miami Beach.
The whirlwind trip must be counted as a success for the task force
in recruiting an estimated 500 Masters, Organizers and Holiday
Girls during the [Florida] trip.
(c) CX 14GWand 9/66 : 'The corporate team
will be in New York for four weeks conducting electrifying opportunity
meetings, Daily Business and Cosmetic Seminars * * *
All distributors are invited to attend * * *
Bring your prospects to the meetings. Urge them to stay over and
attend the Business and Cosmetic Instruction Seminars.
The corporate team will be there to help you! Just bring in your
recruits and let the experts sell them for you.
(d) CX 2dWandSept. 1965: 'In the next
two months, the home office task force will be on the job in various
parts of the country to help recruit key people for you.
(e) From Holiday Magic Instruction General manual at CX 1842Z29:
B. Corporate Team Assistance
The members of the Corporate team or Local Council will then wait
approximately three minutes as the back of the meeting ROOM TO
ALLOW early guests to leave then to circulate on to floor clockwise
assisting distributors in presenting their presentations and completing
the enrollments. (CX 1842Z29, CX 1842Z30).
C. Back Up Assistance
One or two of the strongest personnel should be left to roam the
floor at random assisting where they are needed in completing
hard to enroll guests.
All members of the Floor team should carry or wear something outstanding
such as a flower on their lapel or a brightly colored sketch pad,
to present the presentations with.
(f) Testimony(1) Witness George Shephard testified
that Bill Bailey, Regional Supervisor for Holiday Magic, Inc.,
came to Portland to give Opportunity meetings, and 'then helped
us close' (Tr. 1934). Commissions went to the 'sponsor' (Tr. 194243).
He had also seen other Holiday Magic people 'close' for distributors
(Tr. 1929).
(g) Witness Pense testified that at opportunity meetings at which
he had attended, he saw Fred Pape and Ben Gay walking around.
Gay testified that it was part of his duties with Holiday Magic
to run the corporate team and help 'close sales' which means sell
distributorships (Tr. 9896).
382. Instructor Generals and Trainer Generals are members of the
Holiday Magic corporate team, and are paid for their effort by
Holiday Magic, Inc.
(a) CX 29FWand 1/68 : During the latter
part of 1967, the corporate teams, headed by the national field
directors, united 35 cities during 40 weeks on the road. They
talked to thousands of people, spoke at hundreds of meetings,
taught classes, outlined retail producers, and answered thousands
of questions.
Teaching cosmetics and business classes, sometimes in a different
state every week, the trainer and Instructor Generals often live
out of suitcases and see their families for only a few days each
month.
(b) Former Instructor General Napoletano testified that he worked
with the corporate team in Oklahoma City, and that Holiday Magic
would assign a national field director and two Instructor Generals
to go to various cities to help recruit, hold opportunity meetings,
and conduct business training. Pay was $300/week plus travel and
lodging (Tr. 3919, 3494).
(c) Former Instructor General Sowinski testified that he personally
participated in corporate team meetings in Texas and Ohio, at
which time his duty was to conduct opportunity meetings, answer
questions, and assist in enrolling people into the program (Tr.
20382039). He was paid $200 a week for his services by Holiday
Magic, Inc. (Tr. 2039).
383. Corporate team opportunity meetings are the easiest and most
successful means for bringing distributors into the Holiday Magic
program (CX 14E).
384. Teams called Sales Acceleration, headed by Fred Pape and
Bill Dempsey, with the corporate insignia 'HM' on their jackets,
augmented by high pressure tactics, would induce reluctant recruits
and lower level distributors seeking to upgrade their status to
either initially participate or further participate. Such Holiday
Magic teams were reimbursed by the payment to them of half of
the recruiting fees, overrides and release fees generated as the
result of additional participations (Tr. 56395643, 3643,
3961, 3604, 364546, 383536, 3911, 3597, 3837).
XL. Holiday Girl Routes and Assignments
385. Early in Holiday Magic's history, the company recognized
the possibility of saturation in that there would inevitably be
more distributors than space available for them to retail Holiday
Magic cosmetics directly to the consumer.
CX 1800T (Masters' and Generals' manual) relates the following:
Routes
Establishing routes for your retail distributors is another of
your responsibilities. The senior General Distributor in your
area has the total responsibility for the coordination of
route assignments. He will assign an area to you and assist you
in planning the actual routes. 75% of your area must be under
service within 90 days from the date of the assignment. After
that time all routes must be maintained. All route assignments
will be made by the Master Distributor. Area assignments will
be made by the Senior General responsible for the region. A General's
order of preference in assigning an area will be based upon seniority
and general effectiveness of Master Distributors competing for
area assignments.
An area is to consist of 10,000 homes. A route is to consist of
250 to 500 homes. Route assignment should be based upon a person's
general ability and overall effectiveness. Assign to routes only
those persons who desire to service a route. You should also establish
an order of preference based upon seniority since you will have
more distributors than you will have routes available. Make sure
that each distributor assigned to a route is properly trained
and given continued supervision.
386. The situation of more distributors available to sell in a
particular area than available space has been evidenced in one
town only: Ft. Pierce, Fla.
(a) The population of Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1970 was 29,721 (RX
153). But between the period Jan. 1, 1966 and May 31, 1966, twentythree
(23) Masters and Generals were recruited in Ft. Pierce; all told,
34 Masters and Generals were recruited in Ft. Pierce, Florida,
between 12/65 and 7/25/67 (CX 2081Z6). That does not take into
account the additional number of Organizers and Holiday Girls
in Ft. Pierce during this same period.
(b) The Senior General of the Ft. Pierce council, K.C. Sloane,
testified that the divided Ft. Pierce into twenty routes (Tr.
2091) and allocated them to Masters and Generals by 'chance' (Tr.
2088). Mr. Sloane testified that the purpose of the routes was
to keep the Holiday Girls from 'scrambling all over each other'
(Tr. 2093).
(c) The second Senior General of Ft. Pierce, Gelaine Hutchinson
testified that the council tried to form routes following the
Holiday Magic guides of 225 homes per route (Tr. 2178). This would
have produced approximately 29 routes by population standards
of 1970.
(d) Senior General Hutchinson also testified that at one point
the Ft. Pierce council divided Ft. Pierce into as many as 41 parts
(Tr. 2178).
(e) At a meeting in Ft. Pierce attended by, among others, Fred
Pape and Ben Gay, Gay testified that a woman General distributor
related to Fred Pape that there were 42 Master and General Distributors
in Ft. Pierce, Fla. and there are only 40 routes available in
Ft. Pierce to be laid out (Tr. 990607).
After the woman spoke, there was applause from the crowd, and
the meeting broke up. Pape then spoke to a smaller group stating
that they may have 42 Masters and Generals in town and only 40
routes but most of the Masters and Generals weren't doing anything;
therefore, he said it wasn't a valid complaint (Tr. 9908).
Fred Pape later stated to Hearn and Gay that if the distributors
sold lipstick to the cows, there were plenty of customers, and
that this became a company joke (Tr. 990809). Of the four
corporate officials who testified after Mr. Gay, none stated that
there was no such company joke going around Holiday Magic, Inc.
387. An allocation of territories for Holiday Girl distributors
was undertaken in the Ft. Pierce and Miami areas by the respective
councils due to the large number of Holiday Girls that were attempting
to sell to one another's customers or prospective customers. Routes
were exclusive territories which were assigned to Holiday Girls
by first being given to a Master or General Distributor for reassignment.
(a) Witness Rothman, of Miami, testified that in approximately
Sept., 1966, the Holiday Magic corporate team, at which Fred Pape
was in attendance, found that some Holiday Girls were infringing
on other Holiday Girl prospects. Pape said that they would have
to route the Holiday Girls to avoid this (Rothman
Tr. 290001).
(b) Rothman added that Anne Marie McBath, who was with the corporate
team, said the council would have to designate these areas for
the Holiday Girls through the Masters and Generals (Tr. 290102).
Rothman added that after explaining the route system to his Holiday
Girls he lost 25 of the 28 immediately, and the other three dropped
out 3 months later (Tr. 290304).
(c) As explained by former Senior General Fechtal of the Miami
council, the council would assign a route to a Holiday Girl, but
she would lose the route if business dropped below $250 per month,
and revert to the Master for reassignment before being available
to other distributors (Tr. 24072410).
According to Fechtal, in Miami, at no time were more than 10 percent
of the available routes taken (Tr. 2404).
Fechtal stated that he followed Holiday Magic rules in employing
the route procedure (Tr. 2410).
388. Holiday Magic rules and regulations may be found in the record
at CX 95E G.
389. All routing was handled by the local 'Councils' (CX 84C,
CX 29G, CX 24G).
390. Holiday Girls assigned to routes are in business for themselves
(CX 911).
391. Holiday Girl routes were 'exclusive' territories (CX 76D,
CX 84Z1).
XLI. Initial Misrepresentations
392. Pursuant to its Opportunity Meeting procedures which it places
into the hands of its distributors for reiteration, Holiday Magic,
Inc. has made the following statements and representations to
recruits and prospective distributors, in the 'Formula for Happy
Living' movie (Physical Exhibit B).
(a) Tr. 9796: Patrick opens by saying: This is a story about a
real financial opportunity. * * * what you are about to see can
be the key to your financial future and security.
(b) Tr. 979798 Man B says * * * I bought the Holiday Magic
idea right away. I started part time, and now I am full time and
rapidly achieving the financial security that will help me to
fulfill my longcherished dreams.
(c) Tr. 9799 Man C states: now I have several hundred people working
for me, and I am really happy with the progress I have made. I
never dreamed that such a small initial investment could reap
such large returns and that I would be earning several thousand
dollars per month, as I am now.
(d) Tr. 9800 Man D: It is such a sound, profitable, and distinguished
business, and easy too, I think anyone can do it.
(e) Tr. 9800: The folks you just met are only a few from the many
walks of life that make up our Holiday Magic group.
* * * They found the method by which they will achieve their longcherished
dream of a new and better life.
(f) Tr. 9800: Let's go back for a moment and discover what it
is that brought outstanding success to these people and thousands
of other like them in Holiday Magic.
(g) Tr. 9800end: Now let's call our retailer distributor
'Mary,' and let's say that Mary begins today as a retaildistributor.
What can Mary expect to earn in the next 30 days? Let's say that
Mary has decided that her method of retailing will be through
home parties, or what we call beauty seminars, and that she has
decided to hold one beauty seminar per week. The maximum time
required to hold one seminar is three hours, so Mary will work
12 hours this next month.
Statistics show that she will gain no less than five customers
per seminar, or 20 customers for the month. Her average will be
$15 per customer. This $15 per customer is particularly easy,
since the Holiday Magic cosmetic line includes products for the
entire family. Mary's sales volume will be $300. She will receive
35 percent of $300, or $105, as her profit. An extra hundred dollars
per month will do a great deal to relieve the family budget.
Let's say now that Mary desires to hold two beauty seminars per
week. This means that she would work 24 hours per month. Mary's
sales for the month would total $601. She will now receive 40
percent of $601, or $240. $240 profit is a very interesting parttime
income.
Mary is earning $10 per hour. Each month, Mary can service these
40 customers and still earn $240.
Let's say that Mary's needs or desires are greater and she can
hold three beauty seminars per week, or work 36 hours per month.
That is a little more than an hour a day. Mary's sales volume
would be $901. Mary would earn 41 percent of $901, or a profit
of $369.
Let's say that Mary services four customers a day and works 72
hours per month. Her retailsales volume would be $1,801.
Mary would earn 44 percent of $1,801, or $792, as her profit for
the month. All this for just two hours a day.
This is a very exciting income. In fact, $792 times 12 months
will give Mary an annual income of $9,504. It all depends on Mary's
needs and her desire. Mary can earn up to 55 percent on all other
retail sales. You may note that the percentages keep increasing.
Holiday Magic believes that those who do more earn more. Holiday
Magic has the most exciting opportunity for those who desire it.
And, now that you are aware of the first part of our formula of
success, let's turn to the final and most exciting part of our
story, which is the key to your financial opportunity.
You are about to see the most unique method ever devised to market
a product. The success you desire and the goal you wish to reach
can be achieved through this unique Holiday Magic concept. Now
let's talk about the whole side of this business and what we call
our sponsor system. A wholesaler has two primary functions: first,
to supply his outlets with product and, secondly, to create new
outlets. Let's say that during your first month on a parttime
basis, while you are learning, you sponsor or create five outlets
which must buy from you. Let's say that two are beauty salons,
one is a barbershop, one is an organizer or subwholesaler, and
one is Mary, the retailer, the housewife.
Now let's assume that each one of these outlets purchases only
$300 at retail from you during the calendar month. Their total
purchase will give you the sales volume of $1,500. $1,500 places
you at 43 percent on our volume schedule. Since your outlets are
$300, they are at 35 percent on the volume schedule. Your product
is the difference, or 8 percent of $1,500. This gives us a profit
of $120.
Since all of your outlets desire to increase their profits and
can do so either by gaining more retail customers or sponsoring
other outlets which must buy from them, you can expect the following
results to accrue to you during your second month in the business:
Let's say that Mary's five outlets purchased $1500 of Holiday
Magic cosmetics at retail value from Mary. Mary, by maintaining
her $300 personal retail sales, must purchase a total of $1,800
from you. Let's assume, for the sake of this example, that your
other four outlets have done exactly the same as Mary. This means
that your five outlets have purchased a total of $9,000 at retail
from you during this, your second month in the business.
Since you have now exceeded $5,000 in sales in one month, you
are now classified as a Master Distributor and your discount goes
up to 55 percent. Your outlets are selling $1,800 at 44 percent,
but your profit is 11 percent of 9,000, or 990. You have earned
$990 from your first five outlets which you have sponsored.
Let's assume that during your second month, you have sponsored
an additional or second five outlets and they, as your first group
of five, have purchased $300 each for a total of $1,500. Since
you are now a Master Distributor at 55 percent and they are at
35 percent, you can see that your profit from the second five
outlets is 20 percent, or $300. Add the profit of $990 derived
from your first five outlets to the $300 profit from your second
five outlets and you will realize a profit of $1,290 from your
second month.
At this point, you may desire to consider the possibility of working
full time in your Holiday Magic cosmetic business. By the end
of your third month with Holiday Magic, you will be pleased to
discover that your first five outlets have reached the volume
of $9,000 each and, as you have done, they, too, become Master
Distributors. At this point, they begin to purchase directly from
the company.
Although you are no longer required to service them with product
and they no longer need your service or your help, you begin to
receive 2 percent of their volume. Two percent of $9,000 is $180
times five, which equals $900. This 2 percent is a perpetual override
for you each and every month so long as you both remain a part
of the Holiday Magic organization or until you or they become
General Distributors.
Your total profit for the third month is calculated as follows:
You receive $900 as an override from your first five outlets without
lifting a finger. Your second five outlets, sponsored during your
second month, have now reached a volume of $1,800, thereby giving
you a profit on their volume of $900. Assume that you have sponsored,
during your third month, five new outlets and that each outlet
purchased $300 from you. Your profit from these five outlets would
be $300, giving you a total income for your third month from Holiday
Magic of $2,190.
Do you see what could happen for you? This is happening to countless
others, as it will happen to you should you desire it.
The next position above Master Distributor is that of General
Distributor. General Distributor has a purchasing discount of
65 percent. Let's assume that you have achieved a General's position
with Holiday Magic. This will entitle you to receive 10 percent
override on each of your Master Distributors.
Imagine only having a small organization such as the one just
described in the previous example. What could this mean to you?
What you have just seen is within your reach if you desire it.
The chances are there are several people viewing this program
with you who have achieved all of what you have seen in less than
three months. Turn to these people. They are much like yourself.
Ask them the magic question 'How do I get started?' and this formula
for happy living will be yours. This is your chance. This is your
choice. This is your challenge.
(End of script of Physical Exhibit B.)
393. Through its opportunity meeting procedures, Holiday Magic,
Inc., directly and through its distributors to whom it provides
the scripts, has made the following statements and representation
to recruits and prospective distributors, in the opportunity meeting
script (CX 79 Z28Z38).
You were invited here tonight to discuss a businessa
very successful business. A business where people are earning
$100, $300, $500 extra per monthon a parttime
basis.
You will probably have the opportunity to meet several of these
people tonight.
We will also be talking about a business where people are earning
(point to each of these board figures) $1000, $3000, $5000 and
more per month with a fulltime effort.
* * * Why, over last 10 years it's [the cosmetics industry] grown
an average of 9.6% per yearlast year alone it grew
13.6%, so its on the uphill rise. That's why we're in it! That's
why I'm in it. I want to be where the money is. Obviously so does
Holiday Magic!
Holiday Magic's first month in business was December, 1964. The
sales volume the first full month was $16,000.
Ten short months later it had grown to One Million Dollars per
month11 months after that Two million per month2 months
later Three Million per month and is Still Growing. There has
to be something in that.
* * * You know, I have been with Holiday Magicmonths
now and I have seen some fantastic, amazing things happen in those
lastmonths. I have seen people like you and me earn
$5, $10, $15, and even $20,000 per month. That is a tremendous
amount of money.
Now I mention this not particularly to impress you with the calibre
of people we have in Holiday Magic, but because I want your undivided
attention over the next 25 minutes while I explain to you exactly
the way that these people are marking this kind of money.
* * * Now as you will recall in the film, this is you and your
first 30 days you sponsored five people into the business.
Now as you will recall these people did $300 each. Because you
have sponsored them, 5 X $300 gives you a volume of $1,500. That
is the total volume they have purchased from you your first 30
days.
* * * If you will refer to that 3 X 5 card in front of you, look
at the first column, and you will find that the volume fits between
two numbers. At $1,501 you are at 43%. Your people at $300 volume
are at 35%. The difference is 8% and 8% of $1,500 is $120.
* * * That's what you have earned your first 30 days in the business.
Now that's not a great deal of money. It's certainly not the kind
of money we were talking about earlier. But it is a beginning.
* * * Let's analyze this for just a moment, and see just exactly
what you have done to earn this money. You invited five people
to a meeting just like this one tonight. We presented the opportunity
to your people for you and after the meeting, we thoroughly answered
all of their questions.
* * * We then helped your sponsor them into the business and that's
all you have done. For that, you have made $120.
* * * Assume that took you 30 days, Now let's look at your next
30 days in the business.
* * * Let's assume that this person right in the middle here is
Mary. We had Mary in training all this past month. Because she
was in training, we had a further opportunity to thoroughly explain
our business to her. We showed her all the wonderful things about
Holiday Magic.
* * * We showed her how she produced $300 in volume, worked at
35% and earned $105. We showed her that she was doing the work
but you made more money than she did.
* * * For that reason, we had Mary do the same thing that you
did last month, sponsor five new people into the business. Let's
see the reason why she did that.
* * * We have determined that Mary's volume is now $1,800. You
have four others just like Mary, for a total of five. 5 X $1,800
is $9,000. That becomes your total volume for your second month
in the business.
* * * If you will pick up that 3 x 5 card again, you will find
that the discount stops at $5,000. After $5,000, your total buying
discount is 55%.
* * * Your peopleMary and the four othersare
at 44%. That's a difference of 11%. 11% of their $9,000 in volume
is $990.
* * * That's what you have earned from your first five people
their second month in the business. Now let's analyze this for
a moment. Exactly what have you done to earn that $990?
* * * Every one of these new people in the business this month
has been sponsored by someone that you brought into the business
in the prior month. Actually you haven't done a great deal.
* * * We now ask you to do the same thing you did last month,
sponsor five new people.
* * * Now, let's look at the next 30 days in the businessyour
third month.
* * * Each one of these people will do the same thing that Mary
has done and for the very same reasonthey will reproduce
themselves five times. And now that that has happened, you have
reproduced yourself five times.
* * * At that time you became a Master Distributor. As a Master
Distributor you buy directly from Holiday Magic. You receive as
their sponsor an override. In this case that override is 2%.
* * * So, in your third month you have earned a total of $900.00
from your first five people. Again, all the new people in the
business this month were sponsored by someone you sponsored in
a prior month. As yet you haven't done anything.
* * * Let's look at these five people that you sponsored last
month. Each one of them will sponsor five people as Mary has done
and for the same reason, and you will earn an additional $990.00.
* * * Again, these people were sponsored by someone that you sponsored
in a prior month. We now ask you to do the same thing you did
last month, sponsor five new people.
* * * And now that you have done that, you have earned another
$300.00. (Point to $300 in right margin.) Added to this $900.00
this brings your total income to $2,109.00 your third month in
the business and now we are talking about a lot of money.
* * * Now in a moment I am going to show you how we turn this
into a fortune in one easy step. But before I do, let me share
with you a few things that occurred to me the first time I saw
this presentation.
* * * The first theoretical point is assuming that each one of
your people is going to do $300 in volume. Of course he is not
going to. We know that.
* * * This first person may do $300, however, the next person
may do $450, the next person $250, the next one $75 and the last
one $600. Keep in mind this, we are talking about an average of
$300.
* * * Now, the next theoretical point is assuming that each and
every person is going to sponsor five people. Again, they are
not going to. People do not put forth the same effort, consequently
they do not get the same results.
* * * However, this first person may sponsor five people, the
second may sponsor fifteen, the third person twentyfive,
the fourth person seven, and the final person may do as he always
has done in life, nothing. Again, we're talking of an average
of five people.
* * * Our National Sales Manager, Mark Evans, sponsored 137 people
his first 30 days in the business.
* * * What will happen when you have some of these people in your
organization? Of course that average of five will go way, way
up. I hope that takes the theory out of that for you.
* * * So, each month you bring in five new people and work with
them for 90 days until they reach that size. And then it stops.
Do you have any idea in the world what will be happening to you?
* * * You will be earning in excess of $900 each and every month
as an increase in salary. In other words, you will be giving yourself
a $10,000 a year raise. Interesting, isn't it.
* * * You know, there was only one other thing that I could possibly
see that was wrong with this marketing concept, and that was the
element of chance. The element of chance is right here, (point)
with this fifth man. He may do as he has always done and sponsor
no one.
* * * If this happens to you, that cuts down the size of your
initial organization 20%. You don't want that to happen. Now,
obviously, the way to take the element of chance out is not to
stop with five people. Sponsor as many as you can.
* * * Now a few moments ago I told you that I was going go show
you one easy step that will turn this amount of money into a fortune.
I am going to show you that right now.
* * * If you will recall in this film, it mentioned a position
called a General Distributor. A General Distributor buys his cosmetics
as 65% off retail.
* * * Here you sit with five Master Distributors in your first
organization. They are producing $9,000 in volume you are receiving
a 2% override. That amounts to $180.00. You have five of them
so that was $900 a month you were earning from your first five
people, if you remained a Master Distributor.
* * * But, let's make you a General Distributor at 65%.
* * * Your people are at 55%, the difference now is 10%, instead
of 2%. That's your override. 10% of their $9,000 is $900.00. You
have five of them and so now you are earning $4,500 a month and
that is a great deal of money.
* * * This is exactly the way that our people are making the kind
of money that they are making and the kind of money that I was
talking about earlier.
* * * Let me share this with you. I presently am making this kind
of money and more and there isn't a person in the room that isn't
every bit as good and doesn't have every bit as much ability as
I have. If I can do it, what can you do?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
* * * Now, a lot of people don't really understand a marketing
plan like this. They say it just won't work. So we have another
way of showing you our business. One that no once can argue with.
* * * You know the world's largest cosmetic company last year
sponsored over 200,000 parttime girls. That's rightover
200,000 girls. Do you think it's safe to assume that if you worked
full time, 8 hours a day, five days a week that you would accomplish
this one thingsponsor two retail girls into the business?
* * * Do you think that you could do that? Is there anyone in
the room that doesn't think that they could sponsor two girls
a week working at it full time? No one? Wonderful!
* * * You are now sponsoring two girls a week and at the end of
one year of hard work you have sponsored 104 girls. Now let's
assume that you took two weeks for vacation, so you have sponsored
only 100 girls.
* * * Assume that they do no more than $300 in volume. 100 X 300
is $30,000 in volume that they are purchasing from you each and
every month.
* * * Right here people say 'ha.' There he goes with his big figures
again. Well, $30,000 is not a lot or money in the cosmetic industry.
* * * Now, you will automatically be a Master Distributor at 55%
because of the volume of your people. They are at 35% the difference
is 20% and 20% of $30,000 is $6,000 a month in income that you're
earning. It's a great deal of money, isn't it? That $72,000 a
year.
* * * Now, remember that one easy step when you became a General
Distributor? Let's do that now. Make you a General Distributor
at 65%. The difference now is 30%, 30% of that $30,000 is $9,000
a month.
* * * That Ladies and Gentlemen, is $108,000 a year, and that
is $8,000 more than the President of this Nation makes. That is
a lot of money, isn't it!
* * * Now, lots of people stop me right here and say, 'Oh, those
figures are ridiculous.' They are not. Let's see how we got there.
* * * We used two figures to get theretwo numbers.
We used 100 girls and every one in the room agreed that if they
worked full time they could sponsor two girls a week and $108,000
a year is certainly worth your full time efforts. Isn't it? time.
I know that's ridiculous. But let's say for a we used was $300
$300 in volume. Let's say for a moment that you say that you can't
earn $108,000 a year with Holiday Magic because your girls can't
average $300 in sales part time. I know that' ridiculous. But
let's say for a moment that I go along with you and I agree that
they can't average $300 and can only average $150, part time.
* * * We will cut the figure in half and now you are earning $4,500
a month. That was a lot more money than I was earning before I
came into Holiday Magic.
* * * Let's say that you can't earn $4,500 a month because you
don't think that your girls can do $150 in volume. Let's say that
you think they can only do half that mucha mere $75.00
a month in sales. You are now earning in excess of $2,600.
* * * Let's say that you don't think your girls can do $75.00
a month, that all they can do is a mere $37.50 a month, a little
better than a dollar a day, not in profit, in sales. You are now
earning a little better than $1,300 a month and you don't deserve
a penny of it. Your girls aren't selling cosmetics they're using
them.
* * * If you totally commit yourself to working with your people
and giving them everything in the world that they need to get
the job donegive them all the training they need,
the motivation, the supervision, give them of yourself, work with
themyou will indeed earn $9,000 a month. (Point to
$9,000 and underline).
* * * If you only half commit yourself and you only give your
people half of what they need, you will earn $4,500. (Same for
$4,500).
* * * If you 'quarter' commit yourself, $2,600, etc.
* * * Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Holiday Magic and this is
what we have to offer you.
* * * At this time, I would like you to turn to the person who
invited you here and ask them to help you select one of the four
positions for you in Holiday Magic.
394. Through its opportunity meeting procedure and business training
procedure, Holiday Magic, Inc., directly and through its distributors
to whom it provides this material, has made the following statements
and representation to recruit prospects and distributors sought
to be upgraded to a higher level in the 'six enrollments' (CX
1842UY, CX 1840Z, 7481).
#3 WHOLESALE ENROLLMENT
For just a moment, put yourself in the position of a General Distributor
working at 65%. Each time you create a new Master Distributor
you receive 10% of the total retail volume that must change hands.
Ten percent of $5,000 has just earned you $500.00 cash!
This newly created Master Distributor that you have just enrolled
will want to become a General Distributor like you so that he
may earn the kind of money that you are earning here. In order
for any Master Distributor to become a General Distributor he
must fulfill four qualifications.
First, be a Master Distributor, second have knowledgethis
he gains through attending Instructor General Classesbecause
final approval rests with the factory and they will not approve
any General Distributor who does not understand the marketing
plan. Third, submit a second certified check for $2,500 to the
factorywhich is called a General's release feeand
will be held in escrow at the home office until the fourth qualification
is completed, with we term recreating yourself. This means he
must bring in a replacement Master Distributor to you, his sponsoring
General Distributor, before you will release him from Master Distributor
to become a General Distributor.
Hereinlies the strength of the holiday Magic marketing
plan: why Holiday Magic has grown so rapidly because he must always
replace himself with a working indian before he can become a chief.
Your number of Masters will never decreaseyou will
only grow in the number of Generals you have.
This replacement Master was brought into the sponsoring General
Distributor which just caused another $5,000 in retail product
to be purchased from the factory and you, with your 10% override,
have just been paid another $500.00 in cash. But, the rules say
that you must pay out $200.00 in cash as a finder's fee to whomever
brought in this Masterso you only net $300.00 on replacement
Masters. But the moment that the replacement Master is recorded
at the factory the $2,500 cash, being held in escrow, is released
to you, the sponsoring General Distributor, for a total of $3,300
cash each time you sponsor in a new General Distributor as a General
Distributor.
If you did this only once each month, on a parttime basis
for the next year, you will have earned $39,600 cash at the end
of 12 months and you would still have twelve Master Distributors
below you. If you are only doing this once each month you are
most certainly working parttimeone opportunity
meeting per month, where you will bring a qualified prospect to
the meeting who would want to earn that kind of money parttime.
However, if you were to do this once each week for the next year,
you will earn yourself in excess of $150,000 cash.
ENROLLMENT)
I've just shown you how to earn $150,000 cash full time or $39,600
on a part time basis, but to truly understand the marketing
concept you must attend the business training classes. You told
me that you had a notebook and pen that you could use to take
notes with in training classes, didn't you? Wonderfulput
your names and mailing address right here on the application and
I'll help you fill it out!
THE RETAIL ENROLLMENT
I am quite sure that anyone could find two parttime girls
each week that would want to earn extra money with Holiday Magic
and be able to buy her cosmetics at wholesale. When you sponsor
two girls a week for the next year, taking two weeks off for vacation
as most of us do; you will have 100 active girls. Now, these girls
hold at least one home demonstration per week and they will average
three hundred dollars per month in total product sold. Some may
sell $150, others $450. They will average $300 per month. 100
active girls times $300 a month will give you $30,000 a month
flowing through you the General Distributor. Not one drug store
or one beauty salon, but 100 separate outlets. You work at 65%
and these girls work on a sliding scale and would be at 35%. Subtract
that from you percentage and it will leave you with a 30% override
on each of your girls.
30% of that $30,000 flow of retail cosmetics will be earning you
$9,000 per month which is $108,000 per year. (voice up) But now
you have an upgrade problem. John, you and I realize that
keeping 100 active retail girls in the field might be a lot of
work, because some of these girls are going to start retailing
more than $300 in product which means your Holiday Girl goes to
Organizer, then to Master then to General which gives you $3,300,
but you've lost one girl. So, let's say that you don't want to
devote all your time to keeping these 100 girls working so let's
hire a manager and pay that manager $10,000 a year, if the girls
maintain a $300 a month average, you pay the manager a bonus of
$10,000 for a total of $20,000 per year and the average person
will work hard for $20,000 per year. This leaves you with a net
income of $88,000 a year and I think you can afford it! Now, duplicate
this manager in six or seven cities around the country and you
will have an income in excess of $500,000 a year!
(ENROLLMENT)
I have just shown you how to earn a half million dollars per year,
but you must enroll in the training class to gain the knowledge
necessary to conduct this business. Just put your name and mailing
address right here on the application and I'll book you into your
business training class _____ night at ___ P.M.
(b) CX 1842Z5Z6:
THE GENERAL'S RETAIL PRESENTATION:
Start your presentation by receiving a commitment from you prospect
that he could find two girls a week that would like to earn more
money!
If you found two girls a week for the next year, taking two weeks
off for vacation (like most of us do) you would have one hundred
(100) active Route girls beneath you. Now, a route girl does nothing
more than service one hundred to two hundred separate homes each
month and they will normally average nine hundred dollars (900)
a month or more in total retail product sold. Now, some of these
girls may only sell half of this amount, but other girls will
sell double that amount. They will average nine hundred dollars
($900) a month. Now, if you have one hundred (100) girls averaging
nine hundred dollars ($900) a month that is a total of ninety
thousand dollars ($90,000) a month flowing through you the General
Distributor. Your route girls work on a sliding scale and will
receive forty percent (40%) on all the product they retail! You
are a General Distributor working at sixtyfive percent (65%)
which leaves you twentyfive percent (25%) override on each
of your one hundred (100) active route girls, earning you twenty
two thousand five hundred dollars ($22,500) a month, which is
two hundred seventy thousand dollars ($270,000) a year. Now, let's
go one step further. You and I realize that keeping one hundred
(100) active route girls beneath you could be a problem, so let's
hire a manager with a guarantee of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
a year for keeping one hundred (100) route girls trained and in
the field and then pay that manager a ten thousand dollar ($10,000)
bonus for maintaining a nine hundred dollar a month average per
route girl, which is a total of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000)
a year to your manager and that will leave you two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) and I think you can afford it!
And, if you want to make one million dollars a year, just duplicate
your manager in four separate cities with one hundred (100) active
route girls beneath them. Your managers are doing all the work
and you are making all the money.
395. Holiday Magic, Inc. has made the following statements and
representations to recruits and prospective distributors directly
in its 'Formula For Happy Living' Booklet (CX 77), which is a
recruiting booklet (CX 18OOI).
(a) CX 77F: Let's talk about the magic of our marketing plan and
how it may be the answer to your financial dream come true.
(b) CX 77D: Holiday Magic Marketing plan very well may be the
key to your financial future and security.
(c) CX 77B: Holiday Magic is that once in a lifetime opportunity
that comes your way. If you are looking for a secure future and
an immediate increase in you income, you will find this booklet
the key to the door of your dreams come true. Read and study this
booklet with great care, that door will open as surely as you
do.
(d) CX 77'O': This magic formula is now fulfilling the financial
dream of thousands, as it will for you should you desire it. In
Holiday Magic there is a place for you to enjoy this wonderful
world of magic. Call the friend who left this booklet for you
to read. Call nowyou are expected!
396. Holiday Magic, Inc. has made the following statements and
representations, directly and indirectly, to prospects and to
distributors sought to be upgraded to the Master and General level,
in its Masters' and Generals' manuals.
(a) CX 78Z6465 and CX 79Z6162:
A wellorganized retail program will accomplish the following
for you:
1. Put money in the bank for you, both on a short term and, especially,
on a long term basis.
2. Reflect an overall firm business posture.
3. Provide a technique that will enable you to close more recruiting
attempts at the Master level than you had been able to accomplish
before.
4. Provide a method that will reap very large profits on a continuing
basis with very little personal time and effort and NO additional
expense.
* * * We suggest that financial rewards be discussed in terms
that are commensurate with the local community earning capacity.
In a small town, $150 a month for parttime work is realistic
remuneration for earnest effort. If the interviewer tells a woman
that she can earn $300 or $400 a month, she is apt to be frightened
away because earning this amount of money is unrealistic. On the
other hand, in San Francisco or any other metropolitan area earning
this amount of money does sound realistic.
(b) CX 78J; CX 79J: A Master Distributor who conducts himself
ambitiously in following the Holiday Magic Formula for success
will have a business which he can enjoy for the balance of his
life with an income of $15,000 to $24,000 per year. Achieving
this income level is not difficult * * *
(c) CX 78F and CX 79F: Once a man knows this business, he will
not * * * he cannot * * * fail.
(d) CX 78T and CX 79T: Avoid buyer's chill; tell them they are
going to be happier, healtheir, wealtheir and receive what they
want out of life with the Holiday Magic program.
(e) CX 79Z60: Don't for a minute think that many people in the
world earn as much as our average General does.
(f) CX 18OO'O': The public is receiving our Holiday Magic products
with great enthusiasm. Our repeat business is almost unanimous.
See for yourself what a superb line of products we carry. Once
you have tried them, you will never want to use anything else.
397. Through its Holiday Magic Wands, which are recruiting tools,
Holiday Magic, Inc. has stated to recruits, prospective distributors
and distributors it seeks to upgrade to the Master and General
level, that '* * * the surest way to amass a fortune is through
Holiday Magic * * *' (CX 21H Apr. 1967).
(a) See also: CX 49F; CX 51K;CX 57D; CX 60F; CX 132C; CX 159A;
CX 163E; CX 34E; CX 35G: CX 35J; CX 42B; CX 54A; CX 56B; CX 146T;
CX 158A; CX 35F; CX 43H; CX 42G; CX 43D.
(b) See CX 64AH, the Permanent Wand, which is replete with
the big money potential in Holiday Magic.
398. Through its Holiday Magic Instructors and Trainer Generals,
Holiday Magic, Inc. has made the following statements and representations
to prospective distributors and to Holiday Girls it seeks to upgrade
to the Master and General Level:
3. HOLIDAY GIRL'S EARNING POWER
A full time Holiday Girl gives 4 individual demonstrations per
day. A part time girl gives two demonstrations per day.
The times she usually sets for these demonstrations are10
a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. The Holiday Girl that
works parttime works either the morning hours or the afternoon
hours depending upon the hours she has chosen to work.
We know that we can always count on a larger sale when we give
an individual demonstration. As a matter of fact, it is usually
around $25.00.
However, just for the sake of taking a figure we are all familiar
with, we will use the average of $15.00 per sale. With 4 demonstrations
per day at $15.00, Suzy has a volume of $60.00 per day. She works
5 days per week like everyone else and this would give her $300.00
volume for the week. Multiply that with 4 weeks out of the month
and we now have a sales volume of $1,200 (And add $1.00) for the
month. Her profit the first month on this schedule and this average
is $504.42.
Following Suzy along during the second month, she will repeat
the same performance plus she must service the customers from
last month. Consequently, the earnings the second month will be
even greater.
The time it takes Suzy to cover her Route is approximately 3 months,
after which time she no longer needs to do any demonstrations
or book any appointments. All she needs to do is every single
month collect her automatic sales, which we will cover later in
class and this takes around 34 hours per day. Her income
will settle down to more than a fulltime salary on a parttime
basis.
Following is another example.
ERASE BLACKBOARD AND WRITE OF [sic] THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR CLASS.
A Holiday Girl servicing a route is actually in business for herself,
and she must consider it as such because the greater her efforts,
the greater will be her earnings.
Let's use another example of what a Holiday Girl is capable of
earning on a different schedule than the one we just talked about.
She gives three individual demonstrations per day and at each
of these, sales total $15.00, this will equal $45.00 in retail
volume per day.
3 per day x $15.00 Average = $45.00 Retail per Day x 20 Working
Days $900.00 Sales Volume.
There are 20 working days in every month. This means that her
retail volume through individual demonstrations will be $900.00
for the month.
She gives at least one Block Seminar a week. The hostess has a
total of five buying guests an average of $15.00 or $75 per Block
Seminar. This will give her an additional $300.00 retail volume
per month, or a total of $1,201.00 retail.
5 x $15.00 per Week Seminar x 4 = $300.00
This places her at 42%. This means that the Holiday Girl working
routes has earned $504.42 her first month in business. Referring
back to the first month, she has established 60 customers from
individual demonstrations and 20 customers from Block Seminars
for a total of 80 customers for her first month.
In her second month she will do exactly the same thing. She does
three demonstrations per day for an average of $15.00 volume per
demonstration which gives her $45.00 volume per day. During 20
working days, this gives her a total route volume of $900.00.
She gives one Block Seminar per week with five ladies for an average
of $75.00 volume per week which would give her a total of $300.00
volume from the Seminars. Total volume $1,201.00. She services
80 customers from last month with a $10.00 reorder. 80 customers
x 10 = $800.00 service volume. This gives gives her a total for
her second month of $2,000.000. She is now at 44% which means
that she has earned $880.00 for her second month in business.
Now, do you see what we have to offer a girl working routes?
Now let's see the same girl working a route as a Master Distributor,
AND ASK, How many of you are Master Distributors?
You are a Master Distributor working a route of 250 homes doing
a service volume of $10.00 each, you would earn $1,360. Have any
of you thought of having a route of your own? Well, think about
it!
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
How many of you are General Distributors? Let's see what you would
make. Can you figure it out? Looks nice doesn't it.
The third and final earning power we will cover is also the amount
of hours a Holiday Girl spends working a route.
USE BLACKBOARD:
First Month:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Second Month:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Third Month:
3 demonstrations per day and 1 Block Seminar per week is repeated.
By this time you have 160 customers and together with the new
business volume you now have $1,600.00 for the month.
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Fourth Month:
For your fourth month we will change the schedule a little. Since
you now have 240 customers you will find that you need more time
for servicing. So we book and do 2 demonstrations per day instead
of the previous 3. You continue to give 1 Block Seminar per week.
Income eases, your route will be built by this time, but there
are occasions when a route consists of a few more homes depending
upon the area. However, if you are still building the fourth month,
your total picture will look like this:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Your profit is $792.00
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Now you have built for yourself a sound business. You will have
to spend approximately 3 andahalf hours per day servicing
these customers that you acquired during these four months. Your
income will settle down to approximately $600.00 per month. We
will all agree that this is a very interesting income, since it
is by now a parttime job. (CX 91D; CX 91HM).
See additional Opportunity Meeting scripts at CX 78Z3132;
CX 96AN; CX 97AP; cx 98an; cx 99ao; cx
100ap; cx 1468ap; cx 102ap; cx 103ak;
cx 1840z6z38.
See also additional six enrollments scripts at CX 85AZ29;
CX 86AF; CX91; CX 1840Z69Z88.
See also additional manual misrepresentations at CX 78Z4952;
CX 78U; CX 78V; CX 78Z38; CX 78Z44; CX 78Z48; CX 1800B.
399. Distributor after distributor testified that they heard the
representations as contained in the opportunity meeting scripts,
business training classes, six enrollments, movies, manuals, wands
and corporate team lectures. Cf. Tr. 3389; 3392; 10931096;
1130; 11501153; 3684; 5993; 253839; 3613; 2401; 30493051;
3127; 1098; 2553.
(a) Witness Charles Porst testified that at an opportunity meeting
given by Fred Pape, he heard Fred Pape say that one could make
$250,000 or more in Holiday Magic (TR. 30493050).
(b) Mrs. Stanley Pierce testified that at an opportunity meeting,
she was told that she could make up to $100,000 a year by recruiting
(TR. 2259).
(c) Joseph Rothman testified that at a corporate team meeting
attended by Fred Pape and William Penn Patrick, he heard Jim Hearn
say that he had made a quarter or a million dollars in a very
short period of time and that witness could make the same amount
in less than a year (TR. 28932898).
(d) William Pence testified that his sponsor, in persuading him
to come to an opportunity meeting, told him that he was making
$200,000 a year in Holiday Magic (TR. 3667).
XLII. Other Specific Misrepresentations
400. Holiday Magic, Inc., directly and through its distributors,
falsely represents to prospective distributors and to lower level
distributors it seeks to upgrade to the Master and General level,
that:
(a) General distributors can reasonably anticipate a gross income
of $108,000 per year after their first year in the Holiday Magic
business, by selling to Holiday Girls at wholesale, and working
full time.
(b) General distributors can reasonably anticipate earning $39,600
a year on a parttime basis by attending only one opportunity
meeting a month and recruiting one General distributor a month.
(c) General distributors can reasonably anticipate earning $150,000
a year on a parttime basis by attending only one opportunity
meeting a week and recruiting one General distributor a week.
(d) It is easy for a General distributor to recruit other General
distributors into Holiday Magic.
(e) General distributors can reasonably expect to earn $2,190
gross profit his third month in the business and his first month
as a General distributor.
(f) It is reasonably possible for a Holiday Magic distributor
to earn $500,000 a year.
(g) It is reasonably possible for a Holiday Magic distributor
to earn $1,000,000 a year in the Holiday Magic program.
(h) Not many people in the world earn as much as the average General
in Holiday Magic.
(i) Master distributors can reasonably anticipate a gross income
of $72,000 per year after their first year in the Holiday Magic
business, by selling to Holiday Girls at wholesale, and working
full time.
(j) Master and General distributors who recruit Holiday Girls
into the Holiday Magic business can reasonably expect that the
Holiday Girls will produce and stay in business for at least one
year and longer.
(k) It is easy to recruit two (2) Holiday Girls a week for a year,
each of whom will produce sales for a year or longer.
(1) A Master distributor can reasonably anticipate earning a gross
profit of $1,290 his second month in the business, and his first
month as a Master distributor, on a part time basis.
(m) Holiday Magic distributors can reasonably anticipate that
they will earn $500 per month on a part time basis.
(n) Holiday Magic distributors can reasonably anticipate that
they will earn $20,000 per month working full time in the Holiday
Magic business.
(o) The only turnover problem a distributor will face in the Holiday
Magic business is that a Holiday Girl will become a Master or
a General distributor and earn the distributor $3,300 in doing
so.
(p) Achieving a lifelong income of $15,000 to $25,000 for a Master
distributor is not difficult.
(q) Organizer distributors can reasonably anticipate recruiting
five (5) distributors each month for their first three months
in the Holiday Magic business, on a part time basis.
(r) Organizer distributors can reasonably anticipate that the
distributors they have recruited as organizers will in turn recruit
five distributors apiece, on the average, each month as they come
into the Holiday Magic business.
(s) Organizer distributors can reasonably anticipate earning a
gross profit of $990 their second month in the Holiday Magic business,
on a part time basis.
(t) Distributors who choose to retail the Holiday Magic products
to the ultimate consumer can reasonably expect to gross between
$300 and $900 per month.
(u) Holiday Girls will average $15 per customer in retail sales.
(v) Holiday Girls can easily earn $10 an hour.
(w) By working only one hour a day, a Holiday Girl can reasonably
anticipate a gross income of $901 and a gross profit of $369 per
month.
(x) By working only two hours a day, a Holiday Girl can reasonably
anticipate a gross profit of $792 a month.
(y) A full time Holiday Girl will have a gross volume of $60 per
day, $300 per week, and $1,201 for the month.
(z) A full time Holiday Girl will have a gross profit of $504.42
her first month in the business.
(z1) The gross profit of a Holiday Girl her second month
in the Holiday Magic business on a full time basis will be greater
than $504.42.
(z2) Holiday Magic can be the key to a person's financial
future and security.
(z3) Anyone who wants to can be a success in the Holiday
Magic program.
(z4) Holiday Magic is a sound, profitable and distinguished
business.
(z5) There are 'thousands of successful people in Holiday
Magic'.
(z6) Holiday Magic, Inc. is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
(z7) Holiday Magic, Inc. is fulfilling to financial dreams
of thousands, and that it will work for any person who desires
it.
(a8) A man who knows the Holiday Magic business cannot fail.
(z9) The public is receiving the Holiday Magic products
with great enthusiasm, and the repeat business is almost unanimous.
(z10) The surest way to amass a fortune is through Holiday
Magic, Inc.
(z11) That Holiday Magic, Inc. provides training and meeting
facilities to distributors at no cost to them (See CX 79Z28 and
TR. 1571, 1526, 1520).
(z12) CX 1800Z13: 'Any person who fails in the Holiday Magic
program must fall into one of the following categories:
1. Lazy
2. Stupid
3. Greedy
4. Dead
401. All of the above described representations are false, misleading
and deceptive because:
(a) Holiday Girls, when they are working, average approximately
$75.00 per month in volumeor $22.50 gross profit per
month.
(1) 'Top producer' with her Holiday Girls averaged $66 per month
in direct retail sales (Tr. 7004).
(2) Holiday Magic's Holiday Girl survey shows that active Holiday
Girls who reported on their sales volume, averaged
$138.40 per month (CX 8781095, CX 1560).
(3) Al Pangerl, Holiday Magic's all time top producer, had Holiday
Girls average $75 a month (Tr. 10367).
(b) Holiday Girls, when they are working, average less than $300
a month retail volume, and Holiday Magic, Inc. is aware of this.
(1) CoultasTR. 9680: $300 requirement for a Holiday
Girl was unrealistic.
(2) CoultasTR. 9760: Is aware that excluding considerations
of turnover, the Holiday Girls who do sellon the averagesell
less than $300 a month at retail volume.
(3) TR. 5993Former Senior General of N.Y. and Former
National Field Director Christie: Doesn't recall a single Holiday
Girl who averaged $300 a month in retail volume for a year's time.
(4) President and Top Producer Al Pangerl's Holiday Girls averaged
$75 per month (TR. 10367).
(5) Former President Ben Gay had only one Holiday Girl in his
distributorshiptermed by Holiday Magic as 'one of
the most successful' (CX 64C) earn at least $300 volume in one
month. The next highest was $100 volume in one month (TR 9868).
(6) See Holiday Magic's own survey, 2(a)(2) above.
(c) The turnover of Holiday Girls is such that the average Holiday
Girl works for approximately six weeks (see VIIA5).
(d) On the average, Organizers, Masters and Generals recruit less
than one Holiday Girl in the lifetime of their distributorships
(see CX 457AC).
(e) At most, and assuming that no Organizers recruit Holiday Girls,
the average number of Holiday Girls recruited by Masters and Generals
is less than, 5, in the lifetime of their distributorships (see
CX 457AC).
(f) Most Master and General distributors do not make the money
which Holiday Magic, Inc. represents can be reasonably anticipated
by selling cosmetics at wholesale because:
(1) Only 810 percent of Master and General distributors
in Holiday Magic earn a minimum of $12,000 per yearDavisTR.
6286 (expert witness called by Holiday Magic).
(2) 'There is a very, very slim minority [of Masters and General
distributors] that earns in excess of $25,000' in Holiday Magic
(DavisTR. 6287).
(3) As of Sept. 1969, Holiday Magic's total cumulative cosmetic
sales at retail list price value was $76,329,757 (RX 16; TR. 9212).
The total number of Masters in Holiday Magic at any time as of
Feb. 26, 1969, which is prior to the total cumulative volume is
9,252 (CX 457A).
The average volume of purchases for Master and General distributors
in their lifetimes as distributors is less than $8,250. (Dividing
$76,329,757 by 9,252 Master and General distributors.)
(4) With an average volume of $8,250, there is no way mathematically
that most Master and General distributors can earn between $72,000
and $108,000 a year gross income selling cosmetics at wholesale.
At the 35 percent level for Holiday Girls, gross income will average
out to between $1,650 for Masters and $2,475 for Generals!
(5) With Holiday Girls averaging between $75 and $139 when they
are workingfor six week periods, there is no way that
most Holiday Girls will average $900 per month or even $300 per
month at retail volume.
(6) Respondents' former East Coast regional vice president and
current president of SDI, the Instructor General program, testified
that he doesn't know what percentage of distributors made $108,000
in Holiday Magic, but that it was a 'small percentage' (DempseyTR.
6070).
(7) Holiday Magic president Al Pangerl never heard of a single
Master who made $72,000 a year (PangerlTr. 9613).
(8) Holiday Magic president Al Pangerl doesn't know of a single
General Distributor who made $49,000 attending one opportunity
meeting a week (PangerlTr.9615).
(9) Holiday Magic president Al Pangerl, the top money maker in
Holiday Magic for three years, including 1970, testified that
he sold only $15,000 at retail value to his Organizers and Holiday
Girls in 1970 (Tr. 95599560).
(g) Distributors do not recruit on the average five new distributors
a month.
(1) Since Holiday Magic's first month in business was Dec. 1964,
if this were the case, Holiday Magic would have had over 390,625
distributors in its program after only seven months, which it
did not (CX 457AD).
(h) It is not easy to recruit other distributors into the program
at the Master and General level:
(1) The vast majority of people have neither the desire nor the
potential to become Holiday Magic distributors (Tr. 6586).
(2) For some, recruiting is easy, for others, tremendously difficult
(DavisTr. 6286).
(3) Making profits by release fees (sponsoring General distributors)
'is a highly speculative way of receiving return on money.' (BaumgartenTr.
6616).
(4) It is highly speculative to encourage a Master to go General
with the hope that he will be able to encourage others to do the
same (BaumgartenTr. 6617).
(i) Distributors in Holiday Magic do fail, and that the vast majority
fail:
(1) With at least between 2025,000 Masters and Generals
recruited into Holiday Magic, as of May 1972, (Tr. 9759, 9984)
Holiday Magic had approximately 2842 active Masters and Generals
(Tr. 9629, 5881). All others are no longer in business, and it
can be presumed that most active Distributors are recent entrants
into the program.
It can also be presumed that many distributors remain active although
not successful in their businesses.
(2) With an average monthly retail volume of $75 to $139 per Holiday
Girl, and an average of less than five Holiday Girls, and a turnover
rate of one Holiday Girl every six weeks, there is NO WAY that
Master and General Distributors cannot for the most part fail
in their wholesale cosmetics business.
(j) Holiday Magic, Inc. makes and keeps no records or studies
of the public's acceptance of Holiday Magic products (Tr. 10386,
1039192, 10396).
(k) Master and General Distributors are required to pay for Council
privileges (see Part XXXI).
402. Holiday Magic, Inc. directly and indirectly misrepresents
to prospective distributor and recruits at its Opportunity Meeting
procedures, that:
(a) There is no turnover of Holiday Girls, except that Holiday
Girls who average more than $300 per month will become Masters
and Generals.
(1) CX 78Z34:
You know the world's largest cosmetic company last year sponsored
over 200,000 part time girls. That's rightover 200,000
girls. Do you think it's safe to assume that if you worked full
time, 8 hours a day, five days a week that you would accomplish
this one thingsponsor two retail girls into the business?
Do you think that you could do that? Is there anyone in the room
that doesn't think that they could sponsor two girls a week working
at it full time? No one? Wonderful!
You are now sponsoring two girls a week and at the end of one
year of hard work you have sponsored 104 girls. Now let's assume
that you took two weeks for vacation, so you have sponsored only
100 girls (40).
Assume that they do no more than $300 in volume (41). 100 x 300
is $30,000 (42) in volume that they are purchasing from you each
and every month.
Right here people say 'ha.' There he goes with his big figures
again. Well, $30,000 is not a lot of money in the cosmetic industry.
If we are talking about a store purchasing $30,000 in volume,
it would be ridiculous. If we were talking about a beauty salon
grossing in total sales $30,000 a month it would be absurd. If
we were talking about a jewelry store, a small grocery store,
a fur shop, a clothing store, an appliance store, grossing $30,000,
of course it would be ridiculous. But, that's not what we are
talking about. We are talking about the efforts of 100 people
and we are talking about their efforts in the cosmetic industry.
We used two figures to get theretwo numbers. We used
100 girls and everyone in the room agreed that if they worked
full time they could sponsor two girls a week and $108,000 a year
is certainly worth your full time efforts. Isn't it?
(2) CX 90L = Opportunity meeting Script, Jan. 1970:
First let me tell you something that was a real surprise to me
when I first heard it.Did you know that the world's
largest cosmetic company last year sponsored over 400,000 girls
to work part time?That's right over 400,000 girls.
Keeping that in mind, do you think it's safe to assume that if
you worked full time8 hours a dayfive
days a weekthat you would accomplish this one thingrecruit
two (A) Holiday Girls into the business on a part time basis?
Do you think that you could do that? Is there anyone in the room
who doesn't think that he could sponsor two girls a week if he
worked at it full time?No one?Wonderful!
Let's assume that you are now sponsoring and training two girls
a week and at the end of one year of hard work you have sponsored
104 girls. No let's assume that you took two weeks for vacation,
so you trained only 100 girls. (1)
(3) CX 90ST = (The retail enrollment)
It's not too difficult to find two girls per week who would work
part time to earn extra money with Holiday Magic and who would
like to be able to buy their cosmetics at wholesale. If you were
to sponsor two (2) girls a week for the next year, taking two
weeks off for vacation, you would have 100 active girls. * * *
Now you have an upgrade problem. John, you and I realize that
keeping 100 active retail girls in the field is a lot of work.
Some of these girls are going to start selling more than $300
in product, which means your Holiday Girls may move up to become
an Organizer, then to Master, then to General, which may earn
you $3,300, but you've lost one girl, and now you have a replacement
problem.
(4) CX 1842 WX =
I am quite sure that anyone could find two part time girls each
week that would want to earn extra money with Holiday Magic and
be able to buy her cosmetics at wholesale. When you sponsor two
girls a week for the next year, taking two weeks off for vacation
as most of us do; you will have 100 active girls. Now, these girls
hold at least one home demonstration per week and they will average
three hundred dollars per month in total product sold. Some may
sell $150, others $450. They will average $300 per month. 100
active girls times $300 a month will give you $30,000 a month
flowing through you the General Distributor. Not one drug store
or one beauty salon, but 100 separate outlets. You work at 65%
and these girls work on a sliding scale and would be at 35%. Subtract
that from your percentage and it will leave you with a 30% override
on each of your girls.
30% of that 430,000 flow of retail cosmetics will be earning you
$9,000 per month which is $108,000 per year. (voice up) But now
you have an upgrade problem. John, you and I realize that
keeping 100 active retail girls in the field might be a lot of
work, because some of these girls are going to start retailing
more than $300 in product which means your Holiday Girl goes to
Organizer, then to Master then to General which gives you $3,300,
but you've lost one girl. So let's say that you don't want to
devote all your time to keeping these 100 girls working so let's
hire a manager and pay that manager $10,000 a year, if the girls
maintain a $300 a month average you pay the manager a bonus of
$10,000 for a total of $20,000 per year and the average person
will work hard for $20,000 per year. This leaves you with a net
income of $88,000 a year and I think you can afford it! Now, duplicate
this manager in six or seven cities around the country and you
will have an income in excess of $500,000 a year!
(5) CX 184256
THE GENERAL'S RETAIL PRESENTATION:
Start your presentation by receiving a commitment from your prospect
that he could find two girls a week that would like to earn more
money!
If you found two girls a week for the next year, taking two weeks
off for vacation (like most of us do) you would have one hundred
(100) active Route girls beneath you. Now, a route girl does nothing
more than service one hundred to two hundred separate homes each
month and they will normally average nine hundred dollars (900)
a month or more in total retail product sold. Now, some of these
girls may only sell half of this amount, but other girls will
sell double that amount. They will average nine hundred dollars
($900) a month. Now, if you have one hundred (100) girls averaging
nine hundred dollars ($900) a month that is a total of ninety
thousand dollars ($90,000) a month flowing through you the General
Distributor. Your route girls work on a sliding scale and will
receive forty percent (40%) on all the product they retail! You
are a General Distributor working at sixty five percent (65%)
which leaves you twentyfive percent (25%) override on each
of your one hundred (100) active route girls, earning you twenty
two thousand five hundred dollars ($22,500) a month, which is
two hundred seventy thousand dollars ($270,000) a year. Now, let's
go one step further. You and I realize that keeping one hundred
(100) active route girls beneath you could be a problem so let's
hire a manager with a guarantee of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
a year for keeping one hundred (100) route girls trained and in
the field and then pay that manager a ten thousand dollar ($10,000)
bonus for maintaining a nine hundred dollar a month average per
route girl which is a total of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000)
a year to your manager and that will leave you two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) and I think you can afford it!
And, if you want to make one million dollars a year, just duplicate
your manager in four separate cities with one hundred (100) active
route girls beneath them. Your managers are doing all the work
and you are making all the money.
403. That training facilities and meeting rooms at the Holiday
Magic councils will be provide and made available by the the corporation
to distributors at no cost to them:
(1) CX 78Z3031
Let's analyze this job for a moment, and see just exactly what
you have done to earn this money. You invited five people to a
meeting just like this one tonight. We presented the opportunity
to your people for you and after the meeting, we thoroughly answered
all of their questions.
We then helped you sponsor them into the business and that's all
you have done. For that, you have made $120.
Let's assume that this person's report in the middle here is Mary.
We had Mary in training all this month, we had a further opportunity
to thoroughly explain our business to her. We shared her and the
wonderful things about Holiday Magic.
We should hear how she produced $300 in volume, worked at 35%,
and earned $105.
So in your third month you have earned a total of $900 from your
first four people. Again, all the new people in the business this
month were sponsored by someone you sponsored in a prior month.
As yet you haven't done anything.
(2) See witnesses who testified they were not informed of dues
requirements for council until after they became Master distributors
at TR. 1520, 1571, 1526.
(3) Council signs refer to Holiday Magic throughout and gave appearance
of Holiday Magic corporate offices.
(i) TR. 1499; TR. 3898.
(ii) Holiday Magic, Inc. tells its councils to drape the opportunity
meeting room with Holiday Magic banners and photos of PatrickTR.
3899; CX 90F ('the room should be draped with Holiday Magic banners
to give the appearance of Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting').
(4) At CX 90U'The Six Enrollments' used Jan. 1970
=
NO. 6 GUEST ENROLLMENT (Use only when necessary as a final step)
If John hasn't enrolled by now back way off, because something
is radically wrong. Turn to John and say, 'Now, John, I don't
know what I've missed explaining but I've missed something. I've
tried to show you how you could earn some really attractive profits
in the retail side of the business and even as much as $39,600
per year part time in the wholesale side of the business and I
still haven't gotten it across to you.
Now what I would like to do is invite you to our next business
training class as my guest so that you can see the training that
we offer, meet some people and really see what Holiday Magic is
all about. That will be next (Thursday at 8:00 p.m.) and I'll
be by to pick you up so we can be there on time. Bring that notebook
and pen that you said you had with you, okay?' (When he comes
to class and signs the roll sheet, you may assume that he will
come into the program.)
After teaching the above in training class, explain:
Business training is provided by functioning councils, Masters
and Generals who belong to these councils pay small monthly fees
to support them. When your guest is invited to a council training
meeting he will have to sign the guest register and you're going
to try to use the training facilities to sponsor your guest into
the program.
John has been invited as a guest and when John signs his name
on the sign up sheet, he has just theoretically enrolled.
Try to persuade John to take home a $39 demonstration kit. John
may not wear cosmeticsbut his wife does. He may not
be the least bit interested in this program right now but he may
be.
(c) That there are no substantial business or operating expenses
for distributors, and that gross income is 'net income' or 'profit.'
(1) CX 78Z31, compares gross income with salaries.
(2) CX 78Z31, 32, 33, 234, 235, CX 1842V, X, Z, Z5, Z8, refer
to gross income as earnings.
(3) CX 7933 refers to gross income as a 'salary.'
(4) CX 1842T, Z2 refers to taking home in cash one's gross income.
(5) CX 1842O, W, refers to gross income as cash earnings.
(6) CX 1842X refers to gross income less a manager's salary only
as a 'net income.'
(7) CX 1842Z3 refers to gross income less a finder's fee as 'net
profit' and release fee income as 'profit.'
(8) Nowhere in the Opportunity Meeting procedure is any inclination
given to prospective distributors of the nature and amount of
reasonably anticipated expenses.
404. Many participants at the time that they enter the program
do not fully understand the Holiday Magic marketing plan.
CX 1842W; CX 90T ('You must enroll in the training class to gain
the knowledge necessary to conduct this business.')
See also (McKinnon) TR. 4057, (Duden) TR. 1759.
405. Holiday Magic, Inc., through its Opportunity Meeting procedure,
has a policy of failing to inform prospective distributors, recruits
and prospects of the number of prior entrants in Holiday Magic,
Inc. in the geographic or market area in which the prospect is
enrolling or the degree of consumer acceptance of the Holiday
Magic cosmetics (see Part VIII).
406. By failing to inform prospective distributors of any limits
of market structure for product and distributorships, the consumer
acceptance of the Holiday Magic products, and other market surveys
or data, the prospective distributor is falsely given a reasonable
expectancy of receiving larger profits or earnings than is actually
the case.
407. Holiday Magic, Inc. in its Opportunity Meetings, compares
the large profits of the cosmetics industry at manufacturing levels
with the expected earnings for distributors, who are at other
levels in the business.
CX 79Z28 indicates as follows:
Let's talk about the Cosmetic Industry for a minute now.
It's a big businessa growing businessa
multiBILLION dollar a year business.
I don't know of one stock broker who isn't commending it for its
growth.
And why shouldn't they. It's one of the fastest growing industries
in the world today.
Why, over the last 10 years it's grown an average of 9.6% per
yearlast year alone it grew 13.6%, so its on the uphill
rise. That's why we're in it! That's why I'm in it. I want to
be where the money is. Obviously so does Holiday Magic!
408. By comparing the allegedly large profits in the cosmetic
industry with Holiday Magic Distributorships, Holiday Magic, Inc.
misrepresents to prospective distributors that they have a reasonable
expectancy of receiving the same large profits at their levels
that may be available to other levels in the business.
409. Holiday Magic, Inc. in its opportunity meetings and statements
and representations in the Holiday Magic Wands represents to prospective
distributors and recruits, and the lower level distributor it
seeks to upgrade to the Master and General Level, that the retail
list price value of Holiday Magic products sold by Holiday Magic
to its distributors actually represents either the gross income
of Holiday Magic, Inc. or the actual sales of products to consumers:
(a) CX 79Z28 (Opportunity Meeting Script):
Holiday Magic's first month in business was December, 1964. The
sales volume the first full month was $16,000.
Ten short months later it has grown to ONE MILLION DOLLARS per
month11 months after that TWO MILLION per month2
months later THREE MILLION per month and is STILL GROWING. There
has to be something in that.
(b) WandCX 4BNovember 1965
Today the company has expanded into 22 states and gross sales
have reached the 1,000,000 a month level.
(c) CX 4CHoliday Magic sales figures for the first
of the month of operation are as follows: October 1965$1,077,055.42.
(d) WandCX 14D1966: Fred Pape talked about
how Holiday Magic had, just last month, surpassed 1.5 million
dollars in monthly sales.
(e) WandCX 17C 12/66 : '* * * in two short
years we find ourselves with a multimillion dollar operation
doing a monthly sales volume in excess of $3,000,000.'
(f) CX 17E'I remember when * * * $3 million a month
in retail sales was a dream of the future.'
410. In referring to the retail 'sales volume' a sales figure
as it does, Holiday Magic, Inc. misrepresents to prospective distributors
and recruits and to distributors that it seeks to upgrade to the
Master and General level that the sales volume figures are indicative
sales to the consuming public, and thereby are falsely given a
reasonable expectancy of receiving the large profits or earnings
based upon such consumer acceptance.
See RX 16, TR. 9212 (Holiday Magic only uses retail list price
figures) and TR. 1028182; 10396. (Holiday Magic doesn't
know what the retail sales actually are.)
XLIII. The Adoption Policies of Holiday Magic
411. Witness Janz testified that she told Fred Pape in May 1965,
in San Rafael, Calif., that her sponsoring General, John Woloshyn,
gave her no training. Pape said he would check into the matter
(TR. 5350).
On a second occasion, after May 1965, Janz approached Pape about
Woloshyn's lack of training at a corporate team meeting. The response
was that training was coming and that Janz didn't need Woloshyn.
(TR. 5351)
Janz paid $100 for training subsequently (TR 5351).
412. Witness Don Kelly joined Holiday Magic in Sept. 1967 (TR.
5434), recruited by Rick Spranzo and John Woloshyn (TR. 5434).
Spranzo informed Kelly that as soon as he understood that marketing
plan, he would be better off taking the $5,000 worth of merchandise
and dumping it in the desert (TR. 6442, 5468).
Kelly complained to Holiday Magic in letter of Dec. 26, 1967 about
Woloshyn and Spranzo (CX 1342A, B), claiming he was brought into
Holiday Magic under 'false pretenses' (CX 1342A), such as misrepresentations
as to numbers of distributors already in Phoenix, that $2500 could
net him $38,000, that he had to pay for the school, and that the
ad he was recruited under was not a legal Holiday Magic ad.
Mr. Kelly asked for his money back (CX 1342AB).
On Jan. 9, 1968, Holiday Magic replied that Spranzo and Woloshyn
did help Kelly, and that all purchases were final, even though
Spranzo and Woloshyn left Phoenix 3 weeks after Kelly joined (part
XLI2).
413. Witness Herb Davis met up with John Snider, John Woloshyn
and Rick Spranzo after answering an ad in the Phoenix paper and
joined Holiday Magic as a Master in July 1969 (TR. 1356, 1341,
135152).
Spranzo, Woloshyn and Snider all guarnateed Mr. Davis a return
of his money within 45 days (TR. 135152). Davis heard Snider
and Woloshyn promise to set up an organization for him, to hire
and train Holiday Girls, recruit Organizers and Masters, and turn
them into Generals. He was told a General would make $39,000 a
year by recruiting one General a month, and that he would make
$9,000 a month profit by recruiting two Holiday Girls a week (TR.
134950). All he had to do was supply them with product (TR.
1349).
He was also told by John Snider, a General, that National TV on
the Johnny Carson show was planned by Holiday Magic for Jan. 1970
(TR. 1346). He was shown the 'ads' with the opportunity meeting
film (TR. 1349).
He was also told there was more money in recruiting Masters and
turning them into Generals than in retailing (TR. 1357).
In Aug. 1969, Davis complained to Holiday Magic vice president
Powell about the representations, the false and broken promises,
the stacking of masters, and the lack of training as promised.
He also wrote in Oct. 1969, complaining about Spranzo and Woloshyn
(CX 1397A).
Holiday Magic, Inc. acknowledged receipt of Davis' complaint in
Oct. 1969 (CX 1398).
414. Witness Elvin Cherrington answered an ad in a Phoenix paper
on July 1, 1969, and met John Snider, John Woloshyn and Rick Spranzo
(TR. 14181424).
He was told he 'wouldn't have to do hardly anything' to earn $108,000
a year, and that he could earn $39,000 a year by recruiting one
general a month for 12 months (TR. 1422).
He was also shown 'TV Commercials' which he was told would appear
on National television in Jan. 1970 (TR. 1424).
Spranzo said there was no sellingthat they would hire
and train the people to do the selling for Cherrington.
He talked to Vance Powell, Holiday Magic's regional vice president
in the latter part of 1969, at which time Powell said he had also
talked to Herb Davis (TR. 14511452).
Mr. Cherrington to this day hasn't attended Instructor General
School, but is a Holiday Magic General Distributor (TR. 1453,
1474).
Mr. Cherrington's money would not be refunded (CX 1411).
415. Witness Ted Crosby tells a similar story involving Spranzo,
Woloshyn and Powell. Crosby answered an ad in a Phoenix paper
in July, 1969 (TR. 1487).
Spranzo said he was a General Distributor with Holiday Magic,
sent to Phoenix to open up a new area, and that distributorships
were going fast (TR. 1492). He was shown the Holiday Magic Council
and told 'there are your offices, here is where we will have your
new Holiday Girls. They are for your use.' (TR. 1500).
Crosby was shown two commercials and Spranzo said they were going
on national television on the Johnny Carson show (TR. 150406).
Spranzo also told Crosby that 'we do not bring you into the program
and drop you,' but that 'we work with you and start you making
money' (TR. 1509).
Crosby saw Vance Powell in 9/69 or 10/69 (TR. 1590) and told him
everything Spranzo had said to him, asking for his money back
(TR. 1548, 1564, 158990). Also wrote to company, which was
acknowledged Sept. 26, 1969 (CX. 1353).
Powell told Crosby that he agreed that what Spranzo had done was
'fraudulent, but that it was Holiday Magic policy not to return
any money (TR. 188990). Powell said he would take steps
to stop Spranzo because he had done it before (TR. 1594).
416. Witness Vermilye also met up with Spranzo and Woloshyn, and
became a Master Sept. 11, 1969. By letter of Nov. 12, 1969, Vermilye
detailed his gripes about Spranzo and Woloshyn to Holiday Magic
(CX 1379AD).
Spranzo said that he and Woloshyn would help Vermilye, but he
got nothing (TR. 1679).
By letter of Nov. 14, 1969, Patrick acknowledges Vermilye's letter,
and states he has received similar reports from Crosby (CX 1380).
Meanwhile, Holiday Magic, Inc. is returning no money and waxing
verbal about the great Rick Spranzo.
CX 538AD distributed by Holiday Magic, Inc. in late 1969
(TR. 5555) and referring to the month of August, states in part:
Now working Phoenix, Arizona, Rick Spranzo's work in the Holiday
Magic program has taken him from Northern California (his home)
to Seattle, Washington where he helped build a strong Distributor
Council and helped many distributors achieve success in the Holiday
Magic program.
Rick's high sales volume, his ticket to entry in the $25,000 Round
Table Club, shows his good work in Phoenix. Building his own sales
organization and working with other distributors, Rick has seen
the area develop sufficiently for the establishment of a Distributor
Council with lots of enthusiastic members.
Next for Rick could very well be membership in the President's
$50,000 Club!
Ad in CX 151KFamily News9/5/69: Longtime
distributor RICK SPRANZO has just become Round Table Club member
number two! RICK'S volume at retail value has topped $25,000 in
one month so he'll be receiving a handsome leatherbound Accutron
desk clock with a handtooled medallion opposite, describing
his achievement. IRCK'S work has been centered mainly in the Phoenix,
Arizona, area. Congratulations!
Holiday Magic would now have us believe that action was taken
to terminate Spranzo. But see RX 120 in which Spranzo was 'terminated'
as of Dec. 1969, but only for supplying other distributors who
had gone General with replacement Masters (RX 120C). No mention
is made of promises of help, guarantees of income, TV commercials,
etc.
417. Termination? Spranzo is now working in Tucson. Witness Duden
reports answering an ad in the Tucson paper on Feb. 8, 1970 (TR.
1696, 1762), less than two months after Spranzo's alleged termination.
Spranzo tells Duden he will hire and train Holiday Girls for him,
and have high school boys to get leads for the girls (TR. 1698).
Spranzo assured Duden he would have his investment back (of $6,000)
in two months (TR. 1700). Spranzo's 'training' consisted of two
1/2 hour classes, which consisted of what to say to a prospect
who compared Holiday Magic to a pyramid (TR. 1708).
Duden spoke to Vance Powell, Feb. 18, 1970, Holiday Magic's vice
president (TR. 1712) and told Powell he didn't like the operation
(TR. 1715). Powell said Duden should be recruiting organizers
(TR. 1717). Duden told Powell assistance was needed, and Powell
told Duden he needed the Holiday Magic manuals (TR. 1718). This
he had to pay for (TR. 1762).
Duden requested his money back from Holiday Magic 7/15/70 (TR.
1727). Told Holiday Magic he was defrauded and that Spanzo didn't
keep his promises (TR. 1764) and even offered to return all stock
(TR. 176465).
By letter of 8/3/70, Holiday Magic told Duden that 'regardless
of past obstacles,' his financial goals could be achieved. He
was also told that no monies can be refunded (CX 1419AB).
See also CX 1422.
418. Witness Thomson testified that he met up with Spranzo in
Feb. 1970 (TR. 1833) when he became a Master. Spranzo said he
would hire and train boys to make appointments for Holiday Girls
(TR. 1830).
Thomson spoke to Holiday Magic vice president Vance Powell, complaining
about no business guidance from Spranzo (TR. 1842). Powell told
Thomson to check the Masters and Generals' procedure handbook,
which Thomson didn't have, so Powell told him he would get it
for him, but never did (TR. 1844).
Thomson complained Apr. 22, 1970 to Holiday Magic (CX 1444AC).
By July 1970, respondents 'terminated' Spranzo again, this time
as stated in RX 120A: '[T]he main reason for your termination
is your insistence upon continuing to place unapproved ads in
Texas newspapers.'
419. Former Holiday Magic President Ben Gay, who terminated Mr.
Spranzo (RX 120A, 120C; GayTr. 10193, 10096) testified
that Spranzo was terminated because his activities were causing
trouble with the attorney general's office in Arizona, and not
because he violated company policies (Tr. 1011210114). The
concern was in getting caught, and not in the malpractice (GayTr.
10115).
Gay notes that it took 5 years to get to Spranzo (Tr. 10113) and
that Spranzo had recruited over 100 Masters and Generals (Tr.
10202).
None of Spranzo's distributors were ever refunded their money
by Holiday Magic (Tr. 10203) all of the distributors who testified
lost money (CX 1829A, B; Tr. 1382, 1460, 1524, 1679, 1720, 1854).
420. Holiday Magic, Inc. represents and requires its distributor
to represent to prospective distributors and recruits that the
distributors are representatives and agents of Holiday Magic,
Inc.
(a) Opportunity Meeting scripts: CX 79Z28:
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is _____ and I am
a _____ with Holiday Magic. * * [space in original].
You will see a film which explains our general program. * * *
So as we say in Holiday Magic, let's get started! * * *
We're really proud of that film. They're all real peopleHoliday
Magic people. * * *
So at this time it is my pleasure to introduce as a General Distributor
with Holiday Magic. * * *
listen carefully to one of Holiday Magic's most successful men,
Mr. _____.
You know, I have been with Holiday Magic months now * * *.
Now I mention this not particularly to impress you with the calibre
of people we have in Holiday Magic, * * *.
Our National Sales Manager, Mark Evans, sponsored 137 people his
first 30 days in the business.
This is exactly the way our people are making the kind of money
that they are making * * *
Many of us in Holiday Magic are earning this kind of money and
more * * *
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Holiday Magic and this is what we
have to offer you.
At this time, I would like you to turn to the person who invited
you here and ask them to help you select one of the four positions
for you in Holiday Magic.
(b) Six Enrollments:
CX 1842R, CX 90P: Now, _____ I am going to explain the four basic
positions that Holiday Magic has to offer and I want you to select
the position that you feel will suit your needs best.
CX 86A: We offer four positions to every person who comes into
Holiday Magic.
421. Bill Dempsey, when he appeared in Chicago with Holiday Magic
president Fred Pape (Tr. 3703) and Mark Evans, national sales
manager, on Feb. 10, 1968 (Tr. 3703), at a meeting of all Masters
and General Distributors who had completed Instructor General
courses (Tr. 3703) was at the time vicepresident of sales,
East Coast (Tr. 3703). He stated, as reported by witness Pence,
that:
* * * when the dust cleared, the only thing that counted was who
had the money, and he had it, and then he flashed three or four
one hundred dollars bills in the air.
The next thing, the next statement along those lines that he made,
was that you are to consider a prospect, * * * that he has my
money in his wallet, and whatever method that I can use to get
my money back out of his wallet, that was perfectly all right.
(Tr. 3710).
422. Mr. Dempsey testified for respondents after Mr. Pence did,
but did not deny the allegation. Respondent William Penn Patrick
is also quoted by witness Pence as saying:
There is no reason why you shouldn't be earning $3,300 a month
at least. If you can't do that, then get out. (Tr. 3684).
See CX 85U and CX 86C, wherein $3,300 a month is described as
being earned by recruiting and upgrading one General a month.
423. Corporate Team opportunity meetings given in Miami featured
Jim Hearn (Tr. 2004) at which he gave his standard presentation:
Now, I came into this program, and there are two horses to ride,
a fast horse and a slow horse. The fast horse is the recruiting
fees of bringing people into the business where a lot of money
exists, and the slow horse is building up a retail organization,
with Holiday girls and so forth, to retail cosmetics. I am riding
the fast horse. I suggest that if you want to make a lot of money
fast, ride the fast horse. You can go either way you want.
XLIV. Advertising
424. Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. has represented directly or
by implication, or by adopting and ratifying the misrepresentations
of its distributors, that:
(a) Holiday Magic, Inc. does and will utilize television advertising
throughout the country through its Wands and manuals which it
distributes to all distributors:
(1) CX 78Z31Television advertising is conducted on
a saturation schedule. Everyone knows the power of T.V. advertising.
(2) CX 1CWands 8/65 : The corporation intends to support
this training by creating in the public mind an image of the Holiday
Girl as a real authority in the field of cosmetics care and beauty.
We will achieve the creation of this image through television
advertising and other mass media.
(3) CX 37MWands 9/68 : HM distributors are about to
see the first television commercials to be broadcast on a national
basis by independent distributors.
(4) CX 64AWands (Permanent) HM plans National T.V.
Watch for us in your city.
(5) CX 159MFN 4/10/70: HOLIDAY MAGIC ON NATIONAL T.V.
* * *
(6) CX 79Z9: The corporation will use television as its primary
advertising medium. From time to time it may use other media.
(7) Physical Exhibit B. Tr. 9803: Each Holiday Magic retail distributor
is thoroughly trained in cosmetic knowledge, samples, exciting
hostess gifts, superb literature, and supporting product advertising.
(8) CX 76Z19 (Script on technique to recruit a Beauty Salon):
Mrs. Jones, I am _____ with Holiday Magic. I'm sure that you have
heard of us. You haven't? Well, Mrs. Jones, this is one reason
why I am here. We will be going on T.V. very soon and we would
like to give you some free advertising. * * *
* * * All that we expect of you is to act as a depot for our T.V.
advertising so girls will be able to buy products from you when
they need them.
(b) That one million dollars was being spent to advertise Holiday
Magic products in national magazines (see CX 25AEWands
8/67 ; GayTr. 9990; CoultasTr. 9676).
(c) Holiday Magic, Inc. represented to its distributors that the
magazine ads were helping distributors (LipskaTr. 1040304).
(d) That television commercials would appear on national television
on the Johnny Carson show.
425. In truth and in fact, respondents do not advertise their
products to the extent that they or their representatives represent:
(a) Holiday Magic, Inc. has never advertised on network television
(Lipska Tr. 9258).
(b) Holiday Magic, Inc. has never advertised on television that
covered more than half the nation (LipskaTr. 9259).
(c) Holiday Magic's 'advertising' expenditures for the fiscal
year ending Sept. 1965 were $43,764; Sept. 1966$165,380;
Sept. 1967$444,524; Sept. 1968 $287,742; Sept.
1969$110,322; Sept. 1970$220,099; and
Sept. 1971$107,715. These figures include advertising,
promotion, entertainment, salaries, special brochures, productions,
announcements to distributors and 'perhaps the Holiday Magic Wands'
(Tr. 6388, 6390, 9260, 9261).
(d) Sherman Coultas was aware of spot T.V. for Holiday Magic only
in San Francisco, Milwaukee and Minneapolis (CoultasTr.
9687).
(e) Holiday Magic spent only between $150,000 and $300,000 (LipskaTr.
10385 92) or $200,000 (GayTr. 9990) on the $1,000,000
magazine advertising representation.
(f) Distributors were constantly and continually advised that
Holiday Magic was engaging in a continuing national advertising
program in women's magazines even though the said campaign lasted
only several months and was already terminated (LipskaTr.
1038592; 104034; GayTr. 10133, 9990; GuardTr.
10494; CoultasTr. 9690; CX 90KNational Adv.
Marketing or recruiting tool; RX 164).
(g) Holiday Magic, Inc. has no knowledge as to whether or not
the magazine ads had helped distributors (LipskaTr. 104034).
426. Holiday Magic, Inc. has ratified and adopted the representations
of Joh Woloshyn and Rick Spranzo that Holiday Magic products will
be advertised on national television on the Johnny Carson show,
by failing to take any action in refunding the monies to distributors
who relied upon said misrepresentation on becoming Holiday Magic
distributors.
427. Holiday Magic is stopped from denying the ratification and
adoption of the misrepresentation of television advertising by
Messrs. Spranzo and Woloshyn because of the Holiday Magic recommendation
that ads such as those shown by Spranzo and Woloshyn be incorporated
into the opportunity meeting presentation (see CX 712).
XLV. Employment OffersHelp Wanted Ads
428. Holiday Magic, Inc. has represented directly or indirectly,
to prospective distributors, that employment is being offered:
(a) See CX 1800AZ15:
NEWSPAPER ADS
For Holiday Girls: Housewife make $50 to $100 per month in your
spare time. Phone _____.
I WANT A HUSBAND. Who will draw his wife's attention to this ad.
Glamorous profession. Looking for qualified applicant. Ages 1855.
Call Mr. _____ for appointment 95 (Phone No.).
If you are interested in part time work and would like to earn
$5000 per month in your spare time working from your home write
Box ___.
For Organizers:
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT KIND OF MAN: Must have management potential
and like to work with attractive women. Phone _____.
DO IT NOW * * * Phone _____: Brand new company with exciting ideas.
Fantastic financial opportunity if you qualify. DO IT NOW * *
* Phone _____.
REWARD: If you can handle people, will work hard, DON'T want to
sell, want a millionaire's income, Call _____.
UNIQUE URGENT POSITION: Not a better opportunity in ___ county
for the man who can fill this position. For appointment only with
___, call (Phone No.).
WANTEDLazy salesman accustomed to a high standard
of living. Phone _____ for interview.
For Masters:
I AM LOOKING FOR A MAN who is capable of earning $20,000 to $30,000
annually. Fantastic financial opportunity if you qualify. Must
have management ability. Phone _____.
TIRED of answering doortodoor selling ads? I'm looking
for a man who likes to WORK and to whom $25,000 per year is a
reality. If you are this man and can supervise an organization
of attractive women, call me Monday 71 P.M. _____.
MAJOR COMPANY BUILDING COMPLETE EXECUTIVE AND SALES FORCE IN _____.
EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH INCOME IF YOU QUALIFY.
EXECUTIVE and PEOPLE with MANAGER potential needed for expanding
California company. If you qualify and can accept $25,000 per
year as a reality call of appointment. _____.
429. All Holiday Magic distributors are independent contractors
and not employees (Answer, p. 4).
430. All Holiday Girls are in business for themselves; never hired
on salary (GillespieTr. 9307).
431. Distributors were placing ads indicating that they were offering
employment, and this was not the case (CoultasTr. 9663).
See also CX 1976AI; Tr. 44234446), which were ads
placed by witness Vardervelde seeking Holiday Girls.
432. Holiday Magic tells its distributors to place ads in local
newspapers, as one of the quickest methods of mass recruiting,
utilizing the ads appearing in the manuals:
The placement of advertisements in local newspapers is one of
the quickest methods of mass recruiting.
But always make reference to the 'Holiday Magic Distributor Manuals'
for the proper ads to be placed in the newspaper, 'How to Interview
properly', and how to use 'Telephone BookIn Procedures.'
(CX 1840Z59).
XLVI. Price Discrimination
433. Holiday Magic, Inc. sells Holiday Magic products directly
to its General Distributors and its Master Distributors.
(a) See VII C and D.
(b) A Holiday Magic Instructor General at the time he testified,
Kenneth Belton stated at Tr. 4963:
Q. Mr. Belton, as a Master distributor, did you purchase products
from Holiday Magic?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you recall what products you purchased from Holiday Magic?
A. Everything from an antibody (sic) lotion to lipstick to colognes,
hair sprays, shampoo, many different items.
Q. These are the Holiday Magic cosmetic line?
A. And home care products such as floor wax and furniture polish.
Q. As a general distributor did you also purchase from Holiday
Magic, Inc.
A. Yes.
Q. Would you tell us again what products you purchased from Holiday
Magic as a General?
A. The same.
(c) GillespieTr. 937173'Holiday Magic
did business with the Masters and Generals.'
GillespieTr. 9415'Masters and Generals normally
purchased from the company.'
GillespieTr. 9419'Master buys from Holiday Magic.'
(d) Stipulation of Counsel at Tr. 2623:
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: They will stipulate with you that masters
and generals purchased their product from Holiday Magic; am I
correct?
MR. WOLFSON: Yes, Judge * * *
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: Mr. Mitchell, do you stipulate to that?
MR. MITCHELL: Sure, Your Honor.
(e) Statements in movie, Manuals, Bulletins:
(1) Physical Exhibit BMovie 'Formula for Happy Living'
at Tr. 9807:
By the end of your third month with Holiday Magic, you will be
pleased to discover that your first five outlets have reached
the volume of $9,000 each and, as you have done, they, too, become
Master Distributors. At this point, they begin to purchase directly
from the company.
Although you are no longer required to service them with product
and they no longer need your service or your help, you begin to
receive 2 percent of their volume.
(2) CX 77G:
Once a distributor reaches a volume of $5,000 in any one calendar
month, he remains at 55%. He is then classified as a master distributor
and will buy directly from the company.
(3) CX 78Z1314 describes the 'ordering procedure for Master
and General distributors.' No differences appear for the two artificially
named echelons.
(4) At CX 78Z14:
NOTE: Masters and Generals deal directly with the Home Office,
ordering in case lots only.
(5) CX 78T states as follows: General Distributor 'Can work wholesale
or retail of both as he desires. Does not supply his Masters with
product.' While a Master Distributor 'Buys product directly from
factory to supply his Organizers and Holiday Girls.'
(6) The Corporate Team in the person of Mark Evans also stated
at CX 85E: The position above the Organizer is that of the Master
Distributor who works at 55% discount and purchases his merchandise
directly from the factory.
(7) See also CX 106AK, entitled 'Masters and Generals Procedure
Handbook,' dated Jan. 1968. The booklet shows that Masters and
Generals are treated exactly alike in ordering and dealing with
respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. CX 106H and CX 1061 show the same
order forms used by both 'echelons.' At CX 106C: 'Only Master
and General Distributor's orders should be submitted to Holiday
Magic. All other distributors purchase through their sponsor.
* * * Masters and Generals order from Holiday Magic in case lots
only.'
(8) CX 78Z56:
When your Direct Distributors become Master Distributors, you
are no longer required to service them with products. They buy
directly from the Company * * *
(9) CX 1351 is a letter from Holiday Magic to Master Distributor
Crosby, dated Sept. 24, 1968:
As a Master Distributor you are going to be placing orders with
our Distributor Accounting Department. Our utmost concern is processing
all your orders quickly and efficiently.
Your distributor identification number * * * is permanent. Please
use it in all correspondence and, above all, on each and every
order.
Please don't forget to sign each of your orders.
An unsigned order or personal check will be returned to you, thereby
delaying your order. (Same letter CX 1376A, CX 1390, CX 1443 (2/20/70)).
(10) CX 1382A, B at B: Holiday Magic letter to distributor on
request for transfer to another General:
Since you are a Master distributor, you deal directly with the
company. You promote your own programs, and you service the interests
of those in your organization. If you do not belong to a council,
we suggest you join a council in your area. This action would
keep you in the center of business and promotional activities.
(11) CX 1FWandAug. 1965: Jan Gillespie
saysthis office must have two (2) copies of all orders
from Master and General Distributors.
(12) CX 28CWandNov.Dec. 1967:
Distributors will receive an updated statement of account with
each order processed with our present new system * * *
(13) CX 28KWandNov.Dec. 1967:
Central Filing maintains master and general distributors' files,
which contain all correspondence and orders for each distributor.
(14) CX 79Z14:
After it is assigned, the Master Identification Number must be
correctly entered on all orders. Our files, bookkeeping, and shipping
orders all require this number.
(15) See also Tr. 3096; Tr. 3442, CX 1896AZ3, Tr. 2887;
CX 1880LP, Tr. 4074, CX 1911AF, CX 192ZAC, CX
1928ZK, CX 1931B.
434. Master and General Distributors use the same order forms,
employ the same ordering procedures, and receive the same account
statements from Holiday Magic on their orders:
(a) CX 79Z21Z25: Chapter entitled 'PROCESSING OF MASTERS'
AND GENERALS' ORDERS.' There are no distinctions made between
Masters and Generals.
(b) CX 79Z15: Master and General Distributor Order Form. Note
that the identification number referred to is the Master Identification
Number, and not the General Identification Number. At the bottom
'Masters order case lots. Retail Distributors may order unit lots.'
(c) Distributor order forms for both Masters and Generals appear
in the record at CX 411, 412, 414, 416. Masters and Generals order
on the same forms, but at the different prices and discounts indicated.
(d) CX 106J: This is the account for both Masters and Generals.
Column 7 showing percent retail paid, in this case 45 percent
reflects a Master order (see CX 106EF) wherein this 'DATA
PROCESSING INVOICE' is explained. At No. 7, it reads:
Discount rate. Figures shown represent the percentage of the retail
cost you are paying: i.e., 100% in this column indicates a no
discount item. 45% in this column means you are paying 45% of
the retail price, or 55% Masters' discount, etc.
435. Master Distributors do not order from or through an account
of a General Distributor; they had their own accounts, and General
Distributors receive copies of the Master's account orders along
with a 10 percent override.
(a) Cf. CX 2053AM; CX 2054AL.
(b) CX 78'0': 10 percent override. This is the override that a
General Distributor receives on his Masters' purchases. He receives
this check monthly directly from the Home Office together with
a copy of that Master's official monthly purchase record. He receives
this override until the day that his Master becomes a General
Distributor.
(NOTE: What need would there be for a copy of the Master's monthly
purchase record if the Master really ordered through the General's
account?)
436. Merchandise which is on 'back order' is shipped automatically
when in stock (CX 19H; CX 78Z21).
437. General Distributors do not maintain inventory sufficient
for Master Distributors. They sell only to Holiday Girls and Organizers,
and the CRS or CDC provides for inventories at $4,000 per Master
and General (see Part XXX).
438. Master distributors purchase at a price which is 45 percent
of the retail list price (55 percent discount off list) and Generals
purchase at a price which is 35 percent of the retail list price
(65 percent off list) (Tr. 6176; CX 2063CX 2113 and all
supporting documents).
439. General distributors receive a price discount which is a
22.2 percent discount off the selling price to Master Distributors.
(General pays 35 cents on the dollar, Master pays 45 cents on
the dollar for the equivalent products. Difference of 10 cents;
10/45 = 22.2 percent discount from Masters' cost.)
440. Master Distributors buy at a price which is 28.6 percent
greater than the selling price to the General Distributors.
(General pays 35 cents on the dollar, Master pays 45 cents for
the equivalent products; difference of 10 cents; 10/35 = 28.6
percent of General's cost.)
441. Master and General Distributors are at the same functional
levels of distribution.
(a) Masters and Generals sell at wholesale to Organizers and Holiday
Girls: (Tr. 2452; Tr. 2318; Tr. 28032804; Tr. 2949; Tr.
3138; Tr. 3311; Tr. 4641; Tr. 2515; Tr. 4080; CX 2078AB;
CX 2079AC; CX 2080AC.)
(b) Masters and Generals sell at retail to the consuming public.
(Tr. 2518 2519; Tr. 2810; Tr. 3077; Tr. 3236; Tr. 3458;
Tr. 3151; Tr. 3004; Tr. 3314; Tr. 5480; Tr. 5097; Tr. 4969; Tr.
5114; Tr. 7973; Tr. 8594; Tr. 5254; Tr. 4639; Tr. 78387939;
Tr. 4481).
(c) Masters and Generals have their Organizers and Holiday Girls
trained at the Holiday Magic councils, to which they pay dues.
(Tr. 25202521; Tr. 2552; Tr. 41184119; Tr. 43124313;
Tr. 4390; Tr. 4392; Tr. 5092).
(d) Masters and Generals maintain their individual inventories,
either at their own place of business or at CDC or CRS locations,
at which they pay dues. (Tr. 4378; Tr. 45004501; Tr. 4510;
Tr. 4699; CX 2009A; CX 2007; CX 2022; Tr. 5279; CX 2062; Tr. 25252526).
(e) General distributors testified that they performed the same
function as General distributors that they did as Master distributors.
(Tr. 9910, 9830 Gay; Tr. 2887Rothman;
Tr. 43104311Aldridge).
(f) Holiday Magic Masters' and Generals' manuals (CX 104, CX 112,
CX 100, CX 109 and CX 110) indicate the functional characteristics
and sameness for Masters and Generals.
(g) Holiday Magic provides the same manuals for Masters and Generals.
(See CX 78F; CX 79F).
The purpose of this [Masters' and Generals'] manual is to provide
Masters and Generals with procedures and techniques which will
save time, experimentation, and expensive errors. Holiday Magic,
Inc. expects each Master and General to be thoroughly knowledgeable
in the methods used to build and sustain an effective Holiday
Magic Cosmetic Program.
(h) See CX 368A: 'Generals, Masters and Organizers are all trained
to do the same thing. They're all Organizers.' And CX 76Z3Z4:
'The most important principle that an Organizer must remember
isthat the immediate delivery of product is necessary.
Failure to have an adequate amount of products on hand to service
your organization will result in organizational stagnation. There
is no short cut to immediate delivery.' And CX 33HWand
5/68 : 'Masters, Generals and Organizers supervise their Holiday
Girls.'
(i) Sponsor trains his new distributors, not the General who is
getting an override on the Sponsor's purchases.
(1) CX 104B: '* * * it must be remembered that the Sponsor [of]
a new distributor is still primarily responsible to the new Distributor,
and this responsibility is never delegated to others, regardless
of geographical consideration.'
(2) At CX 104MO, the definition of Sponsor includes Generals,
Masters and Organizers.
442. General distributors engage in their wholesale business activities
in the metropolitan areascity and surrounding suburbsof
the city or suburb in which they live. Cf. ChicagoTr.
41644165; Tr. 4495; Tr. 4638; Tr. 5116; Tr. 7838; Tr. 79857986;
MilwaukeeTr. 4791; Tr. 4810; Tr. 49554956; Tr.
5215; 5217; Tr. 46974698; MiamiTr. 3366; Tr.
2891; Tr. 3144; 3147; Tr. 2752; Tr. 2550; Tr. 3033.
443. Other Master and General distributors testified that they
engaged in wholesale business activities from a radius of substantial
numbers of miles from the cities in which they lived. Cf. (Tr.
52165217 (Schmidt50 miles), Tr. 4811 (Lipscomb20
miles), Tr. 50285029, 5052 (Boellen25
miles), Tr. 49554956 (Belton10 miles), Tr. 4698
(Andert40 miles), Tr. 4292 (Shumaker 510
miles), Tr. 4658 (Bong50 miles), Tr. 5116 (Hines6
miles)).
444. Master Distributors engage in their Holiday Magic wholesale
business activities in the metropolitan areascity
and surrounding suburbsof the city or suburb in which
they live. (FloridaTr. 2451 (Muff), Tr. 2810 (Sedler),
Tr. 2604, 2608 (Izzard), Tr. 3449 (Sutliff); ChicagoTr.
4116 (Hines), Tr. 4535 (Dobrenik), Tr. 4310 (Aldridge), Tr. 4372
(Vanadia), Tr. 7972 (Cylkowski), Tr. 7983 (Bosan), Tr. 4194 (Faktor);
MilwaukeeTr. 5478, 5481 (Prah), Tr. 4997 4998
(Fischer), Tr. 5097 (Janssen)).
445. General distributors testified that they engaged in their
wholesale and/or retail business areas in the same geographic
or market area as General distributors as they had done when they
were Master distributors. (Milwaukee Tr. 52165217
(Schmidt); Tr. 5025, 5038, 5052 (Roehlein), Tr. 4991 (Toepfer);
ChicagoTr. 4496 (Justen), FloridaTr. 2885,
2888, 2891 (Rothman)).
446. Holiday Magic, Inc. makes available and sells its entire
line of Holiday Magic products to Master Distributors and General
Distributors: (See Finding 7, also CX 79Z21Z25, CX 411,
412, 414, 416, CX 79Z15, Tr. 2580 (Frank)).
447. Master and General Distributors engaged in direct wholesale
sales activities (sales to Holiday Girls, Organizers and retail
stores) in the same geographic areas.
See attached charts following finding 449 under column entitled
'wholesale' for Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee. For each city, there
is a separate chart for Master and General Distributors. Those
who operated at the wholesale level are indicated by the areas
listed under the column entitled 'wholesale,' which show where
they conducted their recruiting activities and where their respective
Holiday Girls and Organizers sold. Compare the areas under the
column entitled 'wholesale' for Generals with those under the
column entitled 'wholesale' for Masters.
448. Master and General Distributors engage in direct retail sales
activities to members of the consuming public in the same geographic
areas.
See the same attached charts under the column entitled 'retail'
for Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee. Compare the areas under that
column for Masters with those areas listed under that column for
Generals following finding 449.
449. Masters, Generals, Organizers and Holiday Girls engage in
direct retail sales activities to members of the consuming public
in the same geographic areas.
See the same attached charts for Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee.
See also the areas in the charts for both Masters and Generals
under the columns entitled 'wholesale' which show where Holiday
Girls and Organizers sold and compare those areas with the areas
listed under the columns entitled 'Retail' which show where Masters
and Generals retailed.
Charts for Masters and Generals, separately, indicating where
they conducted their wholesale and retail activities in the MiamiDade
County area, their addresses, the periods of time that they were
active as Masters and Generals, and the numbers of Holiday Girls
and Organizers that they had selling in their organizations during
the period 5/66 to 7/68 , are as follows:
MIAMIDATE COUNTY AREA
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Charts for Masters and Generals, separately indicating where they
conducted their wholesale and retail activities in the Milwaukee
Metropolitan area, their addresses, the periods of time that they
were active as Masters and Generals, and the number of Holiday
Girls and Organizers that they had selling in their organization
during the period 3/70 1/18/71, are as follows:
METROPOLITAN MILWAUKEE AREA
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Charts for Masters and Generals, separately, indicating where
they conducted their wholesale and retail activities in the Chicago
Metropolitan area, their addresses, the periods of time that they
were active as Masters and Generals, and the numbers of Holiday
Girls and Organizers that they had selling in their organizations
during the period 6/68 to 12/70 , are as follows:
CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
450. Holiday Magic, Inc., sells the same products contemporaneously
to Master and General distributors who are engaged in their business
activities in the same market areas. (For contemporaneous salessee
charts immediately following Finding number 451).
Miami(same products)
MastersCX 2066 (Porst), CX 2067 (Muff), CX 2069AB
(Eversole), CX 2065A (Sutliff), CX 2063B (Izzard), Tr. 299 (Yanaros)
GeneralsCX 2064B (Braddock), CX 2069AB (Eversole),
Tr. 3363 (Dudley), Tr. 2305 (Fechtel), Tr. 2580 (Frank)
Chicago(same products)
MastersCX 2105 (Faktor), CX 2085 (Wegner), CX 2092
(Vanadia), CX 2098 (Shumaker), CX 2110 (Aldridge), CX 2072B (Justen),
CX 2107 (Bong), CX 2102 (Catanese), CX 2094 (Dobrenik)
GeneralsCX 2072B (Justen), CX 2110 (Aldridge), CX
2088, CX 2089B, CX 2090B (Mally), CX 2102 (Catanese), CX 2107
(Bong), CX 2094 (Dobrenik)
Milwaukee(same products)
MastersCX 2075B (Cederbaum), CX 2071B (Prah), CX 2077
(Boehlein)
GeneralsCX 2078B (Boehlein), CX 21142115 (Schmidt),
CX 2119CD (Andert)
451. OrganizerJoan Maiorano purchased at a 30 percent discount
products that were the same as those purchased from Holiday Magic
by Masters and Generals in Milwaukee (CX 2081AC). She purchased
these products indirectly from Holiday Magic through her sponsoring
General's account at C.D.C. in Milwaukee. (See Sections VIIA and
XXVI under Price Discrimination for indirect purchaser), CX 2081A,
Tr. 5175, 5022. This witness retailed Holiday Magic products in
the Milwaukee area in St. Francis and south side of Milwaukee
(Tr. 5180, 5181). She also wholesaled Holiday Magic products through
her Holiday Girls and Organizers in south side of Milwaukee, Cudahy
and in St. Francis (Tr. 5180). She was active in both the wholesale
and retail sale of Holiday Magic products in the period 4/70 to
10/70 (CX 2081A). Her expenses in selling Holiday Magic products
were similar to those of Masters and Generals selling Holiday
Magic products in the Milwaukee areas (Tr. 5182).
MIAMIDADE COUNTY AREA
Charts for selected Masters and Generals indicating a minimum
of their dollar amount of purchases from Holiday Magic, Inc. while
they were active as Masters and Generals in the MiamiDade
County area during the period 6/66 to 1/68.
The following Masters purchased at a minimum the dollar amounts
of Holiday Magic products indicated below at Holiday Magic retail
value from Holiday Magic at 55 percent discount:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
FN* Witness' buyin portion (Tr. 2439).
FN** Witness' workin portion. For information on workin/buyin
master, see Part VIIIsub. C.
FN*** An individual may become either a 'workin' master
or a 'workin/buyin' master by purchasing $5,000 of
Holiday Magic products at Holiday Magic retail value in any one
given month at a 55 percent discount. He may also become a 'buyin'
master by purchasing $5,000 of Holiday Magic products at a 55
percent discount. (See CX 79H, CX 79AZ98; Tr. 2542, 2999,
9574, 95919592; see also Part VII, subsection C).
MIAMIDADE COUNTY AREA
The following Generals purchased at a minimum the dollar amounts
of Holiday Magic products indicated below at Holiday Magic retail
value from Holiday Magic at a 65 percent discount during the period
6/66 1/68.
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA
Charts for selected Masters and Generals indicating a minimum
of their dollar amount of purchases from Holiday Magic, Inc. while
they were active as Masters and Generals in the Chicago Metropolitan
area during the period 6/68 12/70 are hereinafter set forth
and explained.
The following Masters purchased at a minimum the amounts of Holiday
Magic product indicated below at Holiday Magic retail value from
Holiday Magic at 55 percent discount:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
FN* An individual may become either a 'workin' master or
a 'workin/buyin' master by purchasing $5,000 of Holiday
Magic product at Holiday Magic retail value in any one given month
at a 55 percent discount. He may also become a 'buyin' master
by purchasing $5,000 of Holiday Magic product at a 55 percent
discount. (See CX 79H, CX 79AZ98; Tr. 2542, 2999, 9574,
95919592; see also Part VII, subsection C).
CHICAGO METROPOLITAN AREA
The following Generals purchased at a minimum the amounts of Holiday
Magic product indicated below at Holiday Magic retail value from
Holiday Magic at a 65 percent discount during the period 6/68
12/70:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
MILWAUKEE METROPOLITAN AREA
Charts for selected Masters and Generals indicating a minimum
of their dollar amount of purchases from Holiday Magic, Inc. while
they were active as Masters and Generals in the Milwaukee Metropolitan
area during the period 3/70 1/18/71 are hereinafter set
forth and explained.
The following Masters purchased at a minimum the amounts of Holiday
Magic product indicated below at Holiday Magic retail value from
Holiday Magic at a 55 percent discount:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
FN* An individual may become either a 'workin' master or
a 'workin/buyin' master by purchasing $5,000 of Holiday
Magic product at Holiday Magic retail value in any one given month
at a 55 percent discount. He may also become a 'buyin' master
by purchasing $5,000 of Holiday Magic product at a 55 percent
discount (see CX 79H, CX 79AZ98; Tr. 2542, 2999, 9574, 95919592;
see also Part VII, subsection C).
MILWAUKEE METROPOLITAN AREA
The following Generals purchased at a minimum the amounts of Holiday
Magic product indicated below at Holiday Magic retail value from
Holiday Magic at a 65 percent discount during the period 3/70
1/18/71:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
452. Master Distributors have the same or similar expenses as
do General Distributors in connection with their Holiday Magic
distributorships.
MiamiExpenses which both Masters and Generals have
in common in the Miami Dade County area are telephone, advertising,
automobile, council dues, bank charges, travel expenses, freight,
sales aids, taxes and licenses, and office supplies as shown by
their profit and loss statements.
MastersCX 1902AB (Sutliff); CX 1847 (Muff);
CX 1875A (Porst); CX 1890 (Sharpe).
GeneralsCX 1847 (Muff); CX 1856C (Frank); CX 1892C
(Dudley).
ChicagoExpenses which both Masters and Generals have
in common in the Chicago Metropolitan area are office supplies,
telephone, advertising, auto, refunds to Holiday Girls and Organizers,
council dues, freight, bank charges, training, and sales aids
as shown by their profit and loss statements.
MastersCX 1973A (Vandervelde); CX 1926A (Catanese);
CX 1988 (Dobrenik); CX 1921 (Wegner); CX 1951AC (Shumaker);
CX 1930B (Faktor); CX 1936A (Aldridge).
GeneralsCX 1926B (Catanese); CX 1994B (Bong); CX 1989A
(Dobrenik); CX 1934B (Aldridge).
MilwaukeeExpenses which both Masters and Generals
have in common in the Milwaukee Metropolitan area are office supplies,
telephone, advertising and promotion, refunds to Holiday Girls
and Organizers, council dues, CRS or CDC dues, bank charges, travel
expenses, freight, sales aids, auto, entertainment and training
as shown by their profit and loss statements.
MastersCX 2014 (Toepfer); CX 2022 (Fischer); CX 2062
(Prah).
GeneralsCX 2028B (Belton); CX 2014 (Toepfer); CX 2005
(Lipscomb); CX 2007 (Cederbaum); CX 2002B (Andert).
453. The Holiday Magic wholesale and retail cosmetic business
is one which is characterized by low profit margins for Masters
and General Distributors.
See individual charts immediately following for Miami, Chicago
and Milwaukee. On each chart, low or negative profit margins are
shown for Masters and Generals from whom profit and loss statements
were taken. On the bottom of each of the three charts is a table
indicating when Distributor was active as a Master and as a General.
Holiday MagicD. 8834
A Tabulation of Profit and Loss Statements Taken From Federal
Tax Returns of
Individuals Trading in Holiday Magic Products in the Miami Area
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
454. Holiday Magic Master and General Distributors for the most
part sell their products to their Holiday Girls and Organizers
at 30 percent discount from list price. (See VIIA, B; Tr. 2452,
2753, 2804, 2919, 3311).
455. Since Master Distributors pay 45 percent of the list price
for the products they buy from Holiday Magic, and sell at 70 percent
of the same list price at wholesale to their Holiday Girls and
Organizers, their gross income on the wholesale sale of Holiday
Magic products, before expenses, is 25 percent of list price.
(70 percent received less 45 percent paid equals 25 percent gross
income.)
456. Since General Distributors pay 35 percent of the list price
for the products they buy from Holiday Magic, and sell at the
same 70 percent discount to Organizers and Holiday Girls at wholesale,
their gross income on the wholesale sale of Holiday Magic products,
before expenses, is 35 percent of list price.
(70 percent received less 35 percent paid equals 35 percent gross
income.)
457. Since General Distributors enjoy a 35 percent of list price
gross income on the wholesale sale of cosmetics and Master Distributors
have only a 25 percent gross income on their wholesale sales of
cosmetics, Generals as a practical matter have a 40 percent greater
gross income than do their Master Distributor counterparts, on
equivalent volumes of merchandise sold at wholesale.
(35% 25% = 10 difference; 10%/25% = 40%)
458. The 22.2 percent discount at which Holiday Magic sells to
its General Distributors is not available to Master Distributors
(Tr. 2529, 2308, 2579, 2745, 2911).
459. Master Distributors may qualify for the General's discount
and General position only by meeting the conditions of paying
a release fee of from $2,500 to $4,500 and by recruiting and sponsoring
a potential competitor as a Replacement Master (see VII D).
460. No cost justification defense was interposed or offered by
respondents with respect to the favored buying status of the General
Distributor.
461. The 10 percent override payment by Holiday Magic, Inc. to
those General Distributors who recruited or sponsored Master Distributors,
or who were given Replacement Master Distributors, is a payment
to the General Distributor of the extent to which the nonfavored
Master Distributor is disfavored by his own direct purchaser,
and thereby compounds the price discrimination to Master Distributors.
The 10 percent override is thereby inexorably linked to the sale
of products to nonfavored customers (see Part XIII).
462. The 10 percent override payment to General Distributors is
an indirect price discrimination in the 'net' price of products
sold to Masters and Generals (see Part XIII).
463. There is no cost justification or other evidence sufficient
to establish that the said overrides were for services incident
thereto.
464. (a) Respondents do not know which distributors are active
and which are inactive (Tr. 3892). At best, they can ascertain
the date of last purchase of product from Holiday Magic (Tr. 9699,
9742) or what its turnover is (Coultas Tr. 9760).
(b) No reports are filed or required to be filed either by Masters
or Generals in connection with any services allegedly performed
(AlexanderTr. 9633, 5666 67), nor do records of any
kind exist to reflect the number of hours worked by a distributor
(AlexanderTr. 5666) or a distributor's sales on down through
his organization (AlexanderTr. 5667).
(c) Respondents take no action when informed that General Distributors
are not in contact with Master Distributors over whom they received
the 10 percent override (see Part XLII).
(See testimony of Mary Guard at Tr. 1047810487.)
(d) General Distributors who have no Master Distributors over
whom they can enjoy an override get favored purchasing status
as a General (LipscombTr. 4814).
(e) Masters and Generals receive the same business training from
Holiday Magic, Inc. (see XXVII and XXVIII). ,$t(f) It is the 'sponsor'
who is responsible for the training of the new distributorwhether
the sponsor be a General, Master or Organizer (CX 104B, MO).
For this reason, Organizers also attend Instructor General School
(CX 137A, CX 163B, CX 156B, CX 49H, CX 65C, CX 146G, CX 165H,
CX 505B, CX 36D.)
465. General Distributors receiving the 10 percent override are
as follows: CX 2076, CX 2116, CX 2117, CX 2074, CX 2109, CX 2113.
466. Holiday Magic Distributors at all levels, i.e., General,
Master, Organizer and Holiday Girl, retail products directly to
the consumer:
CX 91Z82 (Instructor Manual):
I am sure that some of you ladies and gentlemen here longest may
be Organizers, Masters and even General Distributors. However,
remember that everyone in Holiday Magic retails product and must
learn from the viewpoint of a Holiday Girl.
CX 91Z89: 'Holiday Girl' Definition:
Any lady that sells Holiday Magic cosmetics. She could be a Retailer,
Organizer, Master or General Distributor. She could be selling
on routes, beauty salons or seminars. She could be full time or
part time.
CX 40CWand 12/68:
Approximately 50% of all Holiday Magic distributors are men and
they might be more comfortable selling home care products than
cosmetics.
CX 152NFamily News10/17/69:
We'd like all Holiday Girls to become General Distributors so
that they can receive a 65% commission on every sale and buy their
own cosmetics who leasle. Andeach time you advance
a Holiday Girl to the General position, you earn at least $4,099.
Think about it!
467. Holiday Girls and Organizers purchase their products directly
from their Masters or Generals, but are indirect purchasers of
Holiday Magic, Inc. with a purchasing price of 30 percent discount
off retail price; see VII A; also Tr. 2435, 2450.
468. Since Masters and Generals buy the same products from Holiday
Magic, Inc., and since Organizers and Holiday Girls must obtain
their products directly from Masters and Generals, Holiday Girls
and Organizers purchase the same products in directly from Holiday
Magic, Inc. from the Masters and Generals from whom they buy directly.
MilwaukeeCX 2081BC (Macorano), CX 2078AB
(Boehlein's sales to Holiday Girls or Organizers)
For illustration of where Masters and Generals sold at wholesale
to Holiday Girls, Organizers and retail outlets and at retail,
in the Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee areas, see the attached maps.
For each area, there are three maps. One entitled 'Wholesale,'
a second entitled 'Retail' and a third entitled 'Residences/Places
of Business.'
The map entitled 'Wholesale' shows where the Holiday Girls, Organizers
and retail outlets of Masters and Generals sold. The map entitled
'Retail' shows where the Masters and Generals themselves retailed
directly to the consumer. The third map entitled 'Residences/Places
of Business' shows where the Masters and Generals lived and/or
had their places of business, from which they conducted their
Holiday Magic activities. The Miami area maps are designated A
1, A2, and A3, the Chicago area maps are designated
B1, B2 and B3 and the Milwaukee area maps are
designated C1, C2 and C3. A1, B1,
and C1 are the 'Wholesale maps' for the Miami, Chicago and
Milwaukee areas, respectively; A2, B2, and C2
are the 'Retail' maps for the Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee areas,
respectively; and A3, B3 and C3 are the 'Residences/Places
of Businesses' for the Miami, Chicago and Milwaukee areas, respectively.
For each market area, by comparing the map entitled 'Wholesale'
with the map entitled 'Retail,' it can be seen that Holiday Girls
and Organizers retail in the same areas as do Masters and Generals.
For example, for Miami, compare map 'A1' with map 'A2.'
On each map there is a table which lists the Masters and Generals
and the time periods in which each actively pursued his distributorship,
either as a Master or as a General. Immediately opposite the name
of each Master and General is a symbol, such as G1, G2,
etc., for each General and M1, M2 etc., for each Master.
These symbols appear again in the specific geographic areas in
which a particular Master or General conducted his Holiday Magic
sales activities. Radial arcs and lines engulfing entire areas
also designate the geographic areas of business conduct of the
distributors so designated.
The geographic area charts also show the specific areas in which
Masters and Generals conducted their wholesale and retail activities.
On the Milwaukee maps (C1, C2 and C3), the wholesale
and retail activities of Organizer Joan Mariano (O1) depict
in similar fashion her wholesale and retail sales activities.
A1 through A3
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
B1, B2
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
C1 through C3
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
XLVII. Holiday Magic's Lack of Information
469. Holiday Magic, Inc. claims it does not know what the turnover
ratio is of its Holiday Girls (CoultasTr. 9758).
470. Holiday Magic, Inc. does not know if it has a greater or
lesser turnover than the Avon Company (CoultasTr. 9759).
471. Holiday Magic, Inc. has no record of the turnover of its
Master Distributors and General Distributors (CoultasTr.
8760).
472. Al Pangerl, president of Holiday Magic, Inc., and the number
one producer for three years, never heard of a single Master Distributor
who earned $72,000 a year, as represented to be reasonable in
the Opportunity Meeting scripts (PangerlTr. 9613).
473. Al Pangerl, president of Holiday Magic, inc., and the number
one producer for three years, never heard of a single General
Distributor, including himself, who made $49,000 a year by attending
one Opportunity Meeting a month, represented as being reasonable
in the Holiday Magic Opportunity Meetings (PangerlTr. 9615).
474. General Distributors do not report to Holiday Magic, Inc.
on the inventoryof product that actually reaches the consumer
(PangerlTr. 9633).
475. Holiday Magic, Inc. never informed its distributors at what
levels sales had to be or in what amounts consumer purchases should
be in relation to purchases (PangerlTr. 9635).
476. Holiday Magic's secretary and comptroller doesn't know the
relation of inventory to deposits on future sales of Holiday Magic
(LipskaTr. 10410).
477. Holiday Magic, Inc. doesn't know the effect of the advertising
that they do (LipskaTr. 10396).
478. Holiday Magic, Inc. has no way of determining whether Generals
are working with the Masters over whom they receive the 10 percent
override (Guard Tr. 1047810487; AlexanderTr.
55305531).
479. Holiday Magic, Inc. doesn't know what percentage of its business
is to Master Distributors and what percentage of its business
is to General Distributors (LipskaTr. 9257).
480. Holiday Magic, Inc. and its vice president of sales do not
know how many active Holiday Girls or Masters there are in the
country (HabuaryTr. 6106).
481. Holiday Magic, Inc. doesn't know what percentage of its override
payments are at the 10 percent and the 1 percent levels (Tr. 9258).
482. Holiday Magic, Inc. doesn't know and keeps no records of
the retail sales of its products at the consumer level (Tr. 1028110282,
10396).
XLVIII. Holiday Magic's Program in OperationExamples
of Exploitation and
Deception
483. Hereinafter set forth are excerpts of the testimony of four
distributor witnesses with regard to the specific methods used
to induce participation in the Holiday Magic program. Regardless
of whether the approach is uniformly typical in every instance,
the entire operation of the program as heretofore found is conducive
to this approach of exploitation and deception for which respondents
cannot avoid direct or indirect responsibility.
Marvin McKinnon (Tr. 40554069):
So I walked in there and I sat down. This man bounced up on the
stage and he started to talk about how to introduce yourself to
people, and in introducing you into the program, and how to make
money.
* * * So anyway, he spoke for a long time, like an hour and a
half or so and then they had a break and the second half was a
different man.
* * * And then this guy he gave all the ways of making the money.
The first guy gave a talk about the company, and the second guy
gave the spiel on making the money. Then I was enlightened as
to what I was seeing. I was seeing a cosmetic company and how
to make money.
* * * On the way home, naturally, I just couldn't help saying,
'Jesus, it looks unreal. How can it be possible? Gee, if a guy
could just make half that. It really looks easy.'
* * * We went back to the meeting with four other guys. We bounced
into the room and we hit the lights and on comes this movie about
this man Patrick, and the success, it is there for you, and gee,
it was unbelievable.
So then they got this guy up there, Tony Milano, he grabs a piece
of chalk, he goes bouncing up on the stage, he says, 'Now, I am
going to show you how to make money.' He gets up there and puts
a bunch of circles up there. He says, 'This is you,' and he looks
right at me.
* * * I peddled milk up and down the streets with him. He said
this is my bag, he is talking right to me. After he gets done
I see where I can make a hundred thousand dollars a year. I see
Tony, he must be making it to give up his milk route.
* * * After the meeting was over, you know, I just admired that
guy. I walked up to him out in the hall. I said, 'Tony, I didn't
think you could do it. How did you learn all of that?' He says,
'It just comes to you naturally after you learn it.' I said, 'Boy,
I'd like to be able to do that.' He says, 'You can.'
* * * so he says, 'Are you going to come into the program?' I
said, 'If it is anything what it looks like, how can I stay away?'
I said, 'Jeez, it looks great.'
* * * I said, 'Yes, I am going to come into the program.' He says,
'Come in under me.' I said, 'I am going to be in a bind here.
Ethically, to be real couth about it, I should come in under the
guy that brought me down.' He said, 'Well, do what you want. I
can do you a hell of a lot more good than he can do you. I have
been in it for four years.'
* * * I gave him the 2,500 bucks and the next day I get a phone
call. He said, 'Mac, how would you like to be a general distributor?'
So I am naive about this whole program. All I can see is a whole
lot of money. So he says to me, 'How would you like to be a general
distributor?' I said, 'Jeez, Tony, I didn't think you thought
that much of me,' because I knew if you got to be a general you
had it made. He said, 'Yes, all you got to do is bring in another
2,500 bucks.' I said, 'Jeez, how in the hell am I going to do
it?' He said, 'Don't worry about that. You will get your money
back in a short while.' I said, 'Oh, boy, I don't know how I can
cut that.' 'Get the 2,500 bucks, come down, I will make you a
general.'
Q. Did you give the second 2,500 to Tony Milano?
A. Right.
Q. Did you become a general distributor?
A. Right then and there. I was a general. As far as I was concerned,
I was a general.
He went downstairs, he punched out my name on a little round HM
bag. I got it at home yet. I paid 5,000 bucks for that baby, made
out of plastic.
Ronald McCauley (Tr. 38963981):
When he approached me, he asked me how I was doing. I told him
I was doing fine. He said he had a great opportunity and would
like me to come to an opportunity meeting where I could make fabulous
sums of money in a wholesale franchise business, and I told him
that I am not interested in a franchise business at the time.
So the following weekend he approached me again and said that
the company he was affiliated with, Holiday Magic, it's a chemical
company, and they deal in wholesale distributorships in cosmetics.
* * * I went to the Holiday Magic council, * * * in Southland,
Michigan. I went to the basement of the Chrysler Financial Building
where they had set up an opportunity room, and they had a cosmetic
room and a cafeteria, and on the second floor they had the council
offices. When I went to the opportunity meeting, there was a lot
of commotion around the door to get into the room and a large
table where you had to register. Then after you registered you
were asked to go into the room. I went into the room where I would
estimate there was maybe 200, 300 people there.
There were Holiday Magic banners which were hung from the walls
and a picture of William Penn Patrick * * * [The banners said]
Holiday Magic Cosmetics and welcome to Holiday Magic. These were
also displayed in the opportunity room.
I was inside the room, and I was seated along with Tom Henderson
at my side. The room was quite crowded, and people were standing.
At the time I didn't know the gentleman, but it turned out to
be Lance Manning, who was assistant to Paul Schultz, the director
of the council, got up and asked 'Will all generals and masters
leave the room so we have enough seats for our guests?' The generals
and masters got up and left the room, and then Lance got up again
and said, 'Would all organizers please leave the room for seats
for our guests?' At this time Tom Henderson said, 'You have to
excuse me. It's like this all the time. I have to leave. Stay
seated. When the opportunity meeting is over, I will come back.'
I remained seated, and shortly after a woman got up 23, 24 years
of ago. Her name was Kathy, I don't know her last name. She was
one of the local [Master] distributors at the council.
She used an attention getter like 'Hi, everybody.' 'Hi, my name
is Kathy. I am with Holiday Magic. What you are about to see tonight
is two films, one entitled The Holiday Magic Story' and the other
one is a film on the opportunity of coming into Holiday Magic.'
So she got off the podium, the lights went out, and the film started.
After the two films were over, she then got up and introduced
a gentleman by the name of Tony Milano, referred to as the poor
milkman. He had a milk route, went to Holiday Magic, and became
very successful in his attempts with Holiday Magic.
So he started his chalk talk on basics, the different financial
levels that you could buy into this Holiday Magic and the different
ways of recruiting people, like a Holiday Girl, organizer, or
bringing other masters in, then becoming a general, promoting
masters to generals, and your overriding commissions at the time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
After Tony Milano finished his talk, he said 'Thank you very much.
At this time I will turn you over to your sponsors.' The door
flew open, and they all came running into the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
I had to literally chase Tom Henderson around for about three
weeks just to get my [organizer] onepack.
Then after I got my one pack, he proceeded to ask me about becoming
a master distributor. I told him that I could do it by getting
loans and that, but presently I want to work as an organizer to
get my training, supposedly. So he sent me to these classes, business
training they called it, which was exactly the same things as
the film. It was a manual put out, step by step, on exactly what
this film was about, the four positions of Holiday Magic, the
financial levels.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
[a week later] we went back into the council in the basement again,
* * * We sat in at the opportunity meeting and related what we
learned over the weekend to the film and the different closing
techniques that the people were using in the room at that time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
As I stated before, we talked about the four levels of Holiday
Magic and the monies that were involved, how to make a diagram
properly, to use the closeout techniques, prices bold circle marks.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
The diagram is four levels of Holiday Magic starting with the
Holiday Girl, organizer
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
The technique of using a cloudtype of line around the cost
of the diagram had a psychological effect on the person so it
was told to me by Dale Manor and Paul Schultz, that it has a tendency
to draw away from the diagram and thus remove the cost away from
the person's mind where he will stay at the bold marks on the
paper.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Then in March, a date unkown, I did, in fact, meet the Sales Acceleration
team, Terry McVey, Kathy Francis, Larry Halt, and Bill Dempsey.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Kathy Francis came in, she talked to me. She said, 'Ron, I understand
that you want to become a Master.' I said, 'Yes.' She said 'I
know you will be very pleased, that you can do the job. The two
other fellows that you will meet are highly successful. They are
very dynamic, and you will enjoy the group.'
Kathy took me into another room, which was on the second floor
of the Chrysler Financial Building, the council itself, which
Larry Halt was in there. He told me to sit down, and the door
was shut behind me so Larry and I were in there by ourselves.
We proceeded to discuss the reason, first of all, why do I want
to become a master distributor. 'Because,' I told him, 'I was
not making great sums of money at an organizer level, and I wanted
to become a master where I could make large sums of money.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Mr. Halt said, 'I don't think you have got the guts to do it,'
quote, unquote, and I said, 'I believe I can do it.' I asked him,
'What makes you think that I can't? He said, 'If I tell you to
walk through this wall, would you do it?' I said, 'Why should
I?' He said because I done it, and for that reason you should
do it.
So he said, 'If I tell you its good, you will do it?' I said,
'All right, if this is the conclusion you drew from it,' because
I felt that he knew what he was talking about, and I didn't have
any knowledge of exactly what the Sales Acceleration team was
about. All I know is I had to pay attention.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Then he smiled, and he said, 'Fine, let's go see Bill Dempsey.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
I walked in and he said, 'Sit down' rather roughly. So I sat down.
* * * He said, 'You know, you have got to keep the image of Holiday
Magic up.' I said, 'I will do my best to keep the image of Holiday
Magic up.' He said, 'You have got to be enthusiastic at all times.'
I said, 'I will be enthusiastic at all times.' He said, 'The way
you dress, the car you drive, all reflect on Holiday Magic.' I
said, 'In what way do you mean?' He said, 'The suits that you
wear, exactly, the suit you are wearing here. Yes, look at the
suit you wear valued against what I wear.' I said, 'Yes, well,
what's wrong with this here?' He said, 'It's just not the image
of Holiday Magic,' the suit that I was wearing. He said, 'What
type of car are you driving?' I said, 'Well, I am driving a 1968
Bellaire, Chevrolet Bellaire.' He sort of made an expression with
his face as if to say, is that all, or it's pretty cheap. He said,
'What type of car would you like to own?' I said, 'I would like
to own a new 1969 Corvette, of course.' He said, 'Why don't you
go out and get one? With Holiday Magic, with all the dough you
make, you will be able to own any car that you want whether it
be a Cadillac or a Corvette.'
He said, 'Will you get that $2500?' I said, 'Yes, I will get the
$2,500 to become a Master.' He took two large stamps on his desk,
one said 'accepted' and one said 'rejected.' He took the 'accepted'
one and stamped this paper. Then I was asked to leave the room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
I went to Manufacturers Bank. They wouldn't give me the loan because
I had the other outstanding loan when I went organizer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
I will get the money within two or three days and have it over
to you.' They said, 'Make sure it is payable to Holiday Magic,
Inc., in a cashier's check.'
The question that was posed to me [by Dale Manor] is now that
you became a master, how soon do you think you could get your
$2,500 to go general. My reply was, 'As soon as I pay off my debts.'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
He stated that I could go out by asking my parents to mortgage
their home, cash in my life insurance policies, sell cars, sell
my car, dispose of any other properties that I may own, going
out and getting, contacting so many people, getting additional
money from them. These were the avenues that he suggested.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
My response was, again, I feel that I will not, I cannot do this
until I pay off the debts that I already owe.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Bill Dempsey and Fred Pape used the large sums of money approach
as a closing technique, as an example [in teaching how to close
prosects].
This is what they said. Carry large dollar bills in your pockets,
hundreds, fifties, and when you approach somebody, let's say,
on the street and you know them, you would take out your wallet,
like so (indicating), and you would have the money, say, in your
wallet with the large bills showing, and your business cards like
so (indicating), so it was readily available. He would pull out
his business cards and hand it to him and say, 'I am in the franchise
business. Why don't you give me a call?' By using this, it is
an attention getter, to quote what they said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
The other one is stopping your car in a, on the road and really
blocking traffic, as they would say, you see somebody on the curb,
again an attention getter, have them get into the car or something.
Getting a tape deck put into your car and put a sales orientation
tape in it. As you drive to the council meeting, you play this
and the person would hear it.
This is what they were talking about and how to overcome objections
or boomerang the question back or the suggestive nodding of the
head.
I told them that I couldn't even pay for the debts incurred now
to become a master, let alone get another $2,500 to go general.
They posed that old question, 'if your life depended on a $5,000
operation, would you, in fact, get this $5,000?' I said, 'Yes.'
They said, 'Then, believe me, your future depends on this. You
go out and get the $2,500 to go general.'
I met with them one week later. They gave me an alternative of
one week or I would be out of Holiday Magic.
Jane McCrory (Tr. 10801136):
During the month of August, 1965 opportunity meetings were being
presentat at the Eugene Hotel * * * There was a large blackboard.
There was a canned speech of the opportunity meeting presented.
There was a film presented. There was an opportunity to use the
makeup. And then there was a coffee time when we could sit
about a table * * * and * * * ask additional questions.
* * * All four positions of the Holiday Magic organization were
presented. A Holiday Girl was told and explained. That was the
lowest position of Holiday Magic. The Holiday Girl paid $31 for
her kit at that time and would earn a thirty per cent commission
for selling the cosmetic.
* * * The next position was the Organizer, that cost $60 and the
Organizer had the right to hire Holiday Girls to work under him.
If he had a good Holiday Girl and she was able to sell a lot of
cosmetics, he, of course, got a percentage of that.
The next line was the mastership and a master could hire both
organizers and Holiday Girls. The master also had a right to buy
directly from the company at a 55 percent discount.
We all wanted to become a general, then we could buy the cosmetics
at a 65% discount. The general, of course, bought directly from
the company, and they, in turn, got new masters, new organizers,
and new Holiday Girls. And the way that a person could make money
was by bringing in new masters and new generals, this was the
way. And to become a general, you had to replace yourself as a
master, you had to bring in a new master before you could become
a general.
This was the way I had hoped to become a wealthy woman. I never
wanted to retail cosmetics. I hoped that I could hire enough organizers
and other people under me that there would be enough turnover
in the cosmetic business that I would never have to retail it.
* * * In order to become a General, one had already, one was already
a master, they had already put $2,500 into the company. When they
wished to become a general, they had to obtain another master
to replace themselves. They had to put in an additional $2,500.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Q. How did you expect to make money?
A. Because of bringing in other masters and creating a line for
myself * * * You got a cut from everyone, you see, that was underneath
your own line * * * And those above me got a cut from everyone
who was under me also, so the top person was just always getting
money.
* * * I met Mr. Bailey several times * * * One thing in particular
that I remember that he did, there was a large group attending
this opportunity meeting * * * and I had taken several people,
and after Mr. Bailey got up and told what a wonderful opportunity
Holiday Magic was he pulled out a huge roll of currency out of
his pants' pocket and ended his speech this way, walking down
the aisle and stating, * * * 'If you people are contented to make
a average salary such as you are now when you can make money like
this,' and then showing this huge roll of bills, 'why, then be
that satisfied, but for me, I want to make this kind of money.'
So it was certainly, and I've never forgotten that, and I thought,
well, that's just about, well, what he was trying to say, well,
you're peons, and look at me, I am such a big person. I thought
it was disgusting and out of order and it was just one more little
thing that I disliked about Holiday Magic to have executives of
that type that would do such a trick.
* * * the cosmetic is very good, but the program was what interested
me. They had the idea that you could make money off of other people's
efforts, which at the time was very interesting. To me now it
is very morally wrong to make money in this way. I am ashamed
that I ever even thought of it in the first place or would allow
myself to do it, but at the time I would admit that I was as guilty
of it as anybody else. I thought it was a wonderful opportunity
to make a lot of money for myself, and I'd never do it again.
George Shephard (Tr. 19051950):
We had two or three meetings and created a lot of interest in
Eugene immediately, and Fred was there and gave, Fred Pape was
there and gave opportunity meetings, gave two or three, as I remember,
the first week. He came back to San Francisco and went back the
following week, I believe it was, when we became general distributors,
and we had two people who were going to master at that time. And
the way the program works, you have to replace yourself to be
a general distributor, and then the next one either goes to the
general or your general and keeps him. And I don't remember what
the percentages were, but it is beneficial to go general if you
are going to have an organization of any size.
* * * We brought Pearson in, the number one reason was to give
opportunity meetings, because I was associated in other business
with him. The way it wound up was that Pat would do the training
after we signed them up. Dave would give the opportunity meeting,
and I would work on signing him up. The only opportunity meetings
I ever gave was when I went out of town or was by myself, or was
put in a position where I had to give an opportunity meeting.
* * * We had opportunity meetings in Eugene, and we had, through
the direction of Mr. Pape, set up offices and opportunity meetings
at that Eugene hotel, and that's where we did all of our training
and our recruiting, our organizing, everything was done at the
Eugene Hotel. We had offices on the second floor, and we held
all of our meetings in the meeting rooms downstairs.
The people in the organization, on a whole, were not successful
in the program, and I could not go out and look these people in
the eye and keep trying to work with them because there were many
problems. They were not as successful as they thought they were
going to be, and we had lots of problems in Eugene with organizers
and Holiday Girls because of the size of our organization, and
we just had a lot of problems in our office.
Well, the first problem that came up immediately, and we kind
of ironed that out, but it became more of a problem when outsiders
would come into the territory, and I mean outsiders like if someone,
say, in Seattle came down and signed someone up in Eugene, and
we were not aware of it, then, first of all, we had problems immediately
with the beauty shops * * *
Say we had probably fifteen people at our first meeting, and by
the end of the week when we gave meetings, during the week, that
first week, say, we had twentyfive or thirty people in the
organization, and they were all out calling on the twentyfive
or thirty beauty shops, and we got complaints and calls from this,
and so we ironed this problem out right away and we deleted that
from our program, except they still read it in the book, but we
had other problems.
* * * A good example would be that a person by the name of Hackett
from San Francisco signed up some of his relatives up in Eugene,
and they went out and called on these beauty shops, like it says
you can, and then again these beauty shops called us and said,
'look, we told you not to call on us anymore,' not that some of
them weren't already taking the product, they just got tired of
all the different salesmen coming in, and then towards the end
we had at one time about a hundred and fortyfive organizers,
because there was that many at a training meeting that we had
at the Eugene Hotel, and we had a population of I think around
75,000 at that time, and we had problems recruiting because of
the amount of people. They would see this amount of people, and
I think this is the reason people like my brother went to Montreal,
and Dave Shulda, for instance, another example on that, Dave Shulda
and Dick Tarton, they would not master until they got all of their
affairs in shape, so they would go to Hartford, Connecticut.
Q. You mentioned you had 145 organizers. Do you know where these
organizers were operating?
A. Well, most of them were in the Eugene area. It was a training
meeting that we had in Eugene. I say organizers, that's the people
that were at that particular training session, it could be some
master distributors there, general distributors and organizers.
There were no Holiday girls there, as such.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
I was their general distributor, and I knew how much they were
buying, so I knew that they couldn't make a living at it, and
so many people are unable to recruit, well, some people can recruit
and some can't, but they looked at our organization, which was
big, and they thought we were very successful because of the way
we portrayed it, which after a while they thought was deceiving
and all of these things together just made it a bad situation
for me to go out and talk to somebody, because a lot of them were
my friends.
We set up our offices in the hotel, and we put on every air that
we could of being successful, which wasn't necessary, because
we were signing a lot of people and we were rotating a lot of
money, you see. And other people just were not capable, I only
knew, at that time, three or four other people in Holiday Magic
that had an organization that was turning that kind of money,
but yet you portrayed the idea that this was possible, which it
is possible.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Well, in six months, from March 1st to October 31st, our gross
sales or gross income was $52,000. The net on that figure was
sixty, and so what I am saying is we turned a lot of money, but
it didn't stick because of rent at the hotel that was almost eighteen
hundred dollars, for our offices alone, not including the rooms
downstairs.
HEARING EXAMINER BUTTLE: How many people did you have in your
organization?
THE WITNESS: About 45 masters and eight or nine generals. I am
not real sure.
CONCLUSIONS
I. Evidentiary and Legal Evaluation of the Inherent Nature of
the Marketing
Plan under Counts I and II.
The evidence established by complaint counsel and in accordance
with the findings herein, indicates conclusively that initially
and thereafter the respondent Holiday Magic's program emotionally
impressed and lured a substantial number of unsuspecting participants
into believing that efforts at unlimited recruiting of distributors
horizontally as well as vertically without regard to product market
flow to the consumer level consistent with the number of distributorships
would afford bountiful wealth if they were sufficiently inspired,
motivated and explicitly adhered to the tenets of the program
prescribed by Holiday Magic.
It was true that some participants, particularly after the lure
was moderated in a slight degree, subsequent to Federal Trade
Commission investigation, entered the program less ambitiously
either full or part time and were satisfied with a profit return
of less dimensions than appears to have been presented. Nevertheless,
this does not justify a marketing device similar to a lottery
inherently deceptive regardless of the satisfaction of some participants
with the representations and their results in the program participation.
Such satisfaction is not an issue. In fact Holiday Magic's unconscionable
program of motivation appears to have been geared to emotionally
stimulate and deceive many participants into believing they must
acquire a mental attitude of unquestioned adherence and satisfaction
with the socalled marketing plan. Some, as a result thereof
without apparent justification, testified they were satisfied
with their results in relation to the effort they expended. Others
recognized the deception because of their admitted failure and
testified to the contrary. It is apparent, therefore, that what
such witnesses testified to is less significant probatively than
a reasonable interpretation of every facet of the entire plan
in operation and representations made in its furtherance as documented.
This is perhaps a laborious method of evidentiary evaluation.
Of the most importance, however, is what the plan is and not how
witnesses have characterized it. For example some complaint counsel
witnesses conclude the plan to be a 'head hunting' rather than
a marketing device and respondents' experts conclude the program
is a 'valid marketing plan.' Neither conclusion is particularly
enlightening in resolving the issue of the plan's precise nature
or the inherency of any deception.
Respondents advocate Holiday Magic is similar to all American
business structures in recruiting lower level personnel consistent
with sales, the higher levels receiving a larger gross than those
at lower levels. The argument overlooks evidence that distributor
recruitment both horizontally and vertically was virtually limitless
and unrelated to sales or product market flow at the consumer
level. This is established conclusively because representatives
of Holiday Magic had no information as to what the product market
flow was to the consumer level after seven years of operation.
Unlimited recruitment horizontally and vertically without attempting
to devise a realistic ratio between distributorship recruitment
and movement of the product into the hands of consumers, suggests
that regardless of some product market flow and the good quality
of the product the latter is an incidental device to give plausibility
to an endless chain of recruitment and pyramiding of distributorships
in the nature of a lottery. Training courses also afforded the
same deceptive plausibility to plan under which profit through
recruitment exceeded profit through direct sales. In other words
a good product, some sales thereof and training courses, devoted
essentially to product application, motivation, emotional selling
with a view to enticing participants to climb the distributorship
ladder of success through the medium of greater recruitment profits
is merely a subtle device to obscure the real purpose of the plan
to make large amounts of money through pyramiding recruitments
in the nature of a lottery contrary to any reasonable standards
of fair trade practice devoid of inherent deception and exploitation.
The inherent unfairness of such schemes in contravention of public
policy has been described by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Twentieth
Century Company v. Quilling, 130 Wisc. 318, 110 N.W. 173, (1906),
at p. 176.
We are unable to regard such a project as a legitimate business
enterprise. How large would be the number of purchasers who would
be induced by the prospect of large returns for little labor to
join the scheme it is impossible to say or even speculate. Each
purchaser would be desirous to get back at least as much as he
had invested. In order to do this, the first purchaser under the
most favorable circumstances would have to sell rights aggregating
$1,000, the second purchaser would have to sell rights aggregating
$2,000, and thus the necessity of finding victims would increase
in geometrical progression until the purchasers who are in the
tenth place from the original purchaser must, in order merely
to reimburse themselves, find others who would pay more than half
a million dollars. Of course, it is not likely that the scheme
would last so long as this, but however long it lasts, it will
infallibly leave a greater or less crowd of dupes at the end with
no opportunity to recoup their losses because the bubble had at
last burst. It contemplates an endless chain of purchasers, or
rather, a series of constantly multiplying endless chains, with
nothing but fading rainbows as the reward of those who are unfortunate
enough to become purchasers the moment before the collapse of
the scheme. While contemplating large gains to the original promoters
and early purchasers, it necessarily contemplates losses to the
later purchasers; losses increasing in number with the greater
success of the scheme.
The Holiday Magic scheme shares exactly the same rationale as
the scheme in Quilling: In Holiday Magic, we have seen that a
participant at the General level had invested at least $2500 in
order to become a Master and another $2500 as a release fee to
become a General. By recruiting his first Master, he gets $500
of the buyin as a 10 percent override, and when this Master
goes General he gets the release fee of $2500 back. He now also
has a replacement Master to get to go General, which if he does,
will produce a second $2500 release fee to him or a full return
on his investment, merely by recruiting two Generals.
If each purchaser sought only to get his money back by recruitment
and nothing moreif he limited himself to only two
Generals, the plan would work as described in Quilling. Each General
recruited at lower levels would find that a multitude of two would
have to be recruited at each succeeding levela geometric
progression with 'two' as the multiplier.
In HM Distributors of Milwaukee, Inc. v. Dept. of Agriculture,
198 N.W. 2d 598 (1972) the same Supreme Court of Wisconsin stated,
in litigation challenging the Wisconsin Rule prohibiting 'chain
distributor schemes,' brought by Holiday Magic's Council, that:
The trial court in the case held: 'Schemes which can cause the
loss of money and the victimization of third persons clearly fall
within the term 'unfair trade practices' * * * The authority granted
to the Department to regulate 'unfair trade practices' was properly
exercised within its statutory authority.' We agree, and, as a
postscript, repeat what this court, many years ago, [in Quilling]
had to say about the chain letter idea used as a trade practice:
* * * the real arrangement was a joint scheme to make money by
selling similar nominal territorial rights to others who should
also, become parties to rights to still others, and so on. * *
*
* * * it will infallibly leave a greater or less crowd of dupes
at the end with no opportunity to recoup their losses because
the bubble has at last burst. It contemplates an endless chain
of purchasers. * * *
Such an enterprise we regard as contrary to public policy and
void. * * *
Thus, regardless of disclosure, an endless chain scheme necessarily
contemplates exploitation of others and violates elemental considerations
of fairness. [FN6]
In State of New York v. ITM, Inc., 275 N.Y.S.2d 303, (1966), the
New York State Supreme Court [trial court] had before it a marketing
plan like Holiday Magic in that commissions were paid whenever
prospects would enroll. The Court said at p. 315:
* * * somewhere along the line, the plan had to fail as a matter
of economic feasibility and mathematical certainty. No matter
the junction at which this was reached, the number of latest participants
would grossly exceed the sum of the participants of all prior
rounds. It is patent that by far the greater number of participants
could earn no commissions.
This is the vice and quicksand nature of 'endlesschain'
transactions. And it is so apparent that the promoters must be
charged with knowledge of the fraud inherent in it.
They very scheme itself bears evidence upon its face that it is
a fraud and a snare, and yet so cunningly devised that, in the
hands of a sharp, shrewd, and designing man, hundreds of the unwary
have been defrauded; and the courts should set their seal of condemnation
upon it, and pronounce it, as it is, a contract void on the ground
of public policy.
While the futility of the 'endlesschain' plan is obvious
to the promoters, it is not apparent to the consumer participant.
That enrollment within the first four rounds can earn commissions
is entirely possible and credible.
Taking the Holiday marketing plan as it has been represented by
respondent to prospective distributors at its Opportunity Meeting
procedures and how it does work in theory, not as a misrepresentation
of the plan but as an accurate description of how the plan can
and does operate, we have the following situation: Each distributor
recruited into the Marketing scheme as an Organizer in turn recruits
five other distributors each month, and so on. This is nothing
less than a representation of a geometric progression of five.
[FN7] Respondents have drawn it in their manuals for a three month
period. It appears elsewhere herein in their manuals for a three
month period. It appears elsewhere herein in the findings. By
extending the operation to a twelve month period, we are faced
with the following:
Starting point: 'you'
First Month: You + 5
Second Month: You + 25 +5
Third Month: You + 125 + 25 + 5
Fourth Month: you + 625 + 25 + 5
Fifth Month: You + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
Sixth Month: You + 15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
Seventh Month: You + 78,125 + 15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
Eighth Month: You + 390,625 + 78,125 + 15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25
+ 5
Ninth Month: You + 1,953,125 + 390,625 + 78,125 + 15,625 + 3125
+ 625 + 25 + 5
Tenth Month: You + 9,765,625 + 1,953,125 + 390,625 + 78,125 +
15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
Eleventh Month: You + 48,828,125 + 9,765,625 + 1,953,125 + 390,625
+ 78,125 + 15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
Twelfth Month: You + 244,140,625 + 48,828,125 + 9,765,625 + 1,953,125
+ 390,625 + 78,125 + 15,625 + 3125 + 625 + 25 + 5
The distributors recruited as Organizers in the Opportunity Meeting
presentation do not remain Organizers for as the plan and the
script and all the witnesses pointed out, Organizers who successfully
recruited the five Distributors who in turn recruited the twentyfive
Distributors had long since become workin Masters automatically
and only by virtue of the sale or organizer kits to the new organizers.
Therefore, the numbers charted on the above reference are actually
Masters and not Organizers, and as such do not buy product from
one another. The plan truly depicts geometrical increases at horizontal
levels, even for Organizers. But even if they do not automatically
become Masters by recruiting Organizers the record shows that
one Organizer in four does become a Master.
Although the Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting presentation of
its marketing scheme stops at three months, it is clear that the
plan itself doesn't, for someone had to bring another person in
previously. A trace of the distributors at the Master and General
level only from the State of Illinois should quickly dispell any
arguments that the plan stops or is intended to stop after three
months.
The replacement master situation in becoming a General is equally
bad, for if we limit the recruitment of a General Distributor
to just two Generals, the amount necessary to get their investment
back, would require a geometrical progression of 2, which will
produce the number of 4,096 Generals at the twelfth month and
a grand total of 7,931 at the end of twelve months, and multiples
of two thereafter each month, the same ratio as described in Quilling.
One factor, of course, as described in Quilling is the amount
of the investment required, and for the Master level it is $4500,
so that there is a resulting total of $9,000 per General Distributor,
or $66,519,000 after one year from 'just' two Distributors per
General (not even two per month).
In Fabian v. United States, 358 F.2d 187 (8th Cir. 1966), involving
mail fraud prosecution, the Court dealt with a referral selling
plan of stereo equipment which it described as follows at pp.
189190:
Each stereo purchaser would receive an 'Owner's Dividend Certificate'
which provided that $15.00 would be paid for the name of each
prospective customer (subject to credit qualifications), who agreed
to a sales demonstration, regardless of whether a sale resulted.
In addition, the prospective customer would receive $5.00 merely
for listening to the sales presentation which was not contingent
upon the purchase of a set. Customers were informed that they
could earn a set by referring twentysix names, which could
be submitted over a two year period. Most purchasers understood
that there was no limit to the number of names they were allowed
to refer, so that all referrals over twenty six would result
in profit. The referral plan was represented as a substitute for
expensive advertising and a means of introducing the product to
the community. Also, customers were told that the sets would later
be sold through a retail outlet * * *.
The Court observed in a footnote to its statement that there was
evidence that the method of selling was intended as a short term
introductory approach only, preliminary to establishing a retail
outlet. The Court states at p. 194:
The referral plan cannot succeed even if used for only a short
time unless at some point customers subsequent to the first one
are not allowed to earn the set. As the Government brought out
at the trial, once the plan is set in motion, the referrals spiral
due to the principle of geometric progression. If each person
who purchases a set can earn it by referring names, no profit
will be made; hence, no funds would be available to satisfy referral
commitments. The only method of halting the progression is to
withhold the referral privilege for customers who were obtained
by referral.
This is the simple solution to the problem involving plans capable
of expansion by geometric progression. They can be stopped by
not permitting the recruitees to in turn do the recruiting (or
referring). It is not the recruiting that makes this a scheme
which can increase geometricallyit is recruiting coupled
with a passing on of the right to recruit or permitting unlimited
geometrical progression or an unlimited universe.
Blachly v. United States, 380 F.2d 665, 5th Cir. (1967), involved
another prosecution for violation of the mail fraud statute. The
Court pointed out that the plan involved a scheme to defraud even
though there may be no specific misrepresentations. 'All that
is necessary is that it be a scheme reasonably calculated to deceive
persons of ordinary prudence and comprehension [citations omitted].'
The Court applied these precepts to the plan and found that as
conceived by the parties and as represented to the purchasers,
the plan could not possibly work.
With regard to the plan, the Court stated at p. 672:
Representations, both oral and written, were made to prospective
purchasers, that the water softener could be acquired by them
with 'no cash investment' that through commissions that would
be earned by the purchaser as a result of the unlimited referral
sales, both original and secondary, it would 'pay for itself'
and perhaps make an additional profit. This was a key inducement
to the purchaser to submit as many referred names as possible
since in theory at least, this would increase his referral commission
earnings to achieve the maximum return. Yet only in theory is
the scheme the least bit sound. Its operation could achieve success
only in a theoretical unlimited universe. The mail fraud statuteand
inescapably Judges, * * *must deal with the practicalities
of the outside business and social world. As a practical matter,
the inherent and patent impossibility of such a plan working is
plain. [footnote omitted] Its impossibility is manifested by the
amazing letterspread potential achieved with each successive step
in the referral sequence. The number of references spiral in a
geometric progression* so that, as pointed out by the Government,
'In a small city such as Morgan City, in which the defendants
operated, not to mention the smaller towns and villages, the saturation
point of prospective purchasers of the water softeners would quickly
be reached. Relatively few sales of the water softeners would
be made and few commissions would indeed be earned by the victims
of the scheme.' [Footnote omitted]
In a nutshell, the vice of this referral scheme was two fold.
The first was the strong representation, most frequently expressed
and always implied, that from the referral commissions the purchaser
would not have to pay for the machine being bought and might even
make a profit. The second was the demonstratable impossibility
of the first being achieved. [footnote omitted] Referral selling
schemes like this have been uniformly condemned by the Courts.**
Contrary to Blachy's assertions, whether any of the victims of
the scheme suffered a material loss is immaterial, for success
of the scheme is not essential to completion of the offense. [citations
omitted] Thus, although the burden is on the Government to establish
the essential elements of the offense, * * * this does not entail
or require proving that the victims of the scheme were actually
defrauded or that they suffered damage or pecuniary loss. * *
*
Besides the inherent impossibility of the Plan, the method used
in its execution also serves to condemn this scheme. * * *
The record in the matter at bar is replete with instances of Distributors
successful and not successfulbringing scores of persons
to Opportunity Meetings, and approaching hundreds more. The multiplier
of 15 was found a valid device in Blachly because this was an
'ultra conservative' figure of the number of referencesnot
of the number of participants. It is reasonable therefore, as
the Quilling Court pointed out, that:
Any contract which contemplates or necessarily involves the defrauding
or victimizing of third persons as its ultimate result must be
contra bonos mores.
The Supreme Court of the United States approved enjoining such
situations in Public Clearing House v. Coyne, 194 U.S. 497, 24
S.Ct. 789 (1903) at 796, when it did not even consider it necessary
to enter into the details of the plan before it where, as here,
success depended upon a constantly increasing number of participants.
The Court stated that such schemes are doomed to failure, and
added 'Indeed, we think that no scheme of investment which must
ultimately and inevitably result in failure can be called a legitimate
business enterprise.'
In State ex rel Turner v. Koscot Interplanetary, Inc., 191 N.W.
2d 624 (1971), the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa upheld the
constitutionality of its statute outlawing pyramid sales
plans and referral selling, such as is employed by Holiday Magic,
Inc. in a most emphatic denunciation.
The Court first described the plan that it was confronted with
at pp. 627628 as follows:
An examination of the Koscot program discloses it is fundamentally
a sugar coated merchandise sales plan.
A 'beauty advisor' initially pays $10 and for this receives her
'starter kit' of Koscot products to be refurbished as required.
Any person buying in as a 'supervisor' remits $2000 for which
he receives $1500 worth of cosmetics and $500 hair fashions, retail
value. A distributor pays $5000 for which an opening Koscot inventory
is supplied.
Those buying in at each of the above three levels are, of course,
expected to sell Koscot products to others.
As a merchandise sales inducement, Koscot promotes a 'get rich
quick' position scheme. Under this arrangement defendants have
been and are selling merchandise and positions to many residents
in Iowa.
Product sales and the selling of positions are effected via use
of the aforesaid 'multileveldistributorshipsupervisor
pyramid sales techniques' through which individuals considering
position purchases are induced to buy upon the assurance that
once 'bought in' they will have the right to bring or refer other
prospective merchandiseposition buyers to the company and
receive payment from Koscot for each such referral.
Product and position sales are advanced through the use of what
defendants term 'golden Opportunity Meetings' where local distributors
present the Koscot sales and distributorshipsupervisor program
to individuals who have evidenced an interest in buying a merchandising
job. The presentation procedure used at these meetings ordinarily
follows quite closely that contained in the sales pitches set
forth in Koscot's publication, identified as 'The Distributor's
Training Manual.'
Sales presentations are there usually made to prospective customers
brought by other individuals who have already purchased, either
as a 'supervisor' or 'distributor', because they have been orally
promised payment, as aforesaid, for each like position sold on
referral. Koscot strongly recommends all presentations at local
'Golden Opportunity Meetings' be in accord with the written procedures
contained in the manual.
Under the sales program employed by defendants every new supervisor
or distributor must be referred or sponsored by an existing position
holder. When a prospect referred to Koscot later buys in, the
referring party is promised a portion of the amount paid by such
purchasing party. Newly obtained supervisors and distributors
are required to initially pay $2000 and $5000 respectively.
More specifically, as best we can determine, the reimbursement
to a supervisor referring another individual, who in turn buys
a supervisor post, is $500 out of the new member's $2000 purchase
price. Payment to a distributor who refers another buying individual
into Koscot as a supervisor is $500 out of the new member's $2000
payment, plus a ten percent override commission, making a total
of $700 to be received by a distributor for securing an additional
supervisor. When a distributor has sponsored a supervisor into
the company and the new supervisor later purchases a distributor's
position for an additional $3000, the fee then paid to the referring
distributor is $1950. Since a supervisor must replace himself
before buying up to a distributorship, the referring party will
receive an additional $200 whenever the sponsored supervisor finds
a replacement.
There are other intricate referral payment incentives involved
but the foregoing will instantly suffice.
In brief, the sales pitch employed by defendants discloses, individuals
are induced to buy into their program through use of the foregoing
presentation, with an attendant glowing assurance that the prospect
can easily earn $34,000 each year merely by obtaining other Koscot
merchandise and position purchasers.
The written contract between Koscot and those who buy does not,
as aforesaid, include any part of the promised payment for securing
additional supervisors or distributors.
When an individual buys in as supervisor or distributor he must
make payment by certified or bank check payable and always delivered
to Koscot. All remittances to referring position holders, supra,
are made from Koscot's Florida offices.
Merely by substituting Koscot for Holiday Magic, Beauty Advisor
for Holiday Girl, Supervisor for Master, Distributor for General,
and Golden Opportunity Meeting for Opportunity Meeting and except
for the dollar differences, one is instantly presented with similarity
to the Holiday Magic plan.
The Court continued at pp. 630632:
Although the term 'fraudulent conduct' is not subject to a precise
definition, it does include 'referral' or 'pyramid' sales
arrangements by which people are induced to buy upon the representation
they can reduce or recover their purchase price, or earn untold
profits by referring other buying prospects to the seller. [citations
omitted]
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Despite the thinly veiled cloak of respectability with which Koscot
has attempted to clothe its pyramidal merchandise sales promotion
scheme, the badge of fraud clearly shows through.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
[T]he Act, in effect, makes such sales unlawful, per se regardless
of any contract terms between seller and buyer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Unquestionably the legislature thereby intended to protect the
public against unscrupulous and deceptive merchandise selling
practices. More specifically the legislative purpose was to, among
other things, brand all pyramiding referral merchandise sales
schemes as a cancerous vice against which the public should be
protected and for that reason suppressed.
A per se approach based on inherent deception to pyramid
selling such as that engaged in by Holiday Magic, Inc. has been
adopted by a number of states, among them the following:
Minnesota.
Minnesota Laws of 1971, s 325.79, Subd. 2(2)(a) provides:
With respect to any sale or lease, it shall be illegal for any
seller of lessor to operate or attempt to operate any plans or
operations for the disposal or distribution of property or franchise
or both whereby a participant gives or agrees to give a valuable
consideration for the chance to receive something of value for
inducing one or more additional persons to give a valuable consideration
in order to participate in the plan or operation, or for the chance
to receive something of value when a person induced by the participant
induces a new participant to give such valuable consideration
including such plans known as chain referrals, pyramid
sales, or multilevel sales distributorships.
California.
Penal Code s 327:
Every person who contrives, prepares, sets up, proposes, or operates
any endless chain is guilty of a misdemeanor. As used in this
section, an 'endless chain' means any scheme for the disposal
or distribution of property whereby a participant pays a valuable
consideration for the chance to receive compensation for introducing
one or more additional persons into participation in the scheme
or for the chance to receive compensation when a person introduced
by the participant introduces a new participant. Compensation,
as used in this section, does not mean or include payment based
upon sales made to persons who are not participants in the scheme
and who are not purchasing in order to participate in the scheme.
Wisconsin.
Chapter Ag. 122: CHAIN DISTRIBUTOR SCHEMES:
Ag. 122.01. Unfair trade practice. The promotional use of a chain
distributor scheme in connection with the solicitation of business
investment from members of the public is an unfair trade practice
under section 100. Wis. Stats. When so used the scheme serves
as a lure to improvident and uneconomical investment. Many small
investors lack commercial expertise and anticipate unrealistic
profits through use of the chance to further perpetuate a chain
of distributors, without regard to actual market conditions affecting
further distribution and sale of the property purchased by them
or its market acceptance by final users or consumers. Substantial
economic losses to participating distributors have occurred and
will inevitably occur by reason of their reliance on perpetuation
of the chain distributor scheme as a source of profit.
Ag. 122.02. Definitions. (1) 'Chain distributor scheme' is a sales
device whereby a person, upon a condition that he make an investment,
is granted a license or right to recruit for profit one or more
additional persons who are also granted such license or right
upon condition of making an investment and may further perpetuate
the chain of persons who are granted such license or right upon
such condition. A limitation as to the number of persons who may
participate, or the presence of additional conditions affecting
eligibility for the above license or right to recruit or the receipt
of profits therefrom, does not change the identity of the scheme
as a chain distributor scheme.
(2) 'Investment' is any acquisition, for a consideration other
than personal services, of personal property, tangible or intangible,
for profit or business purposes, and includes, without limitation,
franchises, business opportunities and services. It does not include
real estate, securities registered under chapter 551, Wis. Stats.,
or sales demonstration equipment and materials furnished at cost
for use in making sales and not for resale.
(3) 'Person' includes partnership, corporations and associations.
Ag. 122.03. Prohibition. No person shall promote, offer or grant
participation in a chain distributor scheme.
Ag. 122.04. Statutory exemption. This chapter does not apply to
banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and
public utilities to the extent exempted from department regulations
under section 93.01(13), Wis. Stats.
Effective April 1, 1970.
Virginia.
Title 59.1
Chapter 4
s 59.167.1. Pyramid promotional schemes; misdemeanor;
definitions.
Every person who contrives, prepares, sets up, operates, advertises
or promotes any pyramid promotional scheme shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.
For the purpose of this section:
(a) 'Pyramid promotional scheme' means any program utilizing
a pyramid or chain process by which a participant gives
a valuable consideration for the opportunity to receive compensation
or things of value in return for inducing other persons to become
participants in the program;
(b) 'Compensation' does not mean payment based on sales of goods
or services to persons who are not participants in the scheme
and who are not purchasing in order to participate in the scheme;
and
(c) 'Promoter' shall mean inducing one or more other persons to
become a participant (1970, c. 750).
s 59.167.2. Same; contracts void.
All contracts and agreements, now existing or hereafter formed,
whereof the whole or any part of the consideration is given for
the right to participate in pyramid promotional scheme
programs, are against public policy, void and unenforceable. (1970,
c. 750.1)
s 59.167.3. Same; injunction
Any Commonwealth's attorney may petition a court of competent
jurisdiction to enjoin the further prosecution of any pyramid
promotional scheme as defined in s 59.167.1, and to appoint
receivers to secure and distribute in an equitable manner any
assets received by any participant as a result of such scheme,
any such distribution to effect reimbursement, to the extent possible,
for uncompensated payments made to become a participant in the
scheme. The procedure in any such suit shall be similar to the
procedure in other suits for equitable relief, except that no
bond shall be required upon the granting of either a temporary
or permanent injunction therein. Any person who organizes an endless
chain scheme and, either directly or through an agent, promotes
such scheme within the Commonwealth shall be deemed subject to
the personal jurisdiction of such court of competent jurisdiction
under chapter 4.1 (s 8 81.1 et seq.) of Title 8, and shall
be liable for reasonable costs and attorney's fees in such suit.
(1970, c. 450).
Iowa.
Section 713.24(2b), 1971 Code:
The advertisement for sale, lease or rent, or the actual sale,
lease, or rental of any merchandise at a price or with a rebate
or payment or other consideration to the purchaser which is contingent
upon the procurement of prospective customers provided by the
purchaser, or the procurement of sales, leases, or rentals to
persons suggested by the purchaser, is declared to be an unlawful
practice rendering and obligation incurred by the buyer in connection
therewith, completely void and a nullity. The rights and obligations
of any contract relating to such contingent price, rebate, or
payment shall be interdependent and inservable from the rights
and obligations relating to the sale, lease, or rental.
There is nothing profound or unique in the concept of an inherently
fraudulent practice, and the Federal Trade Commission in an advisory
opinion in 1967 recognized this. The public record states only
that:
The Manufacturer proposed to appoint as independent distributors
such persons as would buy the requisite amount of inventory. Initial
sales to such distributors would be at 33 1/3 % off the manufacturer's
suggested prices for his products. Incentive bonuses, computed
at from 5% to 60% of the value of their purchases, increasing
as the value of purchases increased, would be paid from time to
time to the distributors. Distributors would be encouraged to
recruit additional distributors who would also make a capital
investment in inventory. A recruiting distributor would be given
a 10% to 12% override on the dollar volume of purchases of any
distributor whom he had recruited.
On these given facts, the recruiting distributor makes money eventually
on persons that he has recruited, unlike Holiday Magic, where
the Distributor makes money on persons he recruited as well as
the persons recruited by persons that he in turn recruited, ad
infinitum.
The Commission was of the view that the plan aforesaid would violate
Section 5:
The marketing plan is not primarily designed as an offer to knowledgeable
businessmen, competent to weigh and evaluate commercial risks.
It is designed, rather, to appeal to uninformed members of the
general public, unaware of and unadvised of the true nature of
the risks runpersons with limited capital who are
led to part with that capital by promise and hopes which are seldom,
if ever, fulfilled. A particular vice of the plan is that part
which provides override bonuses for recruited distributors. Implicit
in such an arrangement is the promise, rarely if ever kept, that
the recruiting distributor can, without himself working, profit
greatly from the work of others.
The Commission also stated with respect to price discrimination
that:
because of the nature of the plan it was almost inevitable that
every wide differences in prices would be charged customers, some
of whom would, by reasonable assumption, be competitive with others.
These differences would be so great that the anticompetitive effects
made unlawful by the amended Clayton Act would almost certainly
follow. (Advisory Opinion No. 155.) [72 F.T.C. 1057.]
The authority of the Commission to prevent lottery methods of
merchandising in interstate commerce is well established. In addition
to direct action against such practices, the Commission can also
prohibit the distribution in interstate commerce of punchboards
and other devices intended to aid and encourage merchandising
by gambling and has done so under the finding of 'lottery,' as
per se unlawful. Modernistic Candies, Inc., et al. v. FTC, 145
F.2d 454 (7th Cir. 1944); Deer, et al. v. FTC, 152 F.2d 65 (2nd
Cir., 1945); Chas. A. Brewer and Sons v. FTC, 158 F.2d 74 (6th
Cir., 1946); FTC v. R. F. Keppel & Bros., Inc., 291 U.S. (1934).
Normally, and in the earlier interpretations of a 'lottery,' violation
of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act by means of lottery
methods of merchandising depended upon proof the elements of consideration,
chance and prize. If any of these three elements was lacking,
the plan was not considered a 'lottery,' and the action would
fail. Cf. United States v. Rosenblum, 121 F. 180 (2nd Cir., 1903).
It appears, however, that the courts are now permitting the Commission
to extend its jurisdiction over methods of merchandising in which
all of the above three elements of the classical definition of
a lottery may not be present. Under this judicial extension of
what has been declared to be the public policy of the United States
against marketing goods by taking advantage of the consumer's
propensity to take a chance, * * * a device calculated to appeal
to gambling instincts may be a violation of Section 5 even though
technically not a lottery. Gerson v. FTC, 325 F.2d 93 (7th Cir.,
1963); J. C. Martin Corp. v. FTC, 346 F.2d 147 (3rd Cir., 165);
Bear Sales Co., Docket No. 8627 (1965) [68 F.T.C. 37].
Accordingly, the marketing plan of Holiday Magic must be interpreted
to be a violation of Section 5 as a device calculated to appeal
to the gambling instinct or prospective businessmen (customers).
Whether it is merchandising by the classical lottery situation,
or through a more sophisticated appeal to the gambling instincts
in man, which this Complaint terms in the nature of a lottery,
such merchandising is still subject to the same deceptive standards
which the courts have heretofore declared to be illegal. [FN8]
There has been no recognition by the Commission or the courts
of any change in the moral climate of the business community in
this respect. Dandy Products Inc. v. FTC, 332 F.2d 985 (7th Cir.,
1964) cert. denied, 379 U.S. 961 (1965); Bear Sales Co., Docket
No. 8627 (1965) [supra].
Even in Marco Sales Corp. v. FTC, 453 F.2d 1 (2d Cir., 1971) in
which the Court remanded a lottery case to the Commission for
explanation as to why the case was proceeded against by cease
and desist order when the Commission at the same time seemed to
be regulating games of chance, at least in the retail grocery
and gasoline industries, the Court understood and commented that
the basic proposition of a lottery as being unlawful is supported
by all Courts of Appeal, and that such decisions are largely the
business of the Federal Trade Commission
It was concerned, however, because it seemed the punchboard situation
in Marco, costing only 39 cents, was not materially different
from games of chance, which are not lotteries because the element
of consideration is absent.
The three elements of a lottery; prize, consideration and chance
are present in the case at bar. Nothing more is needed, and all
three elements constitute a lottery.
A. Prize
The prizes in the Holiday Magic plan are the overrides and commission,
discounts, finders fees, release fees and refunds which Distributors
receive from other Distributors and from the company. The prize,
however determined, is there. If based upon legitimate business
effort and not lot or luck, the element of 'chance' will fail.
B. Consideration
Consideration is present in the amount of money paid in by the
various levels of Distributors initially, and as part of the plan
continually, whether for product or otherwise.
C. Chance
The element of chance is present in abundance in the Holiday Magic
scheme. It is the lure of an uncertain prize over which the participant
has little or no control that essentially attracts the consideration
for the involvement in the Holiday Magic marketing plan and its
monetary prizes, rather than the opportunity to enter into a business
of distribution of cosmetics. We have seen respondents' expert
witness on motivation draw a distinction between marketing factors
in the Holiday Magic scheme for a prospective Distributor, and
the prospective salesman in other fields. $The circumstances that
the superficial attributes of classic lottery schemes, e.g., pull
tabs, punchboards, drawings, etc., are not present should not
serve as a distraction from fundamentals. One of the earliest
cases concerning the type of selling activities which constitute
an unlawful lottery was Public Clearing House v. Coyne, 194 U.S.
497 (1904). In that case defendant was a fiscal agent for an organization
in which each member, on joining, paid a $300 enrollment fee and
agreed to pay $1 per month for five years and to cooperate by
inducing others to become members. Under the plan the member was
to receive a pro rata share of the total amount realized from
all enrollments at the date he was entitled to a realization (less
10 percent which was to be retained by the defendant) based upon
a table of growth rates. For example, if the fund grew at the
rate of 15 to 1 the total realization of the member at the end
of five years would be at the same rate of increase, i.e., he
would receive $900 for his $60 paid in; if the growth rate was
10 to 1, he would receive his money back less 10 percent. Thus,
the amount of money paid to a member was dependent upon the payments
of new members recruited as well as upon the payments of members
who would drop out before the end of five years and whose money
would remain in the fund.
Implicit in the scheme was its pyramid nature since a member
could not expect to break even unless the number of new members
expanded beyond the number of old members. As membership telescoped
away from an old member, his control and participation in the
recruiting process waned. In these circumstances, the Supreme
Court found that chance permeated the entire plan since the amount
of return depends so largely, and indeed almost wholly, upon conditions
which the member is unable to control. The plan was, therefore,
held to be a lottery.
The Supreme Court in Coyne decided that the key to chance in the
lottery need not be that which is normally thought of as a lottery,
at p. 512:
That they were not engaged in conducting a lottery in the sense
in which that word is ordinarily used is entirely clear, since
this involves fixed prizes and the allotment of the prizes to
the holder of numbered tickets which are drawn from a box. In
such case the word lot or chance attaches only to the name or
number of the ticket drawn, and not to the amount of the prize,
but the statute covers any scheme for the distribution of money
by lot or chance, * * * as defined by Webster, is meant 'something
that befalls, as the result of unknown or unconsidered forces;
the issue of uncertain conditions; an event not calculated upon;
an unexpected occurrence, a happening; accident, fortuity, casualty.'
And the Supreme Court held:
We do not consider it necessary to enter into the details of the
plan, which is a somewhat complicated one, and the success of
which obviously depended upon constantly and rapidly increasing
the number of subscribers or cooperators. The only money paid
in was a small enrollment fee of three dollars and a monthly payment
of one dollar for five years. The return to the subscribing member,
which is called a realization, is not only uncertain in its amount,
but depends largely upon the number of new members each subscriber
is able to secure, as well as the number of members which his
cooperators are able to secure. The return to members who have
been able to secure a large number of other members, and to pay
their own monthly dues, may be very large in comparison with the
amount paid in, but the amount of such return depends so largely,
and indeed almost wholly, upon conditions which the member is
unable to control, that we think it fulfills all the conditions
of a distribution of money by chance.
Holiday Magic's plan works the same way. The General Distributor
gets a return in the recruiting activities of his Masters, their
replacements and their replacements recruiting activities, ad
infinitum. The return is not limited to profit from the sale of
products. Overrides and release fees are the prizes inherent in
Holiday Magic's lottery.
For example, if General 'A' recruits Master 'B' and 'B' wants
to become a General, he recruits Master 'C,' and Master 'C' recruits
Master 'D,' etc. each time on of these becomes a General, General
A gets the release fee of $2500 to $4500.
Not only does General A get the release fee every time the Master
who brought in a replacement Master goes General, but he gets
override of 10 percent on their purchases as Masters, and 1 percent
on their purchases as Generals, as well as 1 percent on the purchases
of other Masters in the old replacement Masters organization.
The rationale of Coyne was the basis for a decision by the Tenth
Circuit in Zebelman v. United States, 339 F.2d 484 (10th Cir.
1964). In that case, upon purchasing an automobile, the buyer
could become an 'automobile owner representative.' The purchaser
could then submit by letter to defendant Zebelman the names of
persons whom the original purchaser considered to be prospective
buyers and who might e induced or pursuaded to become participants.For
each one of the persons whose name was submitted, and who purchased
an auto and became a participant, the defendant was to pay the
original purchaser $100 in cash. Defendant was also to pay the
original purchaser $50 in cash for each person whose name was
submitted by the new participant and who purchased an auto and
became a participant himself. The court said:
It may be conceded that the original purchaser has control over
the payment of the $100 since, to get it, he must submit the name
of a person who will purchase an automobile and become a participant
in the scheme. Because he can control this phase of the scheme,
the receipt of the $100 is not dependent upon chance. But as the
original purchaser has no control over the payment of receipt
of the $50 since it is the person whose name he submits who must
locate another buyer. Insofar as the original purchaser is concerned,
the procuring of this buyer is dependent, at least in part, upon
chance and by the terms of the [mail lottery] statute that is
all that is needed.' 339 F.2d at 486.
The most common type of twolevel referral plan is the situation
in which the seller offers to pay the buyer an additional sum
of money for each sale made to the second level of prospective
customers. Not only does the buyer take all the chances under
the first level of the plan, but assuming the second level is
reached, the original buyer must rely upon blind chance with respect
to the number of names referred to the seller and/or the number
of sales that result from such referrals. At that point he most
likely has no knowledge as to who, if anyone, is being referred
and thus any remaining influence over his ultimate earnings is
nonexistent. Such a twolevel referral plan was held to be
lottery in violation of the mail fraud statute (18 U.S.C. $1302)
in Zebelman.
The Holiday Magic Scheme easily fits the mold of a twolevel
referral plan. General 'A' recruits Master 'B' and Master 'B'
becomes a General and gives 'B' to 'A' so that when 'C' becomes
a General, he pockets a release fee plus the accumulated 10 percent
override. The twolevel referral continues when 'D,' who
was recruited by 'C' becomes a General.
A fortiori, a third or fourth level referral selling scheme, which
is also part of the Holiday Magic marketing plan, is indefensible.
In Sherwood & RobertsYakima, Inc. v. Leach, 409 F.2d
160 Wash., (1965) appliances were sold at inflated prices, but
the purchaser received the privilege of referring potential customers
to the seller. The seller promised to pay $100 for each sale to
a prospect whose name was submitted to whom the seller's salesman
made a presentation. The purchaser was also to send a card to
each prospect he selected, stating 'a friend will call about a
fabulous program,' but did not describe the program. The Washington
State lottery statute prohibited lotteries defined as:
* * * a scheme for the distribution of money or property by chance,
among persons who have paid or agreed to pay a valuable consideration
for the chance, whether it shall be called a lottery, raffle,
gift enterprise, or by any other name * * *
And the court held that the scheme did indeed constitute a lottery:
Assuming that respondents in fact used skill or judgment in selecting
the referrals, the trial court properly held that chance permeates
the entire scheme. The court found that [those respondent] took
a chance that the referrals might not be interested; that the
salesman might not adequately make his presentation; that the
referral might have already been referred by someone else; that
the market might be saturated; and that the salesman might not
even contact the referral. In addition, the trial court noted
that [those responding] have not control over the general operation
after they gave the names of referrals. In fact, respondents were
told not to contact the referrals before * * * salesman made his
presentation, and respondents were told to emphasize the moneymaking
program in case the referrals contacted them.
It is inherent in referral selling that purchasers such as respondents
be without control. Sooner or later, the market, unknowingly to
the purchasers, will become saturated. This principle is the same
as in the chain letter scheme. The case at hand is a classic example.
This decision was cited as persuasive in Commonwealth v. Allen,
404 S.W. 2d 464 (Ky. 1966). The scheme was almost identical to
the one in Leach, and the Kentucky lottery statute was likewise
almost identical to Washington's.
Two months after the Allen decision, a New York State Supreme
Court, decided State by Lefkowitz v. ITM, Inc., 275 N.Y.S. 2d
303, involving a scheme virtually identical to those in Leach
and Allen. In holding that the scheme constituted a lottery under
New York law (virtually identical to the Washington statute),
the court cited Leach, supra, and Public Clearing House v. Coyne,
supra. The New York court made clear what is found objectionable
about the scheme in its discussion of the fraud aspects of the
case:
Depending on the size of the sales force available to respondents,
and the territory available to them, somewhere along the line,
the plan had to fail as a matter of economic feasibility and mathematical
certainty. No matter the junction at which this was reached, the
number of latest participants would grossly exceed the sum of
the participants of all prior rounds. It is patent that by far
the greater number of participants could earn no commissions.
This is the vice and quicksand nature of 'endless chain' transaction
* * *. [emphasis added]
Respondents in the case at bar have promulgated a scheme which
has all the earmarks of a lottery, as exemplified by the above
cited cases. Potential customers are lured to 'opportunity meetings'
by the promise of vast profits. The manner in which these profits
are to be made is left unspecified until the potential customer
is actually present at the 'opportunity meeting.' Then a pitchman
delivers a carefully designed presentation, prepared by Holiday,
Magic, Inc. If a customer buys in at any level, he or she is urged
to obtain other prospects, is given financial rewards for bringing
others into the organization and the Distributor who recruited
the man receives additional rewards on the latter's recruitment.
At the level of General, which a customer may reach by paying
a consideration of from $5,000 to $9,000, the participant receives
a financial prize for every Master introduced by a Master under
his sponsorship. Thus the question as to whether or not a General
will make a profit from the recruiting, sponsorship or 'closing'
of new Masters is not within the control of the individual General,
but is a product of chance. Often his own recruits are recruited
and closed by the corporation.
No participant at any level can accurately assess the degree of
saturation of a given geographic area, either for products or
distributorships. Yet it is obvious that a given area can only
produce a finite amount of capital funds with which to purchase
products or distributorships.
The question of who recoups outlays of capital funds, who receives
more than the original investment, and who loses all or part of
the original investment is decided by the chance considerations
and not simply the judgment and skill of the participant.
To have a chance of success, a participant must have two skills:
(1) The ability to persuade people to buy Holiday Magic products
and sign Holiday Magic marketing contracts; and (2) The ability
to select solvent people who are able to effectively exercise,
or can be trained to effectively exercise skills (1) and (2).
Even a person who possesses these skills to an extraordinary degree
can and will fail if the market to which he has access is eventually
saturated, or if through unlimited progression the persons he
brings in do not possess the skill of recruiting or finding others
who possess the recruiting skill, and he has no way of determining
whether it is saturated when he becomes a participant. The Holiday
Magic marketing plan is thus 'permeated with chance' and is in
the nature of a lottery.
The evils of endless chain selling schemes have long been recognized.
In Twentieth Century Co. v. Quilling, 130 Wisc. 318, 110 N.W.
174 (1906), which involved a scheme in which territorial rights
to sell a product were sold to persons who would in turn sell
similar territorial rights to others, and so on ad infinitum,
the court observed at p. 176 that the endless chain mechanism'
* * * necessarily involved the defrauding or victimizing of third
parties as its ultimate result * * *' and declared it to be contrary
to public policy. A similar scheme was held to be a lottery in
Kent v. City of Chicago, 301 Ill. App. 312, 22 N.E. 2d 799 (1939),
where the court announced at p. 801:
* * * the controlling fact in the determination of whether a given
scheme or business is a lottery is determined by the nature of
the appeal which the business makes to secure the patronage of
its customers. If the controlling inducement is the lure of an
uncertain prize, then the business is a lottery.
Examination of the Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting scripts,
six enrollments, and Opportunity Meeting movies is convincing
that the nature of the appeal in Holiday Magic is that money is
to be made on the efforts of othersin recruitment
and/or on product selling which disguises unlimited recruiting
as the real medium for extensive profit until oversaturation
itself destroys the socalled marketing plan contrary to
the usual manner in which a legitimate business usually expands
where there is a ratio consistency between the number of distributorships
and product market flow to the consumer.
Chain referral schemes which differ from the scheme described
in the Quilling case only in that additional participants are
recruited by the scheme's sponsors instead of by the participants,
have also been held to be lotteries. Sherwood & RobertsYakima,
Inc. v. Leach, 409 P.2d 160 (Wash. 1965); Commonwealth v. Allen,
404 S.W. 2d 464 (Ky. 1966); also cf. Blachly. v. United States,
380 F.2d 665 (5th Cir. 1967).
The central point in any endless chain is the mathematical certainty
of the exhaustion of new participants. Thus each new participant's
success is' * * * depend[ent] largely upon contingencies beyond
his control', i.e., the extent in which the chain as progressed
in a given locality. New v. Tribon Sales Corp., 19 F.2d 671 (D.C.
Cir. 1927). Furthermore, limitations on the maximum number of
participants' * * * does not cure the evil.' Florida Discount
Centers, Inc. v. Antinori, 226 So. 2d 693, 695 (Fla. App. 2d 1969),
cert. discharged, 232 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1970).
Holiday Magic's marketing scheme constitutes a lottery not only
because it operates as an endless chain scheme but also because
success of a participant under this scheme is dependent upon the
efforts of parties not under his control. As in the endless chain
scheme, the three elements necessary to a lottery are also present
here. The elements of consideration and prize therein are identical
to those discussed as part of the endless chain scheme. However,
the elements of chance differ from those in the endless chain
scheme. These elements of chance are as follows:
(1) The reliance upon the efforts of the participants in opportunity
meetings to persuade prospective investors to invest in the program
or through the use of the opportunity meeting procedure at which
place either corporate team members or special persons with black
certificates give the opportunity meetings, and IG's and corporate
team people help to 'close' the prospects.
(2) The 10 percent override received on persons who are replacement
Masters, or who were recruited by other persons, and over which
the General receives an override, often for little or no contact
with such individual and without regard to how far down the chain
the Master was recruited. The Continent may separate the two,
the General does not sell to the Master, yet he gets his 10 percent
monthly.
(3) The 1 percent overrides on Generals who were either replacement
Masters or Masters at one time over which the General got a 10
percent override, but recruited by another. When this Master becomes
a General, the 1 percent override is paid not only on the purchases
of this new General, but on the purchases of the Masters of their
new General as well.
(4) The release fee on a replacement Master going General is paid
by someone other than the person directly recruited by the old
General. The chain of replacement Masters which we have seen inevitably
produces a chain of release fees at more and more unlimited levels.
In Lippincott Mortgage Investment Co. v. Childress, 204 So. 2d
919, 920921, 923 (Fla. D.C.A. 1967), the court described
the following plan:
Universal Marketing Research, hereinafter referred to as Universal,
was engaged in the promotion and sale of central vacuum cleaning
systems for use in private homes. In January of 1966 one Prichett,
a friend of appellees, approached them and asked if they were
interested in making some money. After receiving a positive response
from appellees, Prichett stated that he would send somebody out
to talk to them about the proposition. Several nights later they
were visited in their home by two representatives of Universal
who explained the program sponsored by their company designed
to sell their product and to earn money for the purchasers. Under
the plan appellees would agree to purchase for installation in
their home a central vacuum cleaning unit for a total cost of
approximately $750.00 cash, or $975.00 if bought on time payment
plan. To evidence this indebtedness appellees would give their
promissory note in return for which they would be employed as
representatives of Universal under a commission agreement, the
earnings from which would pay for the vacuum cleaning units and
in addition yield appellees and indeterminate amount of money.
Under these commission agreement appellees would furnish Universal
the names of sixteen of their homeowning friends considered to
be prime prospects for purchasing the vacuum cleaning unit. For
each unit sold by Universal to the prospects furnished by appellees,
the latter would be paid the sum of $50.00. It was represented
that sales to such prospective purchasers would yield commissions
sufficient in amount to pay in full the promissory note representing
the purchase price of the unit sold to appellees. In addition,
each prospect submitted by appellees would be offered the same
proposal offered appellees, and each would be requested to furnish
Universal the names of sixteen of their friends who might be good
prospects for purchasing a vacuum cleaning unit. For each person
referred by appellees' prospects to whom a unit was sold, appellees
would be paid an additional sum of $50.00. It was from commissions
to be earned by the sale of units to the persons referred by appellees'
prospects that the big money would be made. The prospective purchasers
on this second level of the plan would theoretically number one
hundred fiftysix and represent a potential yield of $7,800.00
in commissions to appellees. Appellees would agree to contact
their friends whose names they would submit to Universal and interest
them in the idea of participating in a plan to make money, and
not to discuss the plan with them in detail until after Universal's
representatives had had an opportunity of making a demonstration
to them of the plan in its entirety.
As an outgrowth of the foregoing meeting between appellees and
the representatives of Universal, appellees agreed to purchase
a vacuum cleaning unit and signed a promissory note in the amount
of $972.00 payable to Universal in thirtysix monthly installments.
This note represented the purchase price of the unit which was
later installed in appellees' home, and the note was subsequently
assigned to appellant. At the time of executing the foregoing
promissory note, appellees also signed a commission agreement
containing in substance the terms and provisions hereinabove related.
In the discharge of their obligation appellees furnished to Universal
the names of sixteen of their friends whom they considered would
be interested in purchasing the vacuum cleaning unit, and subsequently
received from Universal commissions in the total sum of $200.00.
Upon failure or refusal of appellees to make any of the monthly
payments called for in their promissory note, this suit was instituted.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
[I]t is our conclusion that the plan or scheme devised by Universal
and used in the promotion and sale of its vacuum cleaning units
* * * constitutes a lottery. The motivating factor which induced
appellees to enter into the business arrangement with Universal
was not a desire to purchases a vacuum cleaning unit, but to be
paid a lot of money in return for a minimum expenditure of time
of effort. The purchase of the cleaning unit was incidental to
the overriding motive on the part of appellees to earn money by
way of commissions on sales to be made by Universal.
And in People ex rel. Kelly v. Koscot Interplanetary, Inc., 195
N.W.2d 43 (1972), a case which very clearly parallels the instant
matter (see description of Koscot's marketing plan at pp. 4451),
the Michigan Court of Appeals found the plan to be a lottery,
citing with approval Lefkowitz v. ITM, and stated at p. 54 (citing
an earlier Michigan case) that:
A lottery may be defined to be any scheme whereby one, on paying
money or other valuable thing to another, becomes entitled to
receive from him such a return in value, or nothing, as some formula
of chance may determine.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Our statute does not justify a court * * * in deciding a thing
is not a lottery simply because there can be no loss, when there
may be considerable contingent gain, or because it lacks some
element of a lottery according to some particular dictionary definition,
when it has all the other elements, with all the pernicious tendencies
which the stater is seeking to prevent.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * *
The statute is intended to reach all devices which are in the
nature of lotteries, in whatever form presented, and the courts
will tolerate no evasions for the continuance of the mischief.
The Court continued at pp. 5455:
In the case before us, the elements of consideration and prize
are clearly present. Consideration is present in that a participant
in the Koscot plan must pay a sum of money for the privilege of
joining the marketing plan. Prize is present in that the participant
hopes to receive a return higher than his investment by bringing
prospects to a Golden Opportunity meeting whereby the defendant
may be able to sign one or more prospects into the organization,
thereby allowing the participant to earn commissions on those
over whom he exercises no control. When one invites and brings
a prospect to a Golden Opportunity meeting he is relying on the
ability and efforts of the operators of that meeting, representing
defendant, to persuade the prospect to join. This contingency
satisfies the element of chance. For example, if 'A', a distributor,
brings 'B', a prospect, to a meeting and 'B' purchases a supervisorship,
and 'B' in turn brings 'C' to another meeting, and 'C' purchases
a supervisorship; 'A' makes money from both 'B' and 'C', with
'C' being outside of 'A's' knowledge and control. This constitutes
chance dominating over skill.
In many instances there is virtually no contact maintained after
a person is sold a franchise by defendant. He can can move anywhere
in the country and yet the person who recruited him will receive
profits from whatever he does.
If 'X' in Florida recruited 'Y' in Michigan, 'X' would receive
a commission on any sales of recruitees brought in by 'Y', regardless
of where 'Y' locates. There would be no contact between 'X' in
Florida and the new recruitees of 'Y'.
Defendant in the case at hand has promulgated a scheme which has
all the earmarks of a lottery. The population limitation of one
distributor for each 7000 of population is clearly a fiction since
saturation of the market will inevitably occur.
The evidence shows that sales to ultimate consumers in Michigan
were very small, and most of the sales by defendant in Michigan
were sales of inventory to distributors and supervisors. This
indicates the main trust in defendant's scheme is not to sell
product to the ultimate consumer, but rather to sell franchises
through the referral plan.
The combined number of distributorships and supervisorships sold
in Michigan to date is over 300. Assuming those presently holding
franchises recruit, on an average, one prospect who buys a new
franchise, that will total approximately onehalf of the
franchises available in Michigan under defendant's plan. If these
franchisees also bring in, on an average, one prospect who purchases
a franchise, we have reached the saturation point for franchises
in Michigan. These last 600 franchisees will be precluded from
participating in the referral plan. The defendant is in a position
to know this, but that information is not so obvious to the new
recruitees.
And at p. 58:
And in view of the foregoing cases, we conclude that the plan
devised and used by Koscot for the sale of cosmetics products,
constitutes referral selling and a lottery, which is prohibited
by our statute, supra.
It is evident from defendant's policy statement that its scheme
is to generate the income of money to the company through the
sale of distributorships and supervisorships through a referral
plan. These distributorships and supervisors are general in nature
and do not grant an exclusive right to sell in any designated
geographical area to the purchaser.
We can see that if a distributor sells another distributorship
or supervisorship he receives a rebate called a commission in
the form of a percentage of the cost of the new distributorship
or supervisorship. The emphasis of this plan is placed by the
company on the ability of distributors and supervisors to recruit
others into the plan.
While the company supplies a training program for the new franchisees,
even at these meetings the major emphasis is placed upon recruiting
new distributors and supervisors. Each distributor and supervisor
is permitted and recommended to bring prospects to a meeting from
anywhere in the state, including his own area, to be sold a franchise
by the defendant.
It seems clear that if Koscot's plan was to sell the product to
the ultimate consumer the distributors would not be urged to solicit
prospects that will necessarily be in direct competition with
themselves. Again, the emphasis is placed on recruiting new distributors
and inventory loading, not on sale of product to ultimate consumers.
The essential distinctions between the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and the pure lottery, referral, or endless chain scheme would
appear to be that the distributor, ostensibly, is purchasing an
inventory for his money, which reflects an investment in a business
enterprise rather than the consideration paid merely for the chance
of greater rewards. This argument is usually coupled with the
added plea that all businesses have the right to increase their
sales and size in this manner.
This is truebut only in part. Any unlimited right
to recruit other distributors is necessarily limited by the recruiting
distributor's ability to sell his products to his recruitees,
which products must ultimately reach the consuming public, and
still make a profit. There are no such limitations in Holiday
Magic, for a recruiting distributor can recruit someone whom he
need not sell to, and still reap the benefits of overrides, refunds
and release fees, ad infinitum.
Public policy decrees the Holiday Magic inheretly deceptive marketing
plan to be a per se violation of the Federal Trade Commission
Act under Section 5 thereof.
In summary, the marketing plan as conceived and operated by the
corporate respondent and its officers or agents was conducive
to the pyramid recruiting of distributors not only vertically
but horizontally to the exclusion of stimulating product market
flow to consumers at a ratio consistent with such recruitment
within a reasonable time after the distributorships were initially
organized. The limitations of the plan as a valid marketing instrumentality
is demonstrated conclusively by the failure to maintain an absence
of interest in maintaining a complete and consolidated record
of consumer sales as the only information upon which consistent
distributor recruitment could be effectively formulated. No limitations
of recruitment were or could be considered in the absence of a
complaint of over saturation by a distributor and there is no
evidence of Holiday Magic's disposition under these circumstances
or an effort on their part to reconstruct the plan based on such
complaints.
II. Count IIICharges of Misrepresentation
Count Three of the complaint alleges that Holiday Magic, Inc.
has represented, by and through statements and oral representations,
directly or by implication, or through its representatives, that
it is not difficult for distributors to recruit and retain persons
who will invest or participate in the Holiday Magic program either
as distributors or sales personnel.
The record is replete with such representations on the part of
Holiday Magic, Inc. through its opportunity meeting procedures
and through the representations of moneyhungry distributors.
The opportunity meetings describe situations where distributors
are said to be able to recruit on the average of five new organizers
a month, and that on a part time basis General distributors are
supposed to be able to recruit one new General a month or one
a week. It is also represented to prospects at the opportunity
meetings that anyone who wants to can recruit two Holiday Girls
a week to sell the cosmetics, and have 100 Girls at the end of
the year, or more if he chooses to duplicate his efforts in several
cities.
Count Three alleges that, in truth and in fact, it is difficult,
and becomes increasingly more difficult under the geometrically
expanding Holiday Magic marketing system, to recruit and retain
persons who will invest in the program as distributors and as
sales personnel.
In this respect, the record is again replete with instances of
distributors not being able to accomplish what is represented
to them at the opportunity meeting procedures and otherwise. The
testimony of the witnesses who were unable to recruit the distributors
and Holiday Girl in the numbers represented, and the statistical
evidence of less than one Holiday Girl recruited per distributor
establish the misrepresentations. Ft. Pierce, Miami and Eugene
reflect that the geometrically increasing number of distributors
inhibited recruiting.
Also included in this allegation is the misrepresentation that
there is no turn over problem. Holiday Magic, Inc. at its opportunity
meeting has failed to divulge to distributors that there is an
incredibly high turnover of Holiday Girls, telling them instead
that they can make $108,000 a year by recruiting two Holiday Girls
a week and leaving them to believe instead that they can be expected
to remain active for at least a year as portrayed in their examples,
and thereafter deliberately choosing to represent that the turnover
problem is one of Holiday Girls becoming Masters and Generals
rather than dropping out of the program!
Count Three of the complaint further alleges that Holiday Magic,
Inc. has represented, by and through statements and oral representations,
directly or by implication, or through its representatives, that
participants in Holiday Magic's marketing program have a reasonable
expectancy of receiving large profits or earnings.
This allegation includes the following, of which there is ample
evidence in the record:
(a) Actual representations as to earnings potential which are
false, misleading and deceptive;
(b) Guarantees of income;
(c) Failure to disclose information concerning reasonably anticipated
costs of doing business.
Taking them in turn, the record establishes that Holiday Magic,
Inc. has represented through its opportunity meeting procedure
that distributors may reasonably expect to earn large sums of
money in the program, even on a part time basis. Virtually all
distributors receive these representations through the opportunity
meeting procedures.
Representations changed over the years in the various opportunity
meeting scripts and six enrollment scripts, but never in substantial
substance did the representations change. Indeed the opportunity
meeting scripts employed throughout continue to represent that
Master Distributors can earn $72,000 a year and Generals $108,000
a year in the wholesale end of the business. The only difference
between the new improved version of the representations and their
older counterparts is that Holiday Magic, Inc. states that the
examples are hypothetical, and that only the top achievers earn
$108,000. However, anyone who reads the entirety of these scripts
will quickly perceive that the imprinted message is the same as
it has always been: Make your fortune in Holiday Magic, Make it
quickly, and make it by recruiting an unlimited number of participants.
Even Al Pangerl, the top producer, came nowhere close to making
the $108,000 as represented. His gross income on wholesale sales,
as the number one producer was not $108,000, but about $5,000
only. The rest he got by headhunting. And still no Masters earned
$72,000.
One subject that merits discussion is the fact that Count III
of the complaint alleges that 'most' participants do not have
a reasonable expectancy of receiving large profits. The question,
of course, is not whether the word 'most' should have been pleaded,
or need have been pleaded, but rather, since it was pleaded, is
it a defect in the allegation in question, or is it merely an
additional burden which complaint counsel have to overcome. Reasonable
construction of the entire complaint which in each count incorporates
by reference all allegations of the complaint suggests the word
'most' cannot be interpreted quantitatively.
Nevertheless it is abundantly clear from the record and findings
that most General Distributors indeed would not have a reasonable
chance of earning one million dollars a year on a pyramiding basis
as represented, or $500,000 a year, or $108,000 a year, or $72,000
a year as a Master, or any of the other misrepresented earnings
potential, and that most Holiday Girls do not have a reasonable
chance of having a gross volume of $900 a month or even $300 a
month.
Since the total number of Masters, Generals, Organizers and Holiday
Girls appears in the record, as of a date certain, simple arithmetic
provides ample evidence as found that the Distributors cannot
make the kind of money that Holiday Magic represents can and will
be made in wholesaling and retailing Holiday Magic product.
It is mathematically impossible for most distributors to have
made anywhere near this kind of money from Holiday Magic's sales.
Consider the representations of $108,000 for General Distributors
based upon 100 Holiday Girls doing $300 a month on the average,
and $72,000 for Masters under the same circumstances when the
record reflects that of a total of over 9,000 Masters in the program
since the inception of Holiday Magic as of early 1969, only 48,000
Holiday Girls had been recruited overall. With a turnover of one
Holiday Girl every six weeks or so, and an average sales volume
of between $75 and $140 when they do work, there is no way a Master
or General Distributor, on the average, is even going to break
even in the program.
The only way that most can expect to earn a gross income of $108,000
in their wholesale cosmetics business is for the average of all
Generals to be at the very least $54,000 a year and $36,000 a
year for Masters, who are represented to be able to earn $72,000
a year. [FN9] Here the Masters and Generals in their average lifetimes
with Holiday Magic had purchases on the average of about $8,000.
To sell to a Holiday Girl at 30 percent and to buy at 35 percent
or 45 percent means that the gross income, which is what the $108,000
and $72,000 figures represent would have to be, on the average,
for Masters and Generals, between $2,000 and $2,900 on the average,
in their lifetimes.
Thus, the figures depicted by Holiday Magic, at best and assuming
that all of its products reach the consumer, are for Masters at
least 18 times below average for the average requirement for Masters,
and 36 times below the Holiday Magic representation of $72,000.
Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. through its opportunity meeting
procedures portrays to prospective Distributors earnings representations
which at the very least are 36 times the average wholesale sales
of Masters and 43 times the average wholesale sales of Generals,
in their lifetime as Distributors, reflected on a per annum basis,
assuming that all of respondents' products sold to its Masters
and Generals reaches the consumer.
Although there has been slight moderation in the post investigation
approach and representations, they have not been essentially material.
Exemplifying this are the following:
(a) See CX 100B, Opportunity Meeting procedures dated October,
1967.
CX 100E and other exhibits reflect the following representations:
* * * I have seen people earn 5, 10, 15, and even 20,000 per month.
This is a tremendous amount of money.
* * * Now as you will recall, we assume that the people [in the
film] did $300 each. Because you have sponsored the, 5 x $300
would give you a volume of $1500. That is a total volume they
would have purchased from you your first 30 days * * *. That's
what you would have earned your first 30 days in the business.
* * * Let's * * * see just exactly what you would have done to
earn this money. You would have invited five people to a meeting
just like this one tonight. We would have presented the opportunity
to your people for you and after the meeting, we would have thoroughly
answered all their questions.
We would have helped you sponsor them into the business. For that,
you would have made $120.
CX 100F:
For that reason, we had Mary do the same thing that you did last
month, train and sponsor five new people in the business.
CX 100G:
So, in your third month you would have earned a total of $900
from your first five people. Again, all the new people in the
business this month would be sponsored by someone whom you recruited
and trained in a prior month.
CX 100H:
Again, we're talking of an assumed average of five people.
* * * One of our top Distributors sponsored 137 people his first
30 days in the business * * * Granted, these are exceptional people
but it illustrates the potential for profit even if you were to
cut their results in half.
* * * Obviously, the way to prevent this from happening is not
to stop with five people. Recruit as many as you can.
CX 100I:
* * * Let me share this with you. I presently an making more money
than I ever have before. If I can do it, what can you do?
* * * Is there anyone in the room that doesn't think that he can
sponsor two girls a week working at it full time. No one? Wonderful!
Let's assume that you are now sponsoring two girls a week and
at the end of the one year of hard work you have sponsored 104
girls * * *. Assume they do no more than $300 in volume.
* * * Now, if you did recruit 100 girls, you would automatically
be a Master Distributor at 55% * * *. It's a great deal of money,
isn't it? That's $72,000 a year. Now we won't pretend this is
what the average distributor earns. But it gives you an idea of
what can be done with your abilities.
CX 100J:
* * * That, ladies and gentlemen, is $108,000 a year, which is
quite a salary! And there aren't too many earning it. But it shows
you how the marketing plan can work, depending upon your ability,
your willingness to work hard and your selling skill.
* * * But if you totally committed yourself to working with your
people and giving them everything in the world they need to get
the job donegive them all the training they needthe
motivationthe supervisiongive them of
yourself, work with themyou would then accomplish
what our top achievers have indeed obtained and you could earn
$9,000 a month.
(b) See six enrollments, from IG Manual dated Jan. 1970; at CX
90Z6:
When this replacement Master Distributor is brought into the business,
an additional $6,666 in retail product is purchased from Holiday
Magic and you, with your 10% commission, would be paid another
$666 in cash. But since the rules require you to pay $233 in commissions
to the new General Distributor who brought in this Master Distributor
you net only $433, on replacement Master Distributors. However,
the moment that the replacement Master Distributor is officially
recorded by the company, the cash, being held in escrow, is released
to you the sponsoring General Distributor. The new General Distributor
in effect has just purchased part of your sales organization.
Thus, you have earned a total of $4,099 cash each time you are
successful in training and motivating an eligible Master Distributor
to become a new General Distributor.
What would happen if you did this once each month for the next
year? You would have earned $49,188 at the end of 12 months and
you would still have twelve Master Distributors with which to
work. If you did this only once each monthand that's
all you did, just train successful salesmenyou might
only be working part time. Under ideal circumstances, this could
mean attending only one Opportunity Meeting per month, to which
you would bring a qualified prospectone who would have the
ability and want to earn that kind of money also. And there are
distributors who who are earning this kind of money right now!
Now, when we talk about $49,188 on a part time basis, we aren't
talking of the average distributor. We're talking about a real
motivatora person with ambition, drive, skill and
selling ability who's able to teach others those same skills.
Maybe you're one of them. [Footnotes omitted]
(c) Physical Exhibit B was used throughout Holiday Magic's history,
at least through 1969 (Tr. 5600) and nothing in the record shows
they were ever stopped.
Holiday Magic has made or has caused to be made false representations
as to the amount of earnings that one can achieve, effort involved
in recruitment of other Distributors, the extent of its advertising
and that employment is offered when in fact an investment in a
distributorship is sought.
The evidence in the record shows that these representations were
made to numbers of Distributors Holiday Magic sought to upgrade
to prospective distributors, in connection with the interstate
sale of goods, and that the representations were false, misleading
and deceptive. It is not necessary to show acutal deception, it
is sufficient to show that the misrepresentation has a capacity
to mislead, (Goodman v. F.T.C. 1957 Trade Cases 68,690, p. 72,
811 812) VacuMatic Carburetor Co. v. F.T.C. C.C.A.7,
(1946) 4 S & D 576, 580. Moreover, what is represented can
be literally true and still be misleading and inviolation of Section
5 of the FTC Act. Rhodes Pharmacal Co. v. F.T.C. 208 F.2d 382,
387 (1953). See also Donaldson v. Read Magazine, 333 U.S. 178.
For specific misrepresentation cases on earnings see Federal Trade
Commission 1967 Trade Cases 68.690 at pp. 805, 806 and 808809.
Misrepresentations similar to those made by respondents in connection
with the placement of ads for employment in the 'help wanted'
columns of newspapers is treated in Cannon v. F.T.C. (CA D.C.
1961) 1961 Trade Cases 70,133, 295 F.2d 546;
Courts have long held that where the respondent has put the means
for consummating a fraud into the hands of another, that the respondent
is liable for the consequences thereof.
In F.T.C. v. Winsted Hosiery 258 U.S. 483, 42 S. Ct. 384 (1922)
at 386 the respondent sold falsely labeled underwear to its dealers.
Despite the fact that dealers may have been aware of the falsity
and were not deceived, the Court felt that because consumers were
not aware of the falsity they would buy respondents' products.
The court stated: 'a person is a wrongdoer who so furnishes another
(respondents' dealers) with the means of consummating a fraud
has long been a part of the law of unfair competition.'
In a case where the respondent sold a chocolate flavored drug
preparation in clearly labeled bottles but where the drug was
identical to a competing but more expensive drug and thereby causing
some druggists to substitute respondent's drug for the more expensive
competing drug in sales to consumers, the court found the respondent
liable and held that: 'the wrong was in designedly enabling the
dealers to palm off the preparation as that of the respondent.
One who induces another to commit a fraud and furnishes the means
of consummating it is equally guilty and liable for the injury.'
William R. Warner & Co. v. Eli Lilly & Co. 265 U.S. 526
(1924) at pp. 530531. This language was cited in C. Howard
Hunt Pen Co. v. F.T.C. 1952 Trade Cases 67,286 at p. 67, 533.
The holding in F.T.C. v. Winsted Hosiery Co. and Warner &
Co. v. Lilly & Co. was cited in Associated Laboratories v.
F.T.C. 1944 Trade Cases 57,258 at p. 57,405. The Court of Appeals
held that 'The author of false, misleading and deceptive advertising
may not furnish customers with the means of misleading the public
and thereby insulate himself against responsibility for its deception.'
Holiday Magic in the case at bar has not only made the false,
misleading and deceptive representations directly, through its
corporate team activities, but by providing its Distributors with
the manuals, movies, Opportunity Meeting scripts, six enrollments
scripts, closing techniques and the marketing plan itself. It
cannot be heard to maintain its innocence over the activities
of independent contractors.
In fact, in the matter at bar, Holiday Magic is legally responsible
for the representations of its independent contractor Distributors
because they were ordered to assume the role before the public
as representatives of Holiday Magic, and Holiday Magic by its
other activities ratified and adopted the activities of its Distributors
in their recruiting activities.
In Goodman v. F.T.C. 1957 Trade Cases 68,690 at pp. 72, 80172,
804, the Court of App. held that an individual engaged in the
sale of a home study course in reweaving was responsible for misrepresentations
made by his salesmen, even though the individual designated his
salesmen as independent contractors.
The court stated that 'when interpreting a statute the aim of
which is to regulate interstate commerce and to control and outroot
some evil practices in it, the courts are not concerned with the
refinements of commonlaw definitions, when they endeavor
to ascertain in the power of any agency to which the Congress
has entrusted the regulation of a business actibility or the enforcement
of standard it has established.'
The court indicated that regardless of how the salesmen were described
in their contracts, 'as far as the public was concerned, they
were his authorized agents and acted not only within the apparent
but also within the actual scope of their authority, and the Commission
was right in holding him responsible for their acts.'
In Consumer Sales Corp. v. F.T.C. 1952 Trade Cases 67,316 at p.
67,745 where the respondents appealed from a Commission order
prohibiting them from using deceptive practices to promote sales.
The Commission found that by furnishing salesmen with order forms
falsely representing that they were making a special offer and
by permitting the salesmen to request purchasers to collect box
tops, the respondents actively encouraged and participated in
making such false representations.
The petitioners had contended that they were not responsible for
the misrepresentations by the salesmen as they were independent
contractors.
The Court of Appeals stated that since the Commission found that
the petitioners 'actively encouraged and participated in making'
the false representations is amply supported by the evidence,
it is unnecessary to consider whether or not the salesmen's relation
to the petitioners was that of independent contractors.
And in Consumer Home Equipment Co. v. F.T.C. 19481949 Trade
Cases 62,202 at p. 62,208, it had been found that the petitioners
had through their salesmen made use of a sales plan employing
false representations and fraudulent schemes. On appeal, the court
found that the petitioners had knowledge of the false representations
and fraudulent schemes utilized by its salesmen. The numerous
letters concerning these transactions (the misrepresentations
and fraudulent schemes) received by better business bureaus in
Detroit and Toledo, and the petitioners' answers thereto, are
evidence that petitioners must have had knowledge of these unfair
and deceptive practices.
At bar Holiday Magic clothed its Distributor with the real and
apparent authority to represent the company in the recruitment
of other Distributors.
Distributors are provided with Holiday Magic contract forms to
sign up prospects, they are authorized to accept certified checks
made out to Holiday Magic Inc. only. They represent the company
nominally in that Holiday Magic is committed to shipping merchandise
to anyone brought into the program the moment the check is turned
over to the recruiter. Holiday Magic even requires its banners
and pictures of Patrick to be present at the opportunity meetings
to give the appearance of a 'Holiday Magic Opportunity Meeting.'
The Opportunity Meeting scripts, which the company requires to
be given 'on script' make constant and continual references to
the distributors as company representatives.
However, there are other equally valid reasons for holding Holiday
Magic responsible for the deceptions, misrepresentations and false
statements of the distributor in their recruiting activities:
1. The company has a policy of accepting all contracts sent in
to it, thereby ratifying all false statements and misrepresentations
made in order to get the Distributor into the program. Money will
not be refunded regardless of the representations. The company
therefore puts itself in a position where it is estopped from
denying responsibility for the representations of those persons
it sends out to recruit on their mutual behalf. This policy is
clearly evident in the cases cited in the findings involving John
Woloshyn and Rick Spranzo. Not only did Holiday Magic repeatedly
accept distributorships from persons who were misled by these
persons, after being put on notice of their activities again and
again, but when they were finally terminated, it was for something
as innocuous as placing unapproved ads in a Texas newspaper!
2. The company's policy of accepting only certified or cashier's
checks coupled with the no refund policy, amplifies
the above. It suggests fear of a Distributor's change of heart
and stoppayment order on a check which it will not permit
with its present policies. This policy alone is evidence of the
finality of the recruitment and 'acceptance' by the home office
of the moment money changes hands.
3. Holiday Magic's East Coast representative in the person of
Bill Dempsey (of Sales Acceleration fame) flatly tells Master
and General Distributors at a corporate team gathering in the
presence of the company president, Fred Pape and the company national
field director, Mark Evans (in Feb. 1968) that when they seek
to 'close' a prospect, they are to consider that the prospect
'has money in his wallet, and whatever method that I can use to
get my money back out of his wallet, that was perfectly all right.'
He added that 'when the dust cleared, the only thing that counted
was who had the money's and he then flashed three of four $100
bills stating that he had the money.
Holiday Magic, Inc. is unquestionably legally responsible for
the deceptions and misrepresentations of its Distributors because
it has made Distributors their agents in fact with respect to
recruiting activities.
Distributors are agents of Holiday Magic, Inc., with respect to
representations involved in the recruitment of distributorships,
or in instruction to other Distributors. In connection with the
operation of the marketing plan, and for this reason alone Holiday
Magic, Inc. is liable for and bound by the statements of these
agents with respect to matters with which the agent was either
authorized or apparently authorized.
A Distributor who is an independent contractor may be an agent
simultaneous with his status as independent contractor.
The Restatement of Agency makes it perfectly clear that an independent
contractor and an agent may exist simultaneously. Section 2 (3)
reads:
An independent contractor is a person who contracts with another
to do something for him but who is not controlled by the other
nor subject to the other's right to control with respect to his
physical conduct in the performance of the undertaking. He may
or may not be an agent. Restatement, Agency 2d s 2 (3).
The comment in the Restatement further clarifies this point:
The word 'servant' is used in contrast with 'independent contractor.'
The latter term includes all persons who contract to do something
for another but who are not servants in doing the work undertaken.
An agent who is not a servant is, therefore, an independent contractor
when he contracts to act on account of the principal. Restatement,
Agency 2d s 2 (3); comment b.
The comment goes on to point out that a broker is an independent
contractor and an agent, and his principal is bound by the broker's
unauthorized contracts and representation, but not liable to third
persons for tangible harm resulting from unauthorized physical
conduct within the scope of the employment, as the principal would
be for similar conduct by a servant.
The Restatement of Agency makes it clear again:
One who contracts to act on behalf of another and subject to the
other's control except with respect to his physical conduct is
an agent and also an independent contractor. Restatement, Agency
2d s 14(n).
The comment in Section 14(n) is further revealing:
'[I]ndependent contractor' is a term which is antithetical to
the word 'servant' although not to the word 'agent.' * * * Colloquial
use of the term excludes independent contractor from the category
of agent as a similar use in the transaction which they undertake
they act for the benefit of another and subject to his control.
Restatement, Agency 2d s 14(n) comment a.
Some cases which hold the view that a person may be both an independent
contractor and an agent are Hoffman & Morton Co. v. American
Inc. Co., 35 Ill. App. 2d 97, 181 N.E.2d 821 (1962); Dempster
Bros., Inc. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 54 Tenn.
App. 65, 388 S.W.2d 153 (1965); Wade v. Traxler Gravel Co., 100
So. 2d 103, 232 Miss. 592 (1958); Ackert v. Ausman, 29 Misc. 2d
962, 218 N.Y.S.2d 822 (1961), aff'd. 20 App. Div. 2d 850, 247
N.Y.S. 2d 999 (1964); Derrick v. Drolson Co., 244 Minn. 144, 69
N.W. 2d 124 (1955); Hoffman & Morton Co. v. American Ins.
Co., 35 Ill. App. 2d 97, 181 N.E. 2d 821 (1962); Commonwealth
v. Minds Coal Mining Corp., 360 Pa. 7, 60 A.2d 14 (1948); Witaszek
v. Drees, 280 N.Y.S. 592, 155 Misc. 838 (1935); and Texas Co.
v. Mills, 171 Miss. 231, 156 So. 866 (1934).
The cases and the restatement are generally of the view that the
relationship of a principal to an agent may be of two typesemployment
(servant) or independent contractor. And with respect to the independent
contractor, the relationship with the principal may be either
for a specific result only, with no control whatever, or in the
employment by a principal of an agent to act in a selling capacity,
in which case the principal is responsible for misrepresentations
but not the physical acts (unless said physical acts were specifically
directed).
III. Count IVCharges of Price Fixing
Respondents offered evidence only that showed that after the investigation
started they changed their price fixing rule to state that they
were fixing prices in fair trade states. Nothing was changed with
respect to nonfair trade states, and the practice of fixing prices
throughout the country never changed, as the evidence amply demonstrates.
(See also Parts XIX and XX of Findings.)
Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. fixes the prices at which its distributors
may resell their products both at wholesale and at retail. Vertical
price fixing at both levels has long been held to be unlawful
by the courts. U.S. v. McKesson & Robbins, Inc., 351 U.S.
305, 76 S. Ct. 937, 100 L. Ed. 1209 (1956); U.S. v. Parke Davis
& Co., 360 U.S. 29, 80 S. Ct. 503, 4 L. Ed. 2d 505 (1960);
U.S. v. A. Schrader's Son, Inc., 252 U.S. 85 (1920). Vertical
price fixing arrangements are also per se violative of the Federal
Trade Commission Act. See The Roberts Co., et al., 56 F.T.C. 1569
(1960), and Lenox v. F.T.C. 417 F.2d 126.
The rebates and overrides required by Holiday Magic to be paid
by its distributors to other Distributors, requiring such rebates
at prescribed amounts is an indirect method setting the wholesale
price at which the products may be sold to the Holiday Girls or
organizers. Indirect, vertical methods of achieving resale price
levels are also condemned by the courts. See U.S. v. Socony Vacuum
Oil Co., 310 U.S. 150, 60 S. Ct. 811, 84 L. Ed. 1129.
IV. Count VCharges of Restrictions
A. Customer Restrictions
The Holiday Magic customer restrictions appear in the Findings
in Part XXII. They may be summarized as follows:
1. Master and General Distributors may sell at wholesale only
to Organizers and Holiday Girls that they sponsored into the business.
2. Distributors may not recruit other Holiday Magic Distributors
who have already been sponsored into the business.
3. Distributors are to refrain from selling at the retail level
to customers who are being serviced by other Holiday Magic Distributors.
Customer restrictions are unlawful, particularly as here where
such restrictions support a plan of resale price maintenance.
See U.S v. Bausch Lomb Co., 321 U.S. 707, 724; 64 S. Ct. 805,
88 L. Ed. 1024 (1944); U.S. v. Sealy, 388 U.S. 350, 87 S. Ct.
1847, 18 L. Ed. 1249 (1967); and U.S. v. Arnold, Schwinn, 388
U.S. 350, 87 S. Ct. 1856, 18 L. Ed.2d 1239 (1967).
B. Retail Outlet Restrictions
Holiday Magic requires that all Distributors refrain from selling
or placing Holiday Magic merchandise in such retail outlets as
drug stores, department or variety chain stores, grocery stores
or discount stores. Evidence of this restriction appears in Part
XXIII of the Findings.
C. Advertising Restrictions
Holiday Magic, Inc. requires that all Distributors must obtain
prior company approval for the advertising or promotion of Holiday
Magic products. (See Part XXIV of Findings.)
Under the circumstances of the price fixing and retail outlet
restrictions of Holiday Magic, Inc., these advertising restrictions
must be deemed a phase of the entire control of operations.
D. Purchase Restrictions
Holiday Magic, Inc. imposes restrictions upon its Distributors
in respect to their source of Holiday Magic products by requiring
that:
1. Holiday Girls and Organizers purchase the Holiday Magic merchandise
only from their sponsoring Distributors.
2. All Distributors must refrain from buying back merchandise
from those Distributors to whom they may have sold.
3. Distributors must obtain approval from all other Distributors
above them in the marketing chain before a transfer into the organization
of another Distributor will be allowed.
E. Private Arrangements Restrictions
Holiday Magic requires that all of its Distributors refrain from
entering into reasonable business undertaking of their choice
by:
1. Requiring that in the event a partnershipdistributorship
dissolves, the departing partner must revert back to his original
sponsor.
2. Requiring that in the event a General distributorship in partnership
dissolves, the principal or partner who is departing must requalify
as a new Master Distributor under his original sponsor, create
a replacement Master, and pay the release fee to qualify for the
General position again.
3. Requiring that all Master and General Distributors in adding
on partners to their distributorships, or in selling a Master
or General distributorship, must in those circumstances meet the
same retail list price value purchase requirements as do 'workin'
Masters.
4. Requiring that Distributors may have a financial interest in
one Holiday Magic distributorship at a time, and may not simultaneously
be a part of two separate distributorships.
5. Requiring that Distributors must not enter into any agreement
with a Distributor in another Holiday Magic organization to make
a division of profits, assets or new recruits in violation of
the marketing plan.
6. Distributors must not make a consignment of the Holiday Magic
merchandise to any person.
These restrictions appear in the Findings of complaint counsel
at Part XXV.
According to the 'Rule of Reason' as set forth in Board of Trade
of the City of Chicago v. U.S., 246 U.S. 321, 38 S. Ct. 242, 62
L. Ed. 683 (1918), one must examine the effect of the particular
restriction on competition and weigh the purpose, nature and probable
effect, among other factors, of the restriction in determining
whether or not it is unreasonable.
See also Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. U.S., 221 U.S. 1, 62,
31 S. Ct. 502, 516, 55 L.Ed. 619, where the Rule of Reason was
adopted, and The White Motor Co. v. U.S., 372 U.S. 253, 83 S.
Ct. 696, 9 L. Ed. 738, where the Rule of Reason was reaffirmed.
The restrictions herein have only two purposes which are to (1)
generate further master inventory purchases from Holiday Magic,
Inc. without regard to the needs of the distributor, and (2) to
maintain the pricing, override and pyramid structure of
the marketing plan.
Under these circumstances, they are anticompetitive.
V. Count VICharges of Territorial Allocations
Absent either horizontal agreements or price fixing, the Supreme
Court has held territorial and customer restrictions imposed by
a respondent supplier on its independent Distributors, where the
supplier has parted with title and risk in the sale of the products,
to be a per se violation of the antitrustlaws. U.S. v. Arnold
Schwinn & Co., supra. Customer and territorial restrictions
by themselves have also been found to be in violation of Section
5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. In the Matter of [International]
Staple & Machine Company, Inc., Docket No. 8083, Sept. 21,
1961 [sic: Nov. 7, 1961, 59 F.T.C. 1080].
At bar we have the situation of the council, which is controlled
by Holiday Magic, in the position of at least purportedly establishing
routes for Holiday Girls. Territorial restrictions are unlawful
where such restrictions support a plan to maintain resale prices.
The evidence suggests that in some instances the allocations are
very effectively present and in others not. See VI.
VI. Count VIICharges of Price Discrimination
A. Price Differential Between Masters and Generals
Master Distributors purchase Holiday Magic products at a discount
of 55 percent of retail value.
General Distributors purchase these same products at a discount
of 65 percent.
Although offhand these two different discounts appear to show
a difference of only 10 percent, further examination discloses
a greater difference.
From the point of view of the disfavored Master, this 10 percent
represents 22.2 percent of his cost factor of 45 percent.
Example
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
Although the difference between discounts may only be 10 percent,
the important factor is how this 10 percent relates to the Master's
net cost.
The differential in terms of gross profits is even more significant.
The Master pays $45 for each $100 of sales and the General pays
$35 for each $100 of sales to retail customers. Therefore, the
Master makes a gross profit of $55 and the General a gross profit
of $65 on equivalent sales. The percentage increment that the
General makes over the Master is 10/55 or approximately 18 percent
greater gross profits.
At the wholesale level, and assuming the average Holiday Girl
or Organizer purchases at least $100 per month, they are at a
35 percent of list discount. The Master, on $100 worth of retail
list price purchases, pays $45 to Holiday Magic and sells it for
$65 to his Holiday Girl, for a gross profit of $20. The General,
however, who paid $35 for the same goods, sells it for the same
$65 for a gross profit of $30. Therefore, the General's gross
profits for wholesale sales are 50 percent greater than the Master's
gross profits for wholesale sales.
B. Master Distributors and General Distributors are at the Same
Functional Level of Distribution
It is established that the classification of customers for discount
purposes must not be arbitrary; it cannot be used as a means of
discriminating in price between buyers who are actually in competition
with one another. Therefore, mere labels or recitations to the
contrary should be disregarded where the classification of customers
by a seller does not follow real functional differences.
The record in this case is replete with evidence that Masters
and Generals performed the same functions. Not only has General
Distributor after General Distributor called by both sides stated
that they did the same things as General Distributors that they
did as Master Distributors, but a comparison of the actual activities
and functions engaged in shows no distinctions at all in distributive
functions or services. (The differences are in the collection
of release fees and overrides.)
Holiday Magic Masters and Generals are wholesalers of Holiday
Magic products, and virtually all testified that they sold at
retail as well (to a greater or lesser degree). Council membership
was necessary for these Distributors to get their Holiday Girls
trained, and Masters and Generals paid the same council dues for
these purposes. And with the functions performed by the CDC or
CRS operations with respect to warehousing, the same can be said.
Both Masters and Generals utilized the Distributor warehousing
operations, at which they paid the same dues for the same inventory
balances. Generals therefore did not even have inventory on hand
greater than any Master who was also a member of the CRS or CDC,
and Generals, in fact, have no inventory requirement at all, whereas
Masters, at least as 'buyins,' must purchase an initial
inventory. In this situation the Master probably has greater functions
to perform than a General. 95 percent of all active Distributors
at the Master and General levels were members of the CRS operation.
A look at the expenses of the various Masters and Generals reflect
that they are at the same functional levels. Different functions
would necessarily entail different levels of expenses.
Even the schooling of Masters and Generals is the same, and manuals
which Holiday Magic sells to its Distributors to tell them how
to run their businesses never distinguish between the functions
performed by the two artificially and arbitrarily created groups.
To understand the marketing plan is to understand the reason for
the creation of the favored class of Generals in the first place.
The release fees are paid for the obscure privilege of moving
up to General. If Generals bought at the same price as do Masters
there would be no 'level' to move up to!
Only to the extent that a buyer actually performs certain functions,
assuming all the risks and costs involved, should be qualify for
a compensatory discount. The amount of the discount should be
reasonably related to the expenses assumed by the buyer, and it
should not exceed the cost of that part of the function which
he actually performs on that part of the goods for which he performs
it. (F.T.C. v. Doubleday, 52 F.T.C. 169 (1955).) The seller must
be able to justify the discount to the buyer by reference to the
savings to the seller in having the operation assumed by the buyer.
The mere possibility of greater cost is not sufficient.
With respect to the merchandise sold to the Generals at a 65 percent
discount off list, Generals will in turn sell some of this to
Organizers, Holiday Girls or at retail. This merchandise will
not flow to the Master Distributor, who will likewise sell merchandise
(which he purchases at a discount off list of 55 percent) to Organizers,
Holiday Girls or retail customers, perhaps after a period of warehousing
as well.
No distributive functions were performed by the General on the
goods sold by the General to his retail customers.
C. Like Grade and Quality
In order for a finding of a RobinsonPatman Act violation
it is necessary to establish that the goods sold were of 'like
grade and quality.' Complaint counsel has shown through witness
testimony, product brochures and order forms that Holiday Magic
sold only one grade and quality of goods, and only one line of
products, and that all goods sold by it were of 'like grade and
quality.' Holiday Magic's products consisted of a single 'line'
because all of them were listed on the same standard order forms,
and all distributors were free to and encouraged to purchase all
items listed.
The courts have long held that goods need not be individually
identical but need merely be part of the same line in order to
be considered of 'like grade and quality.'
The leading case is Moog Industries, Inc. v. F.T.C., 238 F.2d
43 (8th Cir., 1956); aff'd on other grounds, 335 U.S. 411 (1958).
Moog discriminated in price between purchasers of three lines
of automobile parts, leaf springs, coil action parts and piston
rings. The evidence did not prove that competing favored and nonfavored
customers purchased absolutely identical items within these three
product lines, i.e., leaf springs, coil action parts, or piston
rings designed for automobiles of the same make, model, and year.
The court ruled that the Commission need not prove that Moog had
sold identical or interchangeable parts within each of the three
product lines to the two classes of purchasers, but merely to
prove sales to the two classes of purchasers of each of the product
lines as a whole.
The court ruled in Moog that the 'like grade and quality requirement'
was designed to isolate those sales 'sufficiently comparable for
price regulation by the statute.' Moog, supra, 238 F.2d at 50.
The court held that because Moog sold the items in lines, and
because the discriminatory rebate that effectuated the price difference
was paid upon all the items in the line, the Commission could
find an illegal price discrimination despite the absence of proof
that competitors had sold identical items within a line.
The Moog principle was further enunciated by the Commission in
In The Matter of Continental Baking Co., 63 F.T.C. 2071 (1963),
stating:
The Court in the Moog case said in effect that when Moog made
no attempt to govern or determine whether or not certain customers
bought certain items of a line, the Commission did not have the
burden of becoming immersed in the small details of matching items
bought by competing customers to prove a fact, the disproof of
which by Moog would have been sheer happenstance. 63 F.T.C. 2109.
D. 'Contemporaneous Sales'
A lessening of competition can be found when sales or purchases
by the favored and nonfavored customers occurred within a reasonable
period of timeup to 3 1/2 months apart. Fred Meyer,
Inc. v. F.T.C., 359 F.2d 351, 357 (9th Cir. 1966); Cert. denied,
386 U.S. 908 (1967). Hence, separation of sales or purchases to
the two customers in point of time does not exclude the transactions
from being held to be anticompetitive especially in instances
where the product involved is a standardized item widely and frequently
sold in the area during the years involved. In Hartley & Parker,
Inc. v. Florida Beverage Corp., 307 F.2d 916, 920, and 921 (5th
Cir. 1962) the court allowed a suit for damages arising from alleged
discrimination despite the fact that the last sale to the nonfavored
customer occurred before the favored customer made any purchases.
There is ample evidence to show the contemporaneous sales in the
case at bar. But, since Holiday Magic's policy is one of selling
at stipulated discounts and always has been, there
should be no real question in this respect.
E. Holiday Girl and Organizer Distributors who do not Purchase
Directly from Holiday Magic are Indirect Purchasers within the
Meaning of the RobinsonPatman Act.
Both Master and General Distributors purchase their merchandise
directly from Holiday Magic, Inc., (See Findings, Part XLV) while
Organizers and Holiday Girls purchase through their Sponsor, and
are 'indirect purchasers' from Holiday Magic, Inc., within the
meaning of the RobinsonPatman Act, as the Commission has
defined this concept through the years. (See Findings, Parts XV,
and XXVI.)
The two elements of control and contact normally cited as prerequisite
to a finding of an indirect purchaser are abundantly present in
the instant matter. Indeed, a greater degree of control and contact
by a company over its distributors is difficult to imagine.
From the very inception of the relationship at the company controlled
opportunity meetings, to the training programs, rigid rules and
regulations restraining the freedom of the distributors in pricing
and customers limitations, the termination of those who violate
the rules, the entering into contracts between distributor and
company, etc., the company maintains strict controls and numerous
contacts with the distributors.
The sale by Masters or Generals to Organizers and Holiday Girls
is quite literally controlled by Holiday Magic. Organizers and
Holiday Girls can only buy from the Master or General sponsoring
them, and then only at the prices stipulated by Holiday Magic
according to the
In Purolator Products, Inc. v.
In Purolator Products, Inc., v. F.T.C., 352 F.2d 874, (1965),
cert. denied, 389 U.S. 1045, 88 S. Ct. 758 where the respondent
sold at discriminatory prices to wholesalers with whom jobbers
(the alleged indirect purchasers) completed with in sales to dealers,
the Court held that where 'a seller can control the terms upon
which a buyer once removed may purchase the seller's product from
the seller's immediate buyer, the buyer once removed is for all
practical, economic purposes dealing directly with the seller.'
The Court further stated that 'if the seller controls the sale,
he is responsible for the discrimination in the sale price * *
*.'
In the Purolator case, the Commission found sufficient control
to apply the indirect purchaser doctrine where the facts showed
that (1) Purolator had at one time reserved to itself the legal
right to control sales and (2) Purolator wrote and supplied the
wholesalerjobber agreements and (3) utilized suggested resale
prices lists. See also In the Matter of Champion Spark Plug Co.,
50 F.T.C. 30, (1953) at pp. 4345 where the Commission applied
the indirect purchaser doctrine upon finding elements of control
similar to those above. In its opinion, the Commission stated
'The terms and conditions of sales to such Franchise accounts
were fixed by Champion. The degree of control exercised by respondent
over sales to such Franchise accounts was such that such sales
were in all essential respects sales by respondent, these indirect
accounts are considered by the Commission to be purchasers within
the meaning of the Clayton Act, as amended.'
F. Discrimination by Holiday Magic, Inc. With Respect to Sales
to Holiday Girls
Holiday Girls purchase from Masters and Generals in the same manner
as do the Organizers, but resell only at the consumer level. Organizers
resell to Holiday Girls as well as to consumers.
In selling at retail to the ultimate consumers, Holiday Girls,
depending upon their volume for the month, buy at either a 30
or 35 percent discount, compared to 55 percent discount for Masters
and 65 percent discount for Generals, who certainly perform no
additional function with respect to their own retail sales.
It is well established that when a buyer performs both wholesale
and retail functions, as in the case of Masters and Generals at
bar, the seller must be careful to distinguish between the two
in his pricing policies if he chooses to engage in price differentiation
between competing cutomers. Holiday Magic has not done so. This
is perhaps one reason why turnover is so great at the Holiday
Girl level.
G. Discrimination by Holiday Magic, Inc. with Respect to Sales
to Organizers
Except to the extent that Organizers do not purchase their products
directly from the company, they are in the same position that
a Master would be in attempting to compete with a favored Generalonly
the Organizer is in a position even lower than the Master in terms
of discount.
Compared with the Master, who purchases at 55 percent off list
price, the Organizer will purchase at anywhere from 30 percent
to 55 percent off list price according to Holiday Magic's refund
bonus schedule. Thus, the Organizer's maximum disfavored buying
percentage visavis the General is 35/70 or a 50 percent
discount. For every $70 the Organizer spends on his products,
the General spends only $35. Similarly, the Organizer may purchase
up to as much as a 100 percent markup in price.
There are of course, some functional distinctions between the
Generals and Masters and their Organizers, but only to the extent
that the Master or General sells his products to the organizer
rather than directly at retail himself. However, the volume discount
arrangement, which is cumulative on a monthly basis, indicates
the frailty of the argument that the difference in price to Organizers
is functionally justifiable. The more an Organizer buys, the less
disfavored he becomes, and the more disfavored the Master becomes
with respect to the General since with very substantial sales
by a Master to an Organizer, the Organizer's volume discount will
approach 55 percent, which will create a situation where the Master
is not being reimbursed for his functions at all. Therefore, all
discriminations along the way show that the price differential
is not based upon functional distinctions. The more the Master
performs in the way of function, the lower is his profit on those
sales. The CRS usage fee alone will absorb most of his gross profit,
since the Master must pay 5 percent of retail value to CRS on
Organizer purchases. When the Organizer reaches the discount of
46 percent, the Master loses money. This is not a recognition
of function, but a total disregard thereof.
H. Competitive Injury
It is well established that substantial difference in prices charged
to competing customers are sufficient to base a finding that such
difference in prices, in and of themselves, may tend to substantially
lessen competition at the secondary level. E. Edelmann & Co.
v. F.T.C., 239 F.2d 152, 154 and 155 (7th Cir. 1956); Cert. denied,
355 U.S. 941 (1956); rehearing denied, 356 U.S. 905 (1957). Especially
so as this is true in situations such as we have here where profit
margins are so extremely low.
The difference in price charged by Holiday Magic to Generals and
Masters is of such magnitude as to warrant a finding that it is
'reasonably possible,' as well as 'reasonably probable,' that
such price difference may tend to substantially lessen competition
between the favored and nonfavored customers. (See F.T.C. v. Morton
Salt, 334 U.S. 37 (1948); E. Edelmann & Co., supra, at 154.)
The Supreme Court's decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Morton
Salt Co., 334 U.S. 37 (1948) should be ample precedent for the
complaint alleging unlawful price discrimination in the instant
matter.
The importance of the Morton Salt decision is that the Commission's
finding that the effect of the quantity discount on the salt carloads
may be substantially to lessen competition was proven sufficiently
by the showing that said discounts resulted in price differentials
between competing purchasers sufficient in amount to influence
the resale price of salt. Furthermore, the Court added that the
showing of 'substantial' differentials in price to competitors
is in itself, sufficient to justify a conclusion (of the Commission)
that injury to competition was adequately supported.
When the facts of Morton Salt are compared with those of Holiday
Magic, the substantial discounts of salt pale in comparison to
the discounts in Holiday Magic.
The Morton salt prices per case were as follows:
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
These figures reveal that the minimum discount is .1 0/1 .60 or
6.2 percent. The other two discounts are .2 0/1 .60 and .2 5/1
.60, or 12.5 percent and 15.6 percent, respectively. These figures,
it must be remembered, are further affected by the realization
that salt is a small item in most wholesale and retail businesses,
and that less than 1/10 th of 1 percent of Morton's total salt
business failed to get the benefit of the carload lot discount.
Holiday Magic's discounts are not only substantially greater than
the substantial discounts in the Morton salt plan, but also account
for the major or entire business of its retailers and wholesalers,
and all sales by the company produce the discount via the rebate
system.
In Muller Co. v. F.T.C., 323 F.2d 44, (7th Cir. (1963); cert.
denied, 377 U.S. 923 (1964), the court sustained the Commission's
finding of the requisite competitive injury based solely on the
substantiality of a price difference of precisely 10 percent between
the favored and nonfavored customers. [FN10]
The Courts have repeatedly held that evidence of specific or actual
adverse effects on competing purchasers need not be shown. The
best exposition of this is found in Moog Industries, Inc. v. F.T.C.,
supra, wherein the court held:
The Commission was not required to show that petitioner's rebate
system has, in fact, adversely affected competition. The languagein
the 'effect' clause of the statuteis 'may be substantially
to lessen competition * * *' (Italics supplied.)
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Section 2(a) of the
Act does not require a finding that the discriminations in price
have in fact had an adverse effect on competition. Corn Products
Refining Co. v. F.T.C., 324 U.S. 726, 738, 742; Federal Trade
Commission v. Morton Salt Co., 324 U.S. 37, 46; Standard Fashion
Co. v. MagraneHouston Co., 258 U.S. 346, 356, 357. It has
also held that 'The statute is designed to reach such discriminations
'in their incipience' before the harm to competition is effected.
It is enough that they 'may have the prescribed effect."
Corn Products case, 324, U.S. at 738.
For more recent expressions of this proposition, see Monroe Auto
Equipment Co. v. F.T.C., 347 F.2d 401, 404 (7th Cir. 1965); cert.
denied 382 U.S. 1009 (1966). There, the court upheld the Commission's
finding of the requisite anticompetitive effects based solely
on the fact that the price discriminations were 'far in excess
of the average net profit usually earned by automotive parts jobbers.'
The courts have further held that the lack of price competition
between favored and nonfavored customers is no barrier to a finding
of a lessening of competition through secondary line discrimination.
Foremost Dairies, Inc. v. F.T.C., 348 F.2d 674 (1965), cert. denied
382 U.S. 759; Standard Motor Products, Inc. v. F.T.C., 265 F.2d
674, 676 (2d Cir. 1959), cert. denied 361 U.S. 826 (1959). Indeed
the courts found a lessening of competition even in instances
in which resale prices were rigidly adhered to by both favored
and nonfavored customers. See National Dairy Products v. F.T.C.,
395 F.2d 517, cert. denied, 393 U.S. 977 (1968); Edelmann, supra.
And courts have upheld a finding of a lessening of competition
despite testimony to the contrary from nonfavored customers. See
Foremost Dairies, Inc., supra; Moog Industries, supra, 238 F.2d
at 50 and 51; Whitaler Cable Corp., supra, 239 F.2d at 255; E.
Edelmann & Co., supra, 239 F.2d at 155. The requisite finding
of anticompetitive injury has been upheld even in the extreme
case where some nonfavored customers prospered more than some
favored customers. Standard Motor Products, supra, 265 F.2d at
676.
Because of the substantiality of the discounts, and the nature
and amount of the expenses which both Master Distributors and
General Distributors must endure in order to remain in business,
the likelihood is great that the General with his favored status
is far more likely to remain a viable competitor longereven
in situations where he is suffering losses such as we have seen
exist at bar, if he can plow his added income back into the business
in order to get it off the ground and achieve a sounder operation
in the long run without the release fees and overrides
to distract him.
I. Low Profit Margins
The expenses of Masters and Generals are many, and varied. For
example, advertising, office space, warehouse room, samples, sales
aids, auto, telephone, shipping, training, recruiting, council
and distribution center, and other expenses all eat away at a
distributor's gross profits. Their expenses, of course, highlight
the injury to various Distributors.
The record also amply demonstrates the low and often negative
profit margins in this business. The tabulation of the various
profit levels have been shown on the three charts covering Milwaukee,
Miami and Chicago, for Distributors from whom profit and loss
statements were obtainable.
In order to make a profit, sales must be higher than cost of sales.
However, in many cases the gross profit margin is so low that
a reasonable profit could not be anticipated because of the other
operating expenses, at the volume of business that was available
to each individual.
As an example, Sharon Fisher traded in the Milwaukee area, showed
gross receipts of $2,427 as a Master Distributor, which yielded
a gross profit of $1,890. However, the other operating expenses
heretofore mentioned amounted to $1,990, which resulted in a net
operating loss of $100. If Sharon Fisher had been a General (which
she finally did become) her gross profit margin would have been
substantial enough for her to have absorbed the heavy operating
expenses and still show a profit rather than a loss. Sharon Fisher's
gross receipts do not reflect additional income that would be
available to a General only such as the overrides and release
fees.
Of those few distributors such as Belton, Toepfer, and Benson
who do show large profits as a percentage of gross sales, the
record reflects that in every case this was a result of the release
fees and overrides which preoccupied their time. No Master Distributors
have overrides and release fees available to them, and so no Masters
are in the position of having substantial gross profits as a percentage
of gross sales.
J. 'Availability' of Lower Prices
Holiday Magic could of course defend the sales plan as being 'available'
to all distributors, and therefore a defense to a Section 2(a)
proceeding.
Although the availability concept does not specifically appear
in Section 2(a), the availability requirements for promotional
payments on proportionally equal terms under Section 2(d) of the
RobinsonPatman Act, has enabled the availability concept
to work its way into Section 2(a). (See 'The Status of 'Availability'
under Section 2(a) of the RobinsonPatman Act' by Ira M.
Millstein, Vol. 42 Number 3, New York University Law Review, May
1967.)
As applied to Holiday Magic, the argument fails both with regard
to the quantity discounts offered Holiday Girls and Organizers,
and the discrimination between the purchases of the Masters and
the Generals who buy without regard to quantity discounts.
Dealing first with the MasterGeneral differential, it is
clear that the concept of availability cannot apply. The Master
distributor does not purchase his products under a discriminatory
price, the argument goes, because he may some day qualify for
the General Distributor position.
This position lacks support both in law and in reason. It is unreasonable
because it is so obviously contrary to the very purpose of the
RobinsonPatman Act which is 'to curb and prohibit all devices
by which large buyers gained discriminatory preferences over smaller
ones by virtue of their greater purchasing power.' F.T.C. v. Henry
Broch & Co., 363 U.S. 166, 168 (1960). To simply argue that
some day the small can become big and thereby be in a position
to share in the discrimination and competitive advantage would
be folly.
In the Dayco Corp. case, Trade Reg. Rep. (Transfer Binder 19631965)
P17039, at 22140 (1964), the Commission was faced with the argument
that because lower prices would be available to individuals who
could form buying groups of their own, 'lower prices were available.'
The Commission stated that 'lower prices are not 'available' where
a purchaser must alter his purchasing status before he can receive
them.' Id. at 22140.
The 'availability' argument with respect to a volume discount
arrangement, is more sophisticated. The argument is that, in a
schedule of quantity discounts offered to all customers even if
not cost justified, a price is not discriminatory where the highest
bracket is within the purchasing range of the average small purchaser.
The availability concept thereby assumes the disruption of the
nexus between the price discrimination and any potential injury.
[FN11]
As indicated above, the Dayco case suggests that the Commission
indicated it might reject an availability defense if the customer
is required to take anyaction whatsoever beyond his ordinary purchasing
routine. The Commission's declaration in its entirety is to the
point, at p. 22140.
Lower prices are not 'available' where a purchaser must alter
his purchasing status before he can receive them. Patently, a
lower price is not 'available' to a merchant who must, in order
to qualify, purchase more goods within a given time period.
If the disfavored customer had to undergo a change in his status
or incur a substantial expenditure to receive the favored discount,
the discount is not 'available' to all and therefore there is
competitive injury. In the Matter of Alhambra Motor Parts, 57
F.T.C. (1007 (1960)) the Commission found that members of a buying
group induced discriminatory discounts since such discounts weren't
available to other jobbers. Subsequent to the entering of an order
forbidding such discrimination, the Commission accepted a compliance
report which provided for the continuation of the buying group
and its receipt of discounts provided essentially that anyone
could join the group without paying any charge. [FN12]
The Commission also examined the question of an availability defense
in United Fruit Company, et al., Dkt. No. 8795, Jan. 12, 1973
[82 F.T.C. 53]. It held that mere theoretical availability was
insufficient to constitute a defense to a price discrimination
charge. It characterized as a 'meaningless gesture' an offer to
sell at the favored terms that would require the unfavored customers
to construct new distribution facilities.
An examination of the factual background of this case shows that
the extra discount granted General Distributors clearly was not
'available' to Master Distributors. Masters could not simply avail
themselves of the added discount by changing their purchasing
habits, as would be true in the case of an extra discount given
on a monthly order. Instead these Masters would have had to more
than double their initial investment plus recruit a competitor!
It therefore becomes clear that the discount at which General
Distributors buy their Holiday Magic products are not 'available'
at all to Master Distributors, to Organizers or to Holiday Girls.
With respect to sales at the retail level, for which the Holiday
Girls and Organizers compete, these lower level Distributors would
have to pay approximately $9,000 today, plus recruit a Master
Distributor in order to have the 65 percent discount available
to them.
K. No Cost Justification
If no function is performed by the General which is compensated
by the seller in the form of an additional discount, it can only
be justified if such differentials make only due allowance for
differences in the cost of manufacture, sale or delivery, and
if such cost differences are those resulting from the differing
methods or quantities in which the goods are sold or delivered
to the Master and General Distributors.
No differences in the cost of manufacture, sale or delivery on
the part of Holiday Magic were even raised by respondents in their
defense case that would seek to justify such price discrimination.
If anything, the record indicates that it may be cheaper for Holiday
Magic to sell to Masters than to Generals for the simple reason
that the bulk of Master orders appear to be the initial inventories,
whereas the General never has to order products in the quantities
of the initial Master inventory.
The one argument which has been made is that Generals perform
services for Holiday Magic in training and motivating Masters,
which Holiday Magic would have performed but for its performance
by the Generals and the price structures reflect 'compensation'
for their services rendered.
Not only are such 'services' fictitious, but there is no way that
a discount to a General Distributor on his purchases for resale
to the General's customers in any way is connected to the alleged
training and motivation of a Master Distributor, to whom he does
not sell.
Certainly a General with gross sales of $10,000 per month performing
a given amount of work in training a Master for Holiday Magic
should not be compensated 10 times less than another General (or
the same General in another month) having gross sales of $100.
There is simply no connection between the Generals' own purchases
and the 'services' to a Master. If anything, it is an inverse
proposition. The more the General purchases, the more likely he
is to dwell on his own business activities, yet he will receive
far more by way of discounts from Holiday Magic.
It is conceptually impossible to base a payment for services rendered
on proportion to the success of the person performing the service
in unrelated business activities (his own).
But most importantly, the record establishes that it is Holiday
Magic, Inc., through its Instructor General and Trainer General
programs that does all the training for the Masters, and for which
the Masters have to pay. The record is replete with instances
in which no services were performed by a General, and nothing
was ever done, except that Holiday Magic would tell the Master
Distributor that he's in business for himself and that he should
be able to handle all of his own problems; or perhaps join a council
in his area.
No cost justification study of any kind was evidenced. The burden
is on respondents to present one. They haven't shown that it is
less costly to sell to General Distributors than to Master distributors.
In F.T.C. v. Morton Salt Co., 334 U.S. 37, at pp. 43, 45, 48,
the Supreme Court held that in supporting a cost justification
defense it must be show that the difference in price must be based
upon actual cost differences, to the seller with the burden of
showing a cost justification upon the one shown to have discriminated
in prices.
L. The 10 Percent Override
The 10 percent override should not be confused with the differential
in price between Masters and Generals since the General will receive
an additional 1o percent of the list price purchase value of Master
Distributors in his organization. This means that after the basic
discriminations are taken care of, the General receives a compounded
10 percent payment, which makes the discrimination, in net effect,
much greater.
The 10 percent override is directly related to the purchase of
products by the Masterthe nonfavored customer. Every
time he purchases products from Holday Magic, Inc., the extent
of his nonfavored status is given to the General. It is, in effect,
a compound discrimination in 'net' price.
Discriminatory rebates are as much a discrimination in 'net' price
as are discriminations ab initio. In a 'net' basis there is no
difference, and that is all there is to the statutory requirement.
There is absolutely no relation between the amount received by
way of overrides to a General and the time, effort or money spent
on an alleged training program. It is conceptually impossible
to pay an override of 10 percent for supposed services rendered,
on the purchases of a Master Distributor allegedly receiving aid
since such payment must be based upon savings to Holiday Magic,
and the company would run up a greater expense in training a less
successful Master than a more successful Master, yet the General
who 'trains' the unsuccessful Master gets little or nothing for
his efforts. In reality, training is performed by the socalled
Instructor Generals and Trainer Generals, who are paid for their
services by the individuals who actually receive the training.
Such training as there is is provided by councils and the IG and
IG program, both of which are supported by dues or payments from
Masters and Generals.
M. Customer Restrictions and Price Discriminations
If anything, Holiday Magic's customer restrictions upon its Distributors
highlight the inherent competition existing between and among
them. If there were no competition, there would be no need to
make it appear restrictions were being imposed on selling to one
another's customers. At any rate, customer restrictions do not
inhibit potential competition.
Even the assignment of territorial routes without consistent enforcement
does not insulate Distributors from competition as an inducement
to participation. In order to obtain a route and keep a route,
a minimum of $300 a month in volume had to be obtained and maintained.
Since this was often (and usually) not the case, the routes were
changing hands often. The product competition and competition
in obtaining product routes is undeniable in the presence of fluctuating
territorial overlapping adjustments to keep pace with Holiday
Girl turnover.
All this, of course, indicates that with or without customer limitations
or exclusive routes for Holiday Girls (which is all the complaint
alleges with respect to routes) Distributors are in potential
competition. There is no need to show that Distributors are in
competition by selling to the same customer. The absurdity of
this approach would lead to the illogical conclusion that Distributors
selling high priced items, or once in a lifetime items, are not
in competition because the same customer does not buy from both
Distributors.
N. Adherence to Holiday Magic SoCalled Marketing Plan Is
Inherently Price Discriminatory
If the mandatory plan is adhered to as evidenced, the discounts
allowed at different levels of distributorships must not only
be conducive to price discrimination but actually price discriminatory
as reflected by the foregoing Findings and Conclusions in the
absence of respondent affirmative proof to the contrary.
VII. Summary of Conclusions
1. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction over respondents
and over this proceeding.
2. Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc. is engaged 'in commerce' within
the intent and meaning of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act, and is engaged in the interstate sale of its Holiday Magic
products within the intent and meaning of Section 2 of the Clayton
Act, as amended.
Respondent William Penn Patrick is the founder of Holiday Magic,
Inc. has been and is responsible for establishing, supervising,
directing and controlling the business activities and practices
of Holiday Magic, Inc.
The entire unconscionable scheme which respondents have engaged
in was the sole creation of respondent Patrick, and the corporate
respondent was simply the means he created to carry out this scheme.
It is respondent Patrick whose future conduct must be the concern
of the Commission and it is Patrick's conduct which the relief
must be designed to effectively restrain if future law violations
are to be prevented.
Respondent Fred Pape was responsible, along with others, for establishing,
supervising, directing, controlling and participating in the businessactivities
of respondent Holiday Magic, Inc.
There is public interest in issuing a cease and desist order against
Mr. Pape in his individual capacity in order to prohibit future
business activities of a similar nature on Pape's part.
Respondent Janet Gillespie was responsible, along with others,
for establishing, supervising, directing, controlling and participating
in the business activities of respondent Holiday Magic, Inc.
There is public interest in issuing a cease and desist order against
Gillespie in her individual capacity in order to prohibit future
business activities of a similar nature on Gillespie's part.
Except to the extent that actual and potential competition has
been lessened, hampered, restricted and restrained by reason of
the practices alleged in the complaint, respondents' Distributors
and dealers, in the course and conduct of their business in distributing,
offering for sale, and selling of cosmetic and home care products
are in substantial competition in commerce with one another, and
corporate respondents' distributors are in substantial competition
in commerce with other firms or persons engaged in the manufacture
or distribution of similar products.
Corporate respondent is in substantial competition with other
firms or persons engaged in the manufacture or distribution of
cosmetic and home care products.
Respondents have adopted, placed in effect and carried out, by
various methods and means, the marketing plan to hinder, frustrate,
restrain, suppress and eliminate competition in the offering for
sale, distribution and sale of cosmetics, toiletries and home
care products.
Respondents have entered into contracts, agreements, combinations
or understandings with each of its Distributors whereby said Distributors
agree and are required to maintain the resale prices at wholesale
and retail levels, as established and set forth by the company,
notwithstanding that some of such Distributors are located in
states which do not have fair trade laws.
Respondents have entered into contracts, agreements, combinations
or understandings with each of its Distributors whereby said Distributors
agree and are required to maintain the discounts, overrides, rebates,
bonus schedules, and finder's fees, as established and set forth
by the company, notwithstanding that some of such distributors
are located in states which do not have fair trade laws.
Respondents have entered into contracts, agreements, combinations
or understandings with each of its Distributors whereby said Distributors
are restricted as to whom they may purchase their cosmetics and
home care products from, and to whom they may resell them, by:
(a) requiring Holiday Girls and Organizers to purchase only from
their sponsoring distributors:
(b) prohibiting its Distributors from buying back merchandise
already sold to other distributors in the distribution line;
(c) restricting the Distributors from transferring into the organization
of any other Distributor of their choice, from whom they may choose
to deal with and purchase product.
The practice of restricting the Distributors to purchasing Holiday
Magic products only from the specified source constitutes an unreasonable
restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition.
Respondents have engaged in the practice of restricting their
Distributors as to the customers to whom they may resell their
Holiday Magic products by:
(a) Requiring that Masters, Generals and Organizers sell at wholesale
only to Organizers and Holiday Girls whom they have sponsored
into the Holiday Magic program;
(b) Prohibiting Distributors from recruiting or sponsoring other
Distributors who have already been sponsored into the Holiday
Magic program;
(c) Prohibiting Distributors from selling at retail to consumers
or retail customers who are currently being serviced by other
Holiday Magic Distributors.
The practice of restricting the Distributors from selling their
Holiday Magic products to specified persons or classes constitutes
an unreasonable restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition.
Respondents have engaged in the practice of restricting the retail
outlets in which Holiday Magic products Distributors may sell
or offer for sale Holiday Magic products by prohibiting Holiday
Magic Distributors from placing Holiday Magic products in drug
stores, department or variety chain stores, grocery stores or
discount stores. The practice of restricting the retail outlets
in which or from which Holiday Magic Distributors may offer their
Holiday Magic products for sale constitutes an unreasonable restraint
of trade and an unfair method of competition.
Respondents have engaged in the practice of requiring its Distributors
to obtain the prior approval of Holiday Magic, Inc. prior to the
advertising or promotion of Holiday Magic products by the Distributors.
The practice of requiring the Holiday Magic Distributors to submit
all forms of advertising for the Holiday Magic product to the
respondent for approval prior to the advertisement of same constitutes
an unreasonable restraint of trade and an unfair method of competition.
Respondents enter into agreements with their Distributors and
restrict and delimit their Holiday Magic Distributors from engaging
in their business activities free of arbitrary and undue interference
by corporate respondent in that Holiday Magic, Inc. requires:
(a) that in the event a partnership distributorship dissolves,
the departing partner is required to revert back to his original
sponsor;
(b) that in the event a General distributorship partnership dissolves,
the departing partner must requalify as a new Master Distributor
under his original sponsor, create a replacement Master and pay
a release fee to qualify for the General position again;
(c) that the addition of partners to an existing Master or General
distributorship or the sale of a General or Master distributorship
must meet the same retail list price value purchase requirement
as do Master Distributors;
(d) that distributors may only have a financial interest in one
Holiday Magic distributorship at a time;
(e) that Distributors must not enter into any agreement with any
other Distributor to make a division of profits, assets or new
recruits in violation of the marketing plan;
(f) that Distributors must not make a consignment of the Holiday
Magic merchandise to any person.
The restrictions and limitations that Holiday Magic places upon
its distributors constitute unreasonable restraints of trade and
unfair methods of competition.
Respondents and their representatives have engaged in the practice
of allocating exclusive sales territories to Holiday Girls in
connection with the sales of Holiday Magic products to retail
customers in certain areas.
The allocation of territories to Holiday Girls, and the manner
in which such territories were allocated, constitute unreasonable
restraints of trade and unfair methods of competition.
Master Distributors and General Distributors are at the same functional
level of distribution in connection with wholesale sales.
Master Distributors, General Distributors and Holiday Girls are
at the same functional level of distribution in connection with
direct retail sales to the consuming public.
Master Distributors and General Distributors in the same geographic
market areaincluding the city and suburban area in
which they reside and do business are in actual and potential
competition with one another in connection with he wholesale sale
and distribution of Holiday Magic products. Master Distributors,
General Distributors and Holiday Girls engaging in retail sales
activities in the same geographic area are in actual and potential
competition with one another in connection with retail sales of
Holiday Magic products.
Respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., is discriminating in price by
selling to Master Distributors at a substantially lower price
than it sells to General Distributors.
Holiday Girl Distributors and Organizer Distributors are indirect
purchasers of Holiday Magic, Inc.
Holiday Magic, Inc. is discriminating in price indirectly by selling
to Organizers and Holiday Girls indirectly at substantially lower
prices than it sells to other Organizers, Masters and Generals.
The effects of such price discrimination may be to substantially
lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly.
The operation of respondents' merchandising program contemplates
geometrical increases in the number of distributors to insure
participants the earnings represented and implicity realizable
from the program.
Respondents' marketing program holds out to prospective Distributors
the lure of making large sums of money through a virtually endless
chain of recruiting additional participants to whom products need
not be sold, or who are at the same functional level as the recruiter.
Participants may be, and in substantial numbers of cases were
and will continue to be, unable to find additional investors or
participants in a given community or geographical area by the
time that they enter the merchandising program.
As to each of the individual participants in respondents merchandising
program, respondents' recruitment program must of necessity ultimately
collapse when the number of potentially available Distributors
which can be recruited to serve a particular area is exhausted
and/or the number of distributors theretofore recruited has so
saturated the area with Distributors as to render it virtually
impossible to recruit any more.
Although some participants in respondents' merchandising program
may realize a profit through recruitment, all participants do
not have the potentiality of receiving equivalent sums of money
through the recruitment process, and the greater the number of
Distributors previously recruited, the lower the actual chances
for such success.
Respondents' merchandising program is operated in such a manner
that the realization of financial gains is often predicated upon
the exploitation of others who have been induced to participate
therein, and who have virtually no chance of receiving the kind
of return on their investment implicity realizable and represented
as realizable in the said merchandising program.
Participants in respondents' merchandising program are induced
to invest substantial sums of money on the possibility that the
activities and efforts of others, over whom they need exercise
little or no control, they will receive substantial financial
gains.
The realization of substantial financial gains in respondents'
merchandising program need not depend upon the skill and effort
of the individual participants, but instead may result from predominant
elements of chance, such as the number of prior participants in
the program, the ability of their own recruits to recruit other
Distributors, and the ability of their own recruits to either
sell merchandise or recruit other persons who may be successful
in selling merchandise.
Respondents' merchandising program is in the nature of a lottery
because it is a gaming device, gift enterprise or lottery scheme.
The marketing plan is not primarily designed as an offer to knowledgeable
businessmen, competent to weigh and evaluate commercial risks.
It is designed rather to appeal to uninformed members of the general
public, unaware of and unadvised of, the true nature of the risks
runpersons with limited capital who are led to part
with that capital by promise and hopes which are seldom, if ever,
fulfilled.
Implicit in the arrangement of the Holiday Magic marketing plan
is the promise, rarely if ever kept, that the recruiting Distributor
can, without himself working, profit greatly from the work of
others.
Respondents have represented to prospective participants, directly
and indirectly, that it is not difficult to recruit and retain
persons who will invest or participate in the Holiday Magic merchandising
program.
It is difficult, and becomes increasingly more difficult under
respondents' geometrically increasing program to recruit and retain
persons who will invest in respondents' program.
Respondents have represented to prospective participants that
Holiday Magic products will be or are advertised widely and substantially
in the community or geographic area in which such representations
are made.
Respondents do not advertise their products to the extent that
they or their representatives represent.
Respondents have represented to prospective Distributors, directly
or indirectly, that employment is being offered.
Respondents, their representatives and Distributors do not offer
employment in connection with the Holiday Magic marketing program,
but instead use advertisements indicating employment is offered
to obtain leads to prospective investors in their marketing program.
Respondents have represented to prospective participants, directly
and indirectly, that participants in the Holiday Magic marketing
program have the reasonable expectancy of receiving large profits
or earnings.
Most participants in respondents' marketing program do not in
fact have a reasonable expectancy of receiving the large profits
or financial gains represented, and most participants in respondents'
marketing program do not and have not received the earnings and
income represented as reasonably attainable.
Respondents have perpetuated a scheme fraught with misrepresentations
from which they try to insulate themselves by using devious contractual
language and socalled 'hypothetical' examples of earnings
potential not clearly understood or understandable by persons
exposed to this scheme.
Respondents have calculated the program to enrich only themselves
at the expense of innocent wouldbe small businessmen, lured
into it by 'getrich quick' promises. Respondents even
require that these new Distributors pay for their own training
programs and sales manuals, which are of dubious value.
Because of the nature of the Master Distributors' inventory loading
and the incredibly large numbers of such Master and General Distributors
who bought inventories of cosmetics in order to participate in
respondents' merchandising program or marketing scheme, the inventories
in many situations are largely worthless to persons who are unable
to sell the same at wholesale or at retail.
VIII. Nature of the Order as Related to Restitutive Relief
An order which merely prohibited respondents from engaging in
similar frauds in the future would have no real effect on preventing
respondents from devising another illegal business venture.
The Commission in its most recent expression of its powers to
order restitution in Universal Credit Acceptance Corporation,
et al., Docket No. 8821, issued Feb. 16, 1973 [82 F.T.C. 570],
stated the broad powers it has in this respect as follows:
The Courts have made it abundantly clear that the Commission is
duty bound to devise an appropriate and reasonable remedy to cure
violations found to exist and to prevent their recurrence. The
central purpose of relief is 'to prevent violations of the Act,
the threat of which is indicated by past conduct of the petitioners.'
Feitler v. F.T.C., 201 F.2d 790, 794 (9th Cir.), cert. denied,
346 U.S. 814 (1953).
Moreover, the Commission through its order 'cannot be required
to confine its road block to the narrow lane the transgressor
has traveled; it must be allowed effectively to close all roads
to the prohibited goal, that its order may not be bypassed
with impunity.' F.T.C. v. Ruberoid, 343 U.S. 470, 473 (1952);
F.T.C. v. National Lead Co., 352 U.S. 419, 431 (1957). Once a
violation is found the Commission must 'frame its order broadly
enough to prevent respondents from engaging in similarly illegal
practices in [the] future * * *.' F.T.C. v. Colgate Palmolive
Co., 380 U.S. 374, 395 (1965); Atlantic Rfg. co. v. F.T.C., 381
U.S. 357, 367 (1965); F.T.C. v. Henry Brock & Co., 368 U.S.
360, 364 (1962). Through these orders the Commission is required
'to develop that enforcement policy best calculated to achieve
the ends contemplated by Congress. * * *' Moog Industries, Inc.
v. F.T.C., 355 U.S. 411, 413 (1958). We conclude, therefore, that
restitutionary relief is essential in this case in order to redress
the competitive balance disrupted by respondents' fraudulent program
and prevent repetition of these practices in the future.
And as to the liability of individual respondents for restitutionary
relief:
Respondents argue that respondent Heater should not be subject
to the refund provisions in the order because he received no income
from the marketing and operation of the program, and alternatively,
that he should be excused from the refund provisions on humanitarian
grounds. Neither contention has any merit. The Law Judge found
that respondent Heater was the essential author and promoter of
the illegal credit card program. He created the corporations through
which the program was implemented. He was the sole stockholder
of the corporations which were active during the relevant period,
served as president of both International and Universal for most
of the relevant period and was found by the Law Judge to have
had primary responsibility for establishing, supervising, directing
and controlling all of the acts and practices of these corporate
respondents. He was in fact the alter ego of these corporate respondents
which had no real existence separate from him.
The Law Judge's finding that Heater dominated every aspect of
the program is fully supported by the record. All member and franchisee
complaints were ultimately brought to his attention and were answered
in accordance with his directions. He took an active role in the
preparation of the program's promotional material and prepared
material was submitted for his approval. Additional, he often
acted as an instructor for the franchisees. His influence in the
origination and implementation of this fraudulent scheme was all
pervasive. [Footnotes and citations omitted]
Restitutive relief under the Commission's concept aforesaid is
justified in the case at bar:
(a) The obtaining by respondents of the illegally obtained money
from investors is a violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act, and therefore the retention and failure to refund
same is a continuing violation of Section 5.
(b) There is no need to plead in the complaint that the retention
and failure to refund that which has been illegally obtained is
a violation of Section 5 since the complaint alleges the taking
of the money as a violation. If the taking is unlawful, then the
retention is automatically unlawful.
(c) Respondents were formally put on notice of complaint counsel's
intentions to seek restitutive relief the first day of trial on
November 1, 1971 (See Tr. 6870) although not provided for
in the proposed order attached to the complaint which in any event
is not binding on the Commission or administrative law judge unless
misleading. Adequate and timely notice by complaint counsel on
the record with regard to seeking restitutive relief clearly meets
all requirements of due process necessitating the elimination
of surprise.
(d) Adequate relief on the false, misleading and deceptive practice
allegations require restitutive relief.
(e) Adequate relief in the anticompetitive aspects of this matterincluding
the anticompetitive nature of the false, misleading and deceptive
matters, requires restitutive relief.
(f) Restitutive relief is proper not only with respect to Mr.
Patrick and Holiday Magic in connection with Holiday Magic activities,
but also against Mr. Patrick in connection with with all aspects
of the order since he is legally responsible in his individual
capacity.
Because he is legally responsible in his individual capacity,
by continuing to refuse to refund money from other operators of
the same ilk as Holiday Magic (if any) he engages in a continuing
violation of the provisions of the order.
Restitution is therefore appropriate with respect to all activities
of Mr. Patrick which violate the order.
The record reflects a recent change in the control of Holiday
Magic, Inc. in that Holiday Magic is now a subsidiary of Marketing
Associates, Inc. which in turn is a subsidiary of U. S. Universal,
Inc. Thus, corporate control and responsibility over the acts
and practices of Holiday Magic would extend to these two corporations
as well as any other agents, successors or assigns within the
organization of the corporate structure.
Since these corporations have not been made parties to the complaint
an order specifically directed to them would be improper. However
this cannot effect the impact of the order which is directed to
the agents, representatives, successors and assigns of Holiday
Magic, Inc. regardless of who they are now or eventually may turn
out to be (i.e., Marketing Associates Inc., U. S. Universal Inc.
or any other entity). All parties have been placed on notice to
this effect pursuant to the proposed order annexed to the complaint.
In concluding it might be well to point out that unfortunately
in this particular and exceptionally protracted case it has been
impossible to render findings and conclusions with more brevity
in the presence of the volume of evidence involved reflective
of Holiday Magic's entire plan and details of the operation thereof
as related to seven different charges or counts, each of which
is premised upon a different legal theory involving deception,
lottery, price fixing, price discrimination, Holiday Magic control
over independent contractors indicative of agency relationship
under certain circumstances and condonation of certain independent
contractor malpractices from which adoption may be reasonably
imputed. In fairness to the parties it has also been necessary
to discuss in detail a major part of all the evidence indicative
of Holiday Magic's complete modus operandi with extensive precise
quotation of the corporate respondents' publications including
manuals and directives as well as other media.
The issues involving an evaluation of whether or not the entire
plan per so violates public policy as related to fair trade practice
under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and whether
or not the plan is conducive to and in fact involves RobinsonPatman
violations under Section 2(a) of the Clayton Act, also requires
extensive recitation of the evidentiary facts and discussion in
order to avoid inept consideration. In the foregoing connection
to assure credibility and accuracy of the findings, documentary
excerpts have been quoted rather extensively to avoid any possible
out of context misinterpretation of the findings themselves. To
have otherwise abbreviated summarily would have only enhanced
unwarranted and time consuming interpretive argument hereafter
over what the relevant and material evidence accurately is in
resolving the enumberable issues. Therefore careful and exhaustive
consideration of every facet of the evidentiary findings, conclusions
and order has been given to the thorough and able although unabbreviated
proposals and argument of complaint counsel and respondent counsel.
The excellent charts prepared by complaint counsel's staff reflecting
profit margins, sales summaries as well as areas of competition,
also vividly substantiate the findings and conclusions justifying
the entry of the order hereinafter set forth.
ORDER
I.
It is ordered, That respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., a corporation,
its officers, agents, representatives, employees, successors and
assigns, and respondent William Penn Patrick, individually and
as chairman of the board of directors of Holiday Magic, Inc.,
respondent Fred Pape, individually, and respondent Janet Gillespie,
individually, their agents, representatives and employees, directly
or indirectly, or through any corporate or other device, in connection
with the offering for sale, sale, or distribution of goods or
commodities in commerce, as 'commerce' is defined in the Federal
Trade Commission Act and in the Clayton Act, shall forthwith cease
and desist from:
1. Entering into, maintaining, promoting, or enforcing any contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
with any dealer or distributor of such goods or commodities to
do or perform or attempt to do or perform any of the following
acts, practices, or things:
(a) Fix, establish, or maintain the prices, discounts, rebates,
overrides, commissions, fees, or other terms or conditions of
sale relating to pricing upon which goods or commodities may be
resold.
(b) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
which fixes, establishes, or maintains the prices, discounts,
rebates, overrides, commissions, fees, or other terms or conditions
of sale relating to pricing upon which goods of commodities may
be resold.
(c) Requiring or coercin any person to refrain from selling his
merchandise in any quantity to or through any specified person,
class of persons, business, class of business or retail outlet
of his choosing.
(d) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
or requiring, inducing, coercing or entering into any agreement
with any distributor to refrain from selling any merchandise in
any quantity to or through nay specified person, class of persons,
business, class of business, or retail outlet of his choosing.
(e) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
requiring, inducing, or coercing any distributor to refrain from
selling any merchandise in any geographic area; Provided, however,
That nothing contained herein shall prevent respondent corporation,
acting alone and not in conjunction with other distributors, from
assigning routes to individual distributors as areas of primary
responsibility.
(f) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
which discriminates, directly or indirectly, in the net price
of any merchandise of like grade and quality by selling to any
purchaser at net prices higher than the net prices charged to
any other purchaser who in fact competes in the resale or distribution
of such merchandise with the purchaser paying the higher price.
(g) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
which prevents the distributor from selling his merchandise to
another under terms and conditions which they may mutually agree
to.
(h) Require, coerce or suggest that any person enter into a contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
which prevents the distributor from entering into business or
financial arrangements with persons of their own choosing, and
under terms and conditions mutually acceptable to the distributors
and said third persons.
3. Discriminating, directly or indirectly, in the net price of
any merchandise of like grade and quality by selling to any purchaser
at net prices less favorable than the net prices upon which such
products are sold to any other purchaser who competes in the resale
of any such products with the purchaser who is afforded less favorable
terms and conditions of sale or with a customer of the purchaser
afforded the less favorable terms and conditions of sale.
4. Discriminating, directly or indirectly, in the terms or conditions
of sale of any merchandise of like grade and quality by selling
to any purchaser upon terms or conditions of sale less favorable
than the terms or conditions of sale upon which such products
are sold to any other purchaser who competes in the resale of
any such products with the purchaser who is afforded less favorable
terms and conditions of sale or with a customer of the purchaser
afforded the less favorable terms and conditions of sale.
5. Classifying distributors who are in competition or potential
competition with one another into different categories, where
such to continue to do business amount of inventory initially
purchased, the amount of inventory purchased during any specified
period of time, or any monies invested.
6. Preventing distributors from operating their business in any
lawful manner they choose to, including but not limited to:
(a) individual owning or having a financial interest in more than
one distributorship;
(b) an individual incorporating his distributorship or taking
on additional partners without the necessity of each individual
separately purchasing additional inventories or qualifying as
a separate distributor;
(c) a distributorship selling the business to another individual
or potential distributor;
(d) distributors entering into consignment arrangements;
(e) requiring departing partners of a partnershipdistributorship
to requalify in any manner to continue to do business with respondents.
7. Adopting, encouraging, participating in, coercing or otherwise
promoting any plan or common course of conduct whereby distributors
in competition with one another allocate or are allocated sales
territories.
8. Engaging, either as part of any contract, agreements, understandings,
or courses of conduct with any distributor or dealer of any goods
or commodities, or individually and unilaterally, in the practice
of:
(a) Publishing or distributing, directly or indirectly, any resale
price, product price list, order form, report form, or promotional
material which employs resale prices for goods or commodities
for a period of three (3) years. Thereafter, no such list or material
shall be employed without stating clearly and visibly in conjunction
therewith the following statement:
The prices quoted herein are suggested prices only. Distributors
are free to determine for themselves their own resale prices.
(b) Publishing or distributing, directly or indirectly, any discount,
rebate, commission, override, or other bonus to be paid by one
distributor or class of distributors to any other distributors
or class of distributors, suggested or otherwise.
(c) Entering into, maintaining, enforcing, or threatening to enforce
any contracts, agreements, rights, or privileges pursuant to or
claimed by virtue of the MillerTydings Act, as amended,
the McGuire Act, or any other similar legislation, for a period
of three (3) years from the effective date of this order.
9. Paying or granting anything of value to any dealer, distributor,
or participant in respondents' merchandising program, directly
or indirectly, except for services actually rendered to respondents
in connection with the sale or purchase of goods, wares, or merchandise;
Provided, That the solicitation, sponsorship, training or upgrading
of other participants shall not fall within the meaning of services
rendered in connection with the sale or purchase of goods, wares,
or merchandise described herein.
10. Requiring any distributor or dealer or other participant in
any merchandising programs to obtain the prior approval of respondents
for any product advertising promotion, or proposed product advertising
or promotion, unless the selling prices and selling outlets are
required to be deleted from same prior to submission.
It is further ordered, That the aforesaid
It is further ordered, That the aforesaid respondents and their
officers, agents, representatives, employees, successors and assigns,
in connection with the advertising, offering for sale or sale
of products, franchisees or distributorships, or with the seeking
to induce or inducing the participation of persons, firms or corporations
therefor, in connection with any marketing program or any other
kind of merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, in
commerce, as 'commerce' is defined in the Federal Trade Commission
Act, do forthwith cease and desist, directly or indirectly, from:
1. Operating or participating in the operation or suggested operation
of any program or plan wherein participants may join in a process
of geometrical expansion of other participants at the same functional
or horizontal levels or other 'endless chain' scheme.
2. Operating or participating in the operation or suggested operation
of any program or plan wherein participants engage in a program
or plan involving referral selling.
3. Operating or participating in the operation or suggested operation
of any program or plan wherein the financial gains to the participants
are or may be dependent in any manner and to any degree upon the
recruitment of other participants.
4. Offering to pay or paying, or authorizing, suggesting or requiring
the payment of any commissions, fees, release fee, bonus, override,
commission, crosscommission, discount, rebate, dividend
or other consideration or thing of value to any participant in
respondents' marketing program or other kind of merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion program, for the solicitation, recruitment,
referral, upgrading or training of other participants or potential
participants therin.
5. Operating or participating in the operation or suggested operation
of any program or plan which is in the nature of a lottery, gift
enterprise or gaming device.
6. Requiring, suggesting, using or participating in any multilevel
marketing program or pyramid marketing program or any other
kind of merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, directly,
or indirectly:
(a) Wherein any compensation, profits or other thing of value
inuring to participants therein are or may be dependent, in whole
or in part, upon the element of chance dominating over the skill
and judgment of the participants.
(b) Wherein no amount of judgment or skill exercised by the participant
has any appreciable effect upon any or all compensation, profits
or other things of value which the participant may receive or
be entitled to receive.
(c) Wherein the participant is without that degree of control
over the operation of such plan as to enable him to substantially
affect the amount of any or all compensation, profits or other
things of value which the participant may receive or be entitled
to receive.
(d) Wherein a participant pays a valuable consideration for the
chance or right to receive compensation for introducing or recruiting
one or more additional persons into participation or for the chance
to receive compensation when person introduced by the participant
introduces a new participant.
(e) Whereby a participant gives or agrees to give a valuable consideration
for the chance to receive something of value for inducing one
or more additional persons to give a valuable consideration in
order to participate in the plan or operation, or for the chance
to receive something of value when a person induced by the participant
induces a new participant to give such valuable consideration
including such plans known as chain referrals, pyramid
sales, or multilevel sales distributorships.
7. Requiring or suggesting that prospective participants or participants
in any merchandise, marketing or sales promotion programs purchase
product or pay any other consideration, either to respondents
or to any other person, other than payment for the actual cost
of reasonably necessary sales materials, as determined by the
purchaser, in order to participate in any manner therin.
III.
It if further orderd, That the aforesaid respondents and their
officers, agents, representatives, employees, successors and assigns,
in connection with the advertising, offering for sale or sale
of products, franchisees or distributorships, or with the seeking
to induce or inducing the participation of persons, firms or corporations
therefor, in connection with any marketing program or any other
kind of merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, in
commerce, as 'commerce' is defined in the Federal Trade Commission
Act, do forthwith cease and desist, directly or indirectly, from:
1. Representing, directly or by implication, or by use of hypothetical
examples that participants in any marketing program, or any other
kind of merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, will
earn or receive, or have the potential or reasonable expectancy
of earning or receiving, any stated or gross or net amount, or
representing in any manner the past earnings of participants,
unless in fact the earnings represented are those of a substantial
number of participants in the community or geographic area in
which such representations are made, accurately reflect the average
earnings of all active and inactive participants under circumstances
similar to those of the participant or prospective participant
to whom the representation is made, and actually resulted from
predominant elements of skill and judgment rather than chance.
2. Representing, directly or by implication, or by use of hypothetical
examples, that a gross income is a net income, salary, earning
or profit figure.
3. Misrepresenting the facility of recruiting or retaining participants
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion programs, as
distributors or sales personnel.
4. Representing, directly or by implication, that any participant
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion programs can
attain financial success.
5. Misrepresenting the supply or availability of potential participants
or customers in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion
programs in any given community or geographical area.
6. Failing to clearly disclose to each prospective participant
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion programs, the
total number of participants at the various levels or positions,
whether active or not, in the county, state, and geographical
market area in which prospective participants reside.
7. Representing that persons can expect to remain active in business
for any length of time; or representing, in any manner, the longevity
or tenure of apst or existing persons unless in fact the periods
of time represented are those for which the average and mean number
of all persons who pursued their business operation at all.
8. Selling, or offering distributorship, in any manner, without
disclosing clearly and conspicuously in writing at or before the
time of the first oral sales presentation, or in the event no
oral sales presentation is made, at least seven (7) days prior
to the execution of a franchise application, agreement or contract:
(i) the median and mean gross earnings of all active and inactive
franchisees or distributors in any program by all persons in the
most recent calendar year preceding the year in which such sale
or offer is made;
(ii) the total number active and inactive franchisees or distributorships
nationwide;
(iii) the total number of active and inactive franchisees or distributors
recruited in the state and county in which the prospect resides,
since the company has been in existence;
(iv) the total number of franchisees or distributors in subparagraph
(ii) above who had profits during the most recent calendar year
in the following dollar amounts:
a. $1,000 or less
b. over $1,000 but not over $5,000
c. over $5,000 but not over $10,000
d. over $10,000 but not over $20,000
e. over $20,000
(v) the turnover rate of sales personnel of products or of the
personnel of franchisees or distributors of respondents' products.
(vi) the average dollar volume of monthly sales generated by sales
personnel of products or the sales personnel of franchisees or
distributors of respondents' products.
(vii) the nature and total amount of the expenses which a distributor,
businessman or franchisee can reasonably anticipate in his business
activities.
(viii) the names and current address of each of the distributors
or franchisees recruited in the county in the most recent calendar
year preceding the year in which such sale or offer is made;
(ix) a financial statement reflecting respondents' assets and
liabilities (stating separately fixed assets and liquid assets)
for the most recent calendar year;
Provided, however, That in the event respondents operated or used
any corporate or trade name for a period of less than five years,
the disclosures called for in this paragraph shall reflect the
operations of the last preceding business entity used by respondents
to sell and administer distributorships, or franchises.
9. Misrepresenting the reasonably necessary and anticipated costs
of doing business to prospective distributors, dealers, sales
personnel or franchisees.
10. Misrepresenting that once a man understands the business,
he will not or cannot fail.
11. Misrepresenting that any business operation, merchandising
or sales promotion plan can be the key to a person's financial
future and security, or the answer to a person's financial dreams.
12. That a business operation, merchandising or sales promotion
plan is an once in a lifetime opportunity.
13. Misrepresenting the amount or degree of the consuming public's
acceptance of any products or representing that the public receives
any products with great enthusiasm or that repeat business is
high without making available at the same time market studies
which in fact substantiate the representations.
14. Misrepresenting that it is not difficult to obtain a lifelong
income in connection with any merchandising, marketing or sales
promotion programs.
15. Misrepresenting that any merchandising, marketing or sales
promotion program are sound, profitable and distinquished.
16. Representing that a person who knows respondents' merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion programs cannot fail.
17. Representing that persons who fail in respondents' merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion programs are either lazy, stupid
or greedy.
18. Misrepresenting the relationship between profits and income
at one functional level of business to any other functional level
of that or any other business.
19. Misrepresenting that the wholesale sales actually reflect
retail sales or consumer demand for products.
20. Using or encouraging the use of advertisements which offer
or suggest employment when the purpose of such advertisement is
to obtain nonemployee participants in any merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion program; or misrepresenting, in any
manner, the kind of character of the position or job opportunity
offered to prospective applicants.
21. Representing, directly or by implication, that it is not difficult
for participants to recruit or retain persons who will invest
or participate in any marketing program or any other kind of merchandising
marketing or sales promotion program, either as distributors,
franchisees, wholesalers or sales personnel, or that there is
a very large number of prospective distributors or sales persons
from which to choose.
22. Representing, directly or by implication, that products will
be or are advertised either locally or nationally, or in the geographic
area in which such representations are made, without clearly revealing
the manner, mode, extent and amount of the advertising.
23. Selling, or offering franchises of distributorships, in any
manner, without furnishing to each prospective purchaser at least
seven (7) days reasonably prior to the execution of a franchise
application or agreement, a copy of the Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Bulletin No. 4, 'ADVICE FOR PERSONS WHO ARE CONSIDERING
AN INVESTMENT IN A FRANCHISE BUSINESS.'
24. Representing that respondents have applications pending for
a particular area; or that any person must act immediately to
be considered for a franchise or distributorship, or that he must
act immediately to take advantage of a special deal, sale or event
or misrepresenting, in any manner, the nature and extent of interest
of others in any particular franchise or distributorship.
25. Representing that persons risk losing little or nothing in
investing in a franchise or distributorship.
26. Misrepresenting that franchises or distributorships increase
in value over the years.
27. Using any payment check or other materials which purport to
represent the satisfaction or success of franchises or distributorships.
28. Misrepresenting the earnings potential of franchises or distributors,
prospective franchisees or prospective distributors.
IV.
It is further ordered, That respondents, their successors and
assigns, incident to selling their franchises or distributorships:
1. Inform orally all persons to whom solicitations are made and
provide in writing in all applications and contracts in at least
tenpoint bold type that the application or contract may be cancelled
for any reason by notification to respondents in writing within
seven (7) days from the date of execution.
2. Refund immediately all monies to all persons who have requested
cancellation of the application or contract within seven (7) days
from the execution thereof.
V.
It is further ordered, That corporate respondent and William Penn
Patrick, their successors and assigns:
1. Within thirty (30) days from the effective date of this order,
compile a list which shall name each distributor from whom monies
were obtained directly or indirectly, or in trust, during the
period from and including Oct. 1, 1964, to the effective date
of this order, state the last known address of each such distributor
and specify all fees and payments for products paid by each such
distributor to Holiday Magic, Inc. or to William Penn Patrick,
or to their successors and assigns, directly or indirectly, or
to or through any parent or subsidiary corporation, in connection
with any activities engaged in which violate the Commission's
order in the instant matter.
VI.
It is further ordered, That corporate respondent and William Penn
Patrick, their successors and assigns, within thirty (30) days
after this order becomes final, shall make an offer to any participant
of a refund of all sums of money to which the participant is entitled
under this order, and within sixty (60) days after the aforesaid
respondents, their successors and assigns, receive notification
of the acceptance of such offer of refund from such participant
shall pay all sums of money to which the participant is entitled
under this order.
1. For the purposes of this order, the term 'participant' shall
mean any person who invested money to participate, in any manner,
in marketing programs of respondents, their successors and assigns.
2. For the purposes of this order, the term 'refund' means all
sums of money paid by a participant to respondents, or their successors
and assigns, directly to or through a trust, parent or subsidiary
corporation, less:
(a) any amount of money paid by respondents or their successors
and assigns to participants, including any refund either made
voluntarily or pursuant to court order, and
(b) the price paid for any products purchased by participant that
participant does not return (a participant requesting refund pursuant
to this order who has product either credited to him in an account,
or in his actual possession, shall be entitled to refund for such
products on the basis of the price paid by participant for the
products; Provided, however, That any of said products in participant's
actual possession for which he requests refund under this order
must be delivered to one of the warehouses of respondents or their
successors and assigns before refund is payable to participant),
plus
(c) interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum on the amount
to be refunded to participant from the date participant entered
into respondents' program to the date notification of the right
to refund is received by participant.
3. For the purposes of this order, the term 'offer' means a notification
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each participant
with the following information and none other:
(a) On the front of the envelope, together with the name and address
of the participant and the name and address of the sender, the
following legend in 16 point, boldface type: 'IMPORTANT:
REFUND NOTICE'.
(b) On the letter, in 12point, boldface type, the
following language:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
By order of the Federal Trade Commission, all persons who invested
money to participate, in any manner, in [name of company] are
hereby offered a refund of all sums of money so paid, less (1)
any amount of money paid by [name of company] to you, including
any refund either made voluntarily or pursuant to court order,
and (2) the price paid for any products purchased by you that
you do not return to [name of company] (a participant requesting
refund pursuant to this order who has [name of company] product
either credited to him in an account, or in his actual possession,
shall be entitled to refund for such products on the basis of
the price paid by participant for the products; provided, however,
that any of said products in participant's actual possession for
which he requests refund under thie order must be delivered to
one of [name of company] warehouses before refund is payable to
participant), plus interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum
on the amount to be refunded to you, from the date you entered
into [name of company] program to the date this notification of
the right to refund is received by you.
If you accept this offer, then (1) send a letter to [name and
address of company] within 60 days of receipt of this notification
stating the amount and basis of your claim and (2) send any product
in your possession to a [name of company] warehouse or, (3) in
the event product is credited in an account with [name of company],
a statement that upon receiving a refund, you relinquish any rights
to such account.
Within 60 days after the receipt of the said information, you
will receive all sums of money to which you are entitled under
the formula set forth above.
Provided, however,
(c) If respondents or their successors and assigns claim they
do not have adequate funds to comply with this order provision,
they may within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this
order petition the Commission to reopen the proceedings to consider
the claim. The petition shall set forth the list of distributors
or franchisees to whom refunds are due under this order and the
sum of money each such distributor or franchisee is to receive
in accordance with this order, a notarized statement of all assets
and liabilities together with the assets and liabilities of all
corporations in which the individual is an officer or stockholder.
Upon receipt of this petition and any response thereto which complaint
counsel wishes to make, the Commission will assign an administrative
law judge for the purpose of making findings and recommendations
with respect to the claim. The administrative law judge shall
furnish petitioner with the Commission's Statement of Financial
Status (F.T.C. Operating Manual, Chapter 6, Illustration 20, Paragraph
6.19), shall require its prompt execution and may conduct such
interrogations of the petitioner or require the production of
such documents as he deems necessary in order to make findings
and recommendations as to any modification of this order which
may be warranted on the issues raised by petitioner's claim. The
findings and recommendations will br reported to the Commission
for a final determination.
(d) If any dispute arises as to the compliance with the refund
provision of this order which cannot be satisfactorily resolved
by the parties, notice shall be given to respondents or to their
successors and assigns of the extent to which they are regarded
not to be in compliance and the facts respecting such alleged
noncompliance. Within thirty (30) days after the receipt of such
notice of noncompliance, they may petition the Commission for
a hearing on such noncompliance or for a modification of the order
provision giving rise to the disputed compliance or for such other
relief as he believes is warranted and the Commission may set
the matter down for hearing before itself or before an administrative
law judge or shall either grant or deny such petition by order
formally entered in the same manner and form as if it were an
original order of this Commission.
VII.
It is further ordered, That respondents and their successors and
assigns shall maintain adequate recores, to be furnished upon
request by the Federal Trade Commission, which disclose the manner
and dates members and franchisees or distributorships entitled
to refunds under this order have received refunds or the reasons
such members or franchisees have not received refunds.
VIII.
It is further ordered, That the respondents and their successors
and assigns shall forthwith deliver a copy of this order to cease
and desist to all past, present and future salesmen and franchisees,
distributors or other persons engaged in the sale of franchises,
distributorships, products, or services, and secure from each
such salesman, franchisee or person a signed statement acknowledging
receipt of said order.
IX.
It is further ordered, That respondent corporation and its successors
and assigns shall forthwith distribute a copy of this order to
each of its operating divisions and respondent William Penn Patrick
furnish a copy of this order to each corporation or business entity
in which he has any interest directly or indirectly.
X.
It is further ordered, That the respondents and their successors
and assigns notify the Commission at least thirty (30) days prior
to any proposed change in the corporate respondents such as dissolution,
assignment or sale resulting in the emergence of a successor corporation,
the creation or dissolution of subsidiaries or any other change
in the corporation which may affect compliance obligations arising
out of the order.
XI.
It is further ordered, That each of the respondents herein and
their successors and assigns shall, within sixty (60) days after
service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report,
in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which
they have complied with all of the provisions of this order. The
report which corporate respondent, William Penn Patrick and their
successors and assigns shall file within sixty (60) days after
service upon them of this order shall include the lists they are
to compile in accordance with subsection (a) of the provision
of this order requiring them to refund certain monies.
Thereafter, within two hundred ten (210) days after service upon
them of this order, they shall again file with the Commission
a second report in writing, setting forth in detail the manner
and form in which they have complied with this refund order.
OPINION OF THE COMMISSION
BY DIXON, Commissioner:
The complaint in this matter was issued on Jan. 18, 1971, charging
respondents with numerous violations of Section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. s 45) and Section 2(a) of the
Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. s 13(a)).
Among the unfair and deceptive acts and practices alleged were
(1) operation of a multilevel openended (pyramid)
type distributional scheme which had the capacity to deceive and
was also in the nature of a lottery; (2) making of various specific
misrepresentations to participants in the program, including use
of misleading 'want ads' purporting to offer employment, misrepresentation
of the ease with which participants could recruit other participants,
misrepresentation of the extent to which respondents' products
would be advertised by the parent organization, and misrepresentation
of profit expectations.
Among the unfair methods of competition charged were (1) price
fixing; (2) division of territories; (3) imposition of assorted
restrictions on resale rights of distributors; and (4) price discrimination.
After protracted hearings, the administrative law judge rendered
a lengthy initial decision on May 31, 1973, finding respondents
in violation on all counts of the complaint. The administrative
law judge recommended a detailed cease and desist order, including
provisions requiring restitution on the part of the corporate
respondent and individual respondent Patrick.
On June 9, 1973, respondent Patrick perished in the crash of his
private airplane.
Surviving respondents have appealed from a large portion of the
initial decision.
On appeal, respondents challenge in general the validity of the
initial decision, arguing that the administrative law judge borrowed
heavily and verbatim from findings proposed by complaint counsel.
In raising this point, respondents mistake the significance of
the Coors and Grand Caillou cases which they cite in attacking
the judge's findings. [FN1] These cases do not hold that it is
impermissible per se for the administrative law judge to use findings
proposed by either side, or that it is necessarily inconsistent
with the required exercise of independent judgment and evaluation
of the record for the judge to do so. To the contrary, while in
both Coors and Grand Caillou the judge did adopt most of the proposals
of one side, the other side on appeal subsequently pointed out
the precise respects in which the initial decision was therefore
incorrect, or in which it overlooked evidence germane to the charges
in the complaint, and the Commission's own review of the record
bore out those specific attacks on the initial decision.
With the exception of those findings of fact pertaining to the
Clayton Act charge, respondents' brief is noticeably lacking in
specific examples of findings of fact in the initial decision
which are alleged to be incorrect, and similarly lacking in specific
examples of excluded evidence which might compel legal conclusions
contrary to those reached by Judge Buttle. Under such circumstances,
we cannot take seriously an attack on the initial decision to
the extent it is based on the barebones contention that the findings
of one side are adopted verbatim. Moreover, our own review indicates
that, while occasionally repetitive, and by no means a paragon
of succinctness, the law judge's findings of fact are supported
by the record, and, with the exceptions noted, inter alia, we
adopt them as our own, and have relied upon them in our disposition
of the appeal. We have taken greater issue with parts of the law
judge's legal analysis, as have respondents, though again we have
concluded it is correct with respect to most counts of the complaint.
Finally, we have made substantial revisions in the order proposed
by the administrative law judge, for reasons noted in the text.
I. BACKGROUNDTHE HOLIDAY MAGIC MARKETING SYSTEM
Holiday Magic, Inc., was founded in 1964 by William Penn Patrick.
Individual respondent Fred Pape was president of Holiday Magic
and the company's first Master Distributor, and respondent Janet
Gillespie was vicepresident, a member of the board of directors,
and the first Organizer Distributor.
Holiday Magic, through its multilevel marketing program,
purports to enlist the services of men and women throughout the
country to sell its products (primarily cosmetics, and some toiletries
and home care products) at wholesale and retail. In order to enter
the program, participants must purchase inventories of varying
sizes, and having entered they may earn money by reselling the
product they have purchased, and by recruiting others to participate
in the program, as set forth below.
An individual may enter the marketing program at one of three
levels, [FN2] Holiday Girl, Organizer, and Master Distributor,
and persons at each of these levels may attain the fourth and
'highest' level of General Distributor. Entry at each of the three
levels requires a different monetary investment. Purchase requirements
have varied with time, but the figures cited in the initial decision
are $11.99 for Holiday Girls, [FN3] $130.41 for Organizers, [FN4]
and $2,500 to $4,500 for Masters. (I.D. 80) The Master's investment
pays for an inventory of cosmetics and sales aids. Individuals
may also work up to the Master level by achieving the requisite
volume of retail sales, either by themselves or through the efforts
of themselves and others recruited by them. Entry into General
status requires payment of a 'release fee,' described at greater
length hereinafter, which has ranged in amount from $2,500 to
$4,500, payable by certified check to Holiday Magic. (I.D. 84)
Profits are earned in the marketing system by (1) retailing, (2)
wholesaling, or (3) recruiting others into the system. Persons
at all four levels may sell at retail. Masters and Generals buy
directly from Holiday Magic at 55 percent and 65 percent off list
price respectively. Organizers and Holiday Girls buy from their
sponsors at discounts ranging from 30 percent to 55 percent depending
on monthly sales volume. Those at all levels but Holiday Girl
may also wholesale. (I.D. 328, 6264, 7073, 81, 83,
86)
Profits from recruiting others are earned in a variety of ways
which are detailed in the initial decision (I.D. 118142,
104107), and the various Holiday Magic Manuals (e.g., CX
76115). Compliant counsel in their reply brief indentify
the two most important recruiting possibilities as the 'Organizer
to Master' level and the 'Master ot General' level (CB 5) and
for convenience we shall adopt this terminology.
In the 'Organizer to Master' level, Organizers, Masters, or Generals
may sponsor other Organizers and Masters, with the right to recruit
passed on ad infinitum.
Promotional material prepared by Holiday Magic states or implies
that Organizers will each, on the average, recruit five other
Organizers each month, for at least three months. (I.D. 74; CX
79Z31) It is thus represented as possible for Masters and Generals
to recoup their large investments merely by recruiting other Masters
(or Organizers who become Masters). For each Master (or Organizer
who becomes a Master), the recruiting General receives 10 percent
of the retail list price value of the Master's inventory purchase
(which ranged from $5,000 to $7,000). A Master who recruits another
Master (or Organizer who becomes a Master) receives 2 percent
of the Master's inventory purchase. [FN5]
It is at the socalled 'Master to General' level that the
greatest abuse appears to have occurred. A General obtains his
position by paying the release fee and recruiting a 'Replacement
Master.' Respondents have pretended from time to time that certain
qualifications beyond the tender of a certified check and a replacement
Master were required for elevation to General, but the evidence
shows otherwise. (I.D. 85) While an individual could not enter
the program directly as a General, one could become a General
almost immediately after entering as a Master. [I.D. 85(b)] Once
a General, an individual could make large sums of money merely
by recruiting other Generals. The 'release fee' of each new General
recruited would be paid to the recruiting General. Two release
fees would normally be sufficient to compensate the recruiting
General for his or her own investment (the release fee plus the
initial inventory purchase required to become a Master). Thereafter,
every release fee of $2,500 to $4,500 obtained by the General
would be pure profit. Moreover, each time a General persuaded
a Master to ascend, the Master would be required to replace himself
or herself with a 'Replacement Master,' whose own ascension would
mean another release fee for the General (and, of course, another
sale of $2,500 in inventory by Holiday Magic to the new replacement
Master). [FN6]
The release fee described earlier is rationalized by the company
as a 'contract settlement fee,' an amount paid to the General
for the loss of income which would otherwise be made from the
10 percent override on sales of the Master who has left, and the
Master's organization. There is little evidence in the record
to suggest that this release fee bore any reasonable relationship
to the real loss which any General collecting it would suffer.
Rather, the major inducement for many individuals to become Generals
was clearly the prospect of recruiting other Generals and receiving
the release or contract settlement fee from them, rather than
the opportunity to earn equivalent amounts by building a sales
organization which would generate the requisite retail volume.
None of these various overrides, it would appear, constituted
compensation for continuous wholesaling services being performed
by those to whom they were paid. (I.D. 125, 13637, 142)
II. MISREPRESENTATIONS (COUNTS I AND III)
The Holiday Magic marketing plan was presented to individuals
in a variety of ways, of which chief was the 'Opportunity Meeting.'
There, representatives of the company, in some cases its employees
and in others various distributors acting pursuant to instructions
contained in company manuals, described Holiday Magic and the
marketing plan to potential distributors. (I.D. 287317)
The administrative law judge found, and respondents do not contest,
that in the course of advertising the Holiday Magic program to
potential distributors, numerous misrepresentations were made,
and high pressure sales tactics employed, as described in great
detail over more than 60 pages of the initial decision. (I.D.
392432, 483; pp. 164216, 278291 [pp. 875906,
949955 herein])
Among the specific deceptions alleged in the complaint and found
by the administrative law judge were:
(1) False representations of the earnings potential of distributors,
and of the ease with which retail selling distributors could be
recruited; (I.D. 392 423)
(2) False representations concerning the ease with which one could
succeed in Holiday Magic, including representations that through
the application of hard work and diligence anyone could succeed
in the program; (I.D. 392423)
(3) False representations of the amount, degree, and type of advertising
which Holiday Magic engaged in for the purpose of creating retail
demand for its product; (I.D. 424427)
(4) Misleading use of 'employment offered' advertisements for
the purpose of attracting distributors with the promise that a
job, with guaranteed income, was being offered. (I.D. 428432)
Of greatest importance were the numerous misrepresentations of
earnings potential and ease of sales and recruitment for participants
in the program. Some of these took the form of misleading illustrations
of the manner in which an individual, as a result of recruiting
others, could build a large sales organization, with substantial
wholesale and retail volume producing hefty profits. Similarly
misleading were various representations concerning the ease with
which those who had paid several thousands of dollars to become
'Generals' could recoup their investments by recruiting other
Generals.
Some of the misrepresentations emanated directly from the corporate
respondent and its officers, in the form of manuals, films, directives,
and the like. Other misrepresentations were the creation of distributors
of the company who added their own deceptive gloss to the marketing
plan in order to garner more recruits. The administrative law
judge found that, in various instances, Holiday Magic became aware
of the misrepresentations being made by its representatives but
did not repudiate them, and refused to refund money paid to Holiday
Magic by those induced to become distributors by these misrepresentations.
(I.D. 411419, pp. 336340 [pp. 898902 herein])
Holiday Magic furnished its representatives with detailed instructions
for the operation of opportunity meetings, covering specific promotional
representations to be made, decor and format, and even particular
'closing techniques' designed to hasten that magic moment when
a prospect signed an application and parted with a certified check.
One highly recommended technique was the 'Impending Event;'
* * * This is a PowerHouse method of enrolling your prospect
through presenting him a situation which he can take advantage
of only today and which will not be available tomorrow. (I.D.
318)
Holiday Magic assisted by creating numerous 'Impending Events,'
repeatedly announcing increases in the cost of General Distributorships
to take effect imminently, but then withholding the increase when
the threatened time came. The same imminent increase could then
be threatened again, to create the requisite sense of urgency
on the part of a new batch of prospects. (I.D. 320)
Among closing techniques recommended, as described by the administrative
law judge (I.D. 325; CX 1842Z2029) were:
(j) Final Objection EnrollmentMake guest explain his
objection until he feels 'stupid'.
(1) Ben Franklin Balance Sheet EnrollmentUsed for
indecisive prospects. Put down reasons pro and con for joining.
Help prospect with pro reasons. Subconscious mind won't be able
to switch to the con so fast.
(s) Name EnrollmentAsk prospect to write down names
of five people who would like to make an extra $25,000 a year.
Then explain how much money these five people will make for your
prospect if he sponsors them into the business. But in order to
sponsor you have to enroll. If he doesn't enroll, threaten him
that you will sponsor the people. The moment you enroll one of
his contacts you will have leverage to enroll him again.
(u) Cash Money EnrollmentUsed when you have a prospect
who is a non believer. Pull roll of $100 bills out of your
pocket and say 'Now, I am not trying to impress you with the money
I'm making, but would earning this kind of money each week interest
you? Wonderful.'
When all that remained was for the prospect to sign, Holiday representatives
were well prepared with 'Pen Handling Techniques' recommended
by the company:
(1) Pen CirclingAlways circle pen into your prospect's
hand beneath his eye level (between the first finger and thumb).
(2) Pen SnappingMake a mark on the application where
you want him to write, then snap the pen down upon the top (indicating
you want him to use it). 'Please put you name and mailing address
right here.'
(3) Pen ReachingWhen you have a wide distance to cover
in placing your pen in prospect's hand. Place pen in prospect's
hand while keeping your eyes at his level.
(4) Pen DroppingShould only be used after several
unsuccessful attempts have been made to place your pen in you
prospect's hand. You must become extremely nervous and accidentally
on purpose drop your pen, saying 'Whoops.' When prospect picks
up pen, don't thank him, but tell him to put his name on the application.
(5) Pen TappingIs used to bring about fast signature.
'Let's go.'
(6) Pen BorrowingUsed when prospect has his own pen
close at hand. Borrow his pen to make a mark on application, then
give it back to prospect, telling him to finish filling out application.
(7) Pen Priming TechniquesUsed to get prospect to
start writing after pen successfully placed in his hand.
(i) Quick PrimePick up second pen and quickly point
to place you want him to sign'Just like a small bird
sitting on your prospect's shoulder and softly whispering into
his ear 'You forgot to sign your name."
(ii) Hot and Cold SwitchPut pen that has started writing
into prospect's hand. Clear the negative deception from his conscious
mind first. (I.D. 325)
As a result of the representations and misrepresentations made
by Holiday Magic and its agents, thousands of individuals were
induced to invest millions of dollars in inventories of cosmetics
and release fees to become Holiday Magic distributors. These investments
in more than a few instances turned out to be worthless or of
little value. Holiday Magic's great concern for moving non
returnable product into the hands of its distributors often proved
in marked contrast to its rather more casual attitude toward movement
of product from the hands of its distributors into the homes of
consumers. The administrative law judge found that Holiday Magic
does not know and keeps no records of the retail sales of its
products at the consumer level (I.D. 482); that it claims not
to know what the turnover ratio is of its Holiday Girls (I.D.
469), although assumptions about the retail sales of Holiday Girls
figured prominently in the Opportunity Meetings (I.D. 392, 394,
396, 398), and that it does not know the effect of the retail
advertising it does. (I.D. 477) While some attention was certainly
paid by the organization to the retail sales of its products,
it is clear from the record that the major emphasis in promoting
the program, and the major attraction for many participants, was
the prospect of the profits to be made through recruitment of
others. (I.D. 327352)
Hoving acknowledged responsibility for the orgy of deception described
by the administrative law judge, respondents do not object to
entry of order provisions specifically prohibiting those misrepresentations
challenged in Count III of the complaint (with a few exceptions
noted hereinafter). Respondents do, however, balk at the administrative
law judge's finding pursuant to Count I of the complaint, that
the Holiday Magic marketing plan is, by its very nature, deceptive,
and they object to order language recommended by the administrative
law judge which would prohibit use of any sort of open ended,
pyramidal form of distribution in the future. We believe, nonetheless,
that such a prohibition is warranted by the evidence introduced
in support of both Counts I and III.
Count I of the complaint alleged in part that:
* * * respondents' multilevel merchandising program is operated
in such a manner that the realization of financial gains is often
predicated upon the exploitation of others who have been induced
to participate therein, and who have virtually no chance of receiving
the kind of return on their investment implicit in said merchandising
program. Therefore, the use by respondents of the abovedescribed
multilevel merchandising program in connection with the sale of
their merchandise * * * was false, misleading and deceptive, and
was and is an unfair act and practice. * * *
In essence, the Holiday Magic marketing plan is little more than
an elaborate, modernday version of the chain letter, with
the capacity to part a slightly more sophisticated, and more ambitious
victim from his or her money. The plan holds out the promise of
profit for all based upon recruitment of other distributors, at
both horizontal and vertical levels, with the passing on of such
right to recruit to those recruits, as an inducement for them
to join, and so on ad infinitum.
That such a plan must lend itself to massive deception is amply
demonstrated by the initial decision and the record in this case.
Holiday Magic encouraged its distributors to illustrate the operation
of the marketing system by means of diagrams which portrayed an
individual entering the program and recruiting five distributors,
who in turn each recruited five others, who in turn each recruited
five more. While Holiday Magic argues that its promotional materials
did not extend these calculations beyond three months, the marketing
plan did, of course, allow and encourage distributors to promise
those whom they recruited that those recruits could generate the
same chain of subdistributors; hence in the hypothetical illustration
those who were induced into the program at any given period of
time would presumably have been so induced by the promise that
they could generate their own chain, as illustrated, for at least
three months, and so on without end. [FN6a] Clearly such a system
must fall of its own weight, and well before every citizen of
the United States is recruited to work for the company.
The mere, unqualified, holding out of an openended, pyramidal
distributional system allowing for uninterrupted recruitment as
a reasonable business opportunity for all inevitably creates the
potential for massive deception, and the fact that this potential
was realized on an enormous scale in this case only underlines
the patent illegality of the scheme. Implicit in the holding
out of the system as a reasonable business opportunity is the
promise that the party to whom the system is represented can earn
profits in it by means of recruiting others. This representation
may be true with respect to those to whom the representation is
initially made; those at the beginning of the chain or the top
of the pyramid. But, since a fundamental aspect of the
system is that those at the beginning will be able to succeed
by promising others the same ostensibly lucrative right to recruit,
and so on, it is a virtual certainty that at some point the representation
that profits are to be earned will be made to individuals to whom
it will still appear plausible but for whom it is blatantly untrue,
by virtue of the fact that the universe of potential recruits
has been effectively exhausted. The party who utters the words
which deceive and injure may well not be the perpetrator of the
scheme, just as the originator of a chain letter may never correspond
with those who become its eventual victims. But the deception
and unfairness are not, thereby, any less the responsibility of
the one who initiates the process. [See GerRoMar,
Inc., et al., Docket No. 8872, Slip Op. pp. 812 (July 23,
1974) [84 F.T.C. 95]; Cf. Twentieth Century Company v. Quilling,
139 Wisc. 318, 110 N.W. 173, 176 (1906)]
In this case, as illustrated by the initial decision, there is
striking evidence that saturation of the market for distributors
actually occurred, i.e., that recruitment in certain areas was
carried to such extremes that the mere offering of a Holiday Magic
distributorship as a reasonable business opportunity amounted
to the grossest deception. (I.D. 372380) In these instances,
quite apart from any specific misrepresentations that may have
been made, the simple solicitation of money from individuals,
with the implicit understanding that money could be made in return
by means of recruiting (or, indeed, by one's own retail sales),
was patently false and misleading.
But even if such saturation were not painstakingly shown to have
occurred, the overwhelming potential for fraud and oppression
would have remained, and the system as a whole would still require
proscription. Counsel for respondents quarrel with the administrative
law judge's purported holding that the Holiday Magic marketing
plan is 'inherently' deceptive, without regard to specific misrepresentations
made by its exponents. Put somewhat differently, we believe the
holding is essentially correct. A plan which holds out the opportunity
of making money, by means of recruiting others, with that right
to recruit being passed on as an inducement for those others to
join, and being passable by them ad infinitum, contains an intolerable
potential to deceive, quite apart from whatever particular representations
may be made in promoting the plan. A plan involving such unlimited
recruitment which extracts a valuable consideration from individuals
in return for the opportunity to participate in it, threatens
severe injury since at some point the likelihood must arise that
participants will be unable to recoup their investment of money
and time in the manner held out as reasonable. The Holiday Magic
marketing plan meets these criteria entirely. To say that it is
'inherently' deceptive is to say no more than that it contains
this intolerable potential to deceive, and on those grounds as
well the plan requires condemnation. [See GerRoMar,
Inc., supra, pp. 812 I.D., pp. 292310 [pp. 956967
herein]; Goodman v. Federal Trade Commission, 244 F.2d 584, 604
(9th Cir. 1975); FTC v. Algoma Lumber Company, 291 U.S. 67, 81
(1934); VacuMatic Carburetor Company v. FTC, 157 F. 2d 711
(7th Cir. 1946), cert. denied, 331 U.S. 806 (1947)] Indeed, a
tragic aspect of this case is that the challenged marketing plan
was not obliterated in its infancy, before the seed of deception
ripened into the poisonous fruit of fraud and oppression. The
Commission will consider carefully in the future whether marketing
plans of the sort involved here are a suitable target for its
newlygained authority to obtain injunctive relief.
Aside from the actual and potential deceptiveness of the marketing
plan (Count I of the complaint), its proscription is also warranted
by virtue of the multitude of particular misrepresentations which
were found to permeate it (Court III). We do not believe that
an order which merely forbade respondents to make specific misrepresentations
would succeed in eliminating such misrepresentations, at least
on the part of those independent distributors in whose hands respondents
were allowed to continue placing the instrumentality of deceptionthe
Holiday Magic Marketing Plan.
One of the saddest aspects of this case is the picture it presents
of 'consumers' being schooled in fraud, and in some cases learning
their lessons all too well. Some of the worst deceptions on the
record were perpetrated by Holiday Magic's socalled 'independent'
distributors, albeit with the aid and ultimately profitable and
knowing acquiescence of respondents. The Holiday Magic marketing
plan lends itself to exaggeration and misrepresentation of the
sort which occurred, particularly on the part of those who, having
made a large investment, feel the urgent need to get it back.
Holiday Magic encouraged such deception on the part of its distributorrepresentatives,
both directly and through its emphasis on the use of emotionally
exploitive selling techniques. Such deception is its responsibility,
and an order designed to serve the public interest must be designed
both to eliminate misrepresentations on the part of named respondents,
and those made by respondents' distributors with respondents'
aid. We doubt at this late date that such a result can be achieved
by a mere prohibition in terms of specific misrepresentations.
Only a future prohibition on use of the marketing plan which nourishes
such deception will ensure the elimination of Section 5 violations.
For this reason, additionally, we must enter order provisions
forbidding Holiday Magic to utilize a marketing system which partakes
of the pernicious elements of the plan in effect at the time of
this case. [FN7]
III. ORDER PROVISIONS (COUNTS I AND III)
The Commission has given careful attention to the question of
appropriate relief in this matter, and has obtained the views
of both sides via supplemental submissions filed subsequent to
oral argument. Counsel for Holiday Magic notes that by virtue
of the company's settlement of litigation brought by the Securities
and Exchange Commission and various private litigants [Civil Action
No. 73 1095 (DCNDCA, Apr. 1, 1974)] the company has agreed to
modify its mode of operation in certain respects, and counsel
moves that further hearings be held before an administrative law
judge to determine what additional order provisions should be
imposed by the Commission, and to avoid inconsistencies in the
orders of the Commissions and the District Court.
We do not believe that further hearings are necessary as part
of this already muchdelayed adjudication, and the motion
therefor will be denied. The order to which corporate respondent
has agreed enjoins it from various violations of laws other than
the Federal Trade Commission Act. The company had further agreed
to devote a portion of any future earnings to the payment of restitution
to distributors. A Special Counsel has been appointed to oversee
corporate operations.
While we are not qualified to evaluate the adequacy of the consent
order in redressing alleged violations of the laws pursuant to
which the SEC and various litigants brought suit, it is clear
to us that the consent order is in no way adequate to remedy and
ensure the nonrecurrence of violations of Section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act found in the record, nor, of course,
was it intended to be. In particular, we note that while the consent
order contains certain broad prohibitions on the use of fraud
and the use of Master and General distributorships, these prohibitions
may be avoided by respondents if the products of the company are
'rendered in substantial degree to consumers' (Pars. I, II). There
is still room for a great deal of fraud and injury to distributors
in a program in which product is rendered in substantial degree
to consumers, fraud and injury of the sort respondents have shown
themselves past masters in administering. By selling inventory
to distributors only on consignment, or by offering to buy it
back (perhaps at reduced price), a company can guarantee that
its product is rendered in substantial degree to consumers (to
the extent it is rendered at all). This situation, however, is
hardly inconsistent with the use of pervasive deception to induce
distributors to pay franchise fees, training and instruction fees,
sample kit fees, or to make other investments all of which may
turn out to be worthless. To remedy violations of Section 5, therefore,
an order must prohibit deceptive practices whether or not the
company renders such product as it does produce in substantial
degree to consumers.
We do not believe that any inconsistencies should result from
the orders of the Commission and the District Court. Certainly
we do not believe that the intention of the SEC in bringing suit
under its Act, and entering into a settlement of it, or the intention
of the District Court in approving the settlement, was to permit
Holiday Magic to insulate itself from the effects of an order
fully warranted on the basis of lengthy administrative proceedings
demonstrating numerous violations of the Federal Trade Commission
Act (and, in one small respect, the Clayton Act). The order that
we shall enter is intended to ensure that violations of the statutes
we are required to enforce will not recur in the same or related
form. To the extent that the order prohibits conduct that is not
prohibited by the order of the District Court, it may require
modifications of the corporation's latest marketing plan. We believe
that the District Court contemplated such a result when it modified
its own order on June 7, 1974. [FN8]
We agree with respondents that it is highly desirable that Holiday
Magic continue as a viable business entity, offering individuals
throughout the country a legitimate business opportunity selling
cosmetics to consumers, and devoting a portion of any profits
realized therefrom to repayment of victims of past illegalities,
as contemplated by the order of the District Court. At the same
time, it would be folly for us to ignore the record of this case
and enter an order which would permit respondents to engage in
future deceptions so that they might thereby be better able to
repay victims of past ones.
Respondents do not object to the majority of the administrative
law judge's proposed order provisions prohibiting specific misrepresentations
(Part III of proposed and final orders). With the exception of
rewording for the sake of greater clarity and precision, we have
generally retained those portions of the administrative law judge's
proposed order.
Respondents do object to Paragraphs 6, 8 and 23 of Part III of
the proposed order. Paragraphs 6 and 8 require disclosure of certain
information to prospective participants in any marketing program
operated by respondents prior to entry. Respondents argue that,
since they have modified their program so that an initial investment
of only $25 in sales materials is required for participation,
there is little need for the disclosures required by Paragraphs
6 and 8, and the cost and difficulty of furnishing them would
be excessive.
We agree with respondents that provision of aggregated operating
results for numerous small distributors might constitute an onerous
burden which we shall not impose. Strict adherence by respondents
to those portions of the order forbidding misrepresentation of
earnings potential should be sufficient to remedy the abuses in
this regard. [FN9]
We have difficulty, however, accepting respondents' arguments
with respect to those portions of the order requiring disclosure
of the number of competing distributors in a given market area.
This is information which respondents should have in their possession.
The record in this case reveals that respondents encouraged the
recruitment of thousands of distributors into their program without
regard for whether or not the market for their products would
sustain those recruits. When an individual pays a valuable consideration
to participate in a marketing program, his or her assumption is
that there is a reasonable possibility of earning back the investment
by selling the product. It is of crucial importance to the individual
to know that scores of others in the same marketing area may be
attempting to earn back investments by selling the very same brand
product, and at the heart of the fraud in this case was Holiday
Magic's failure to disclose that fact.
We agree that by reducing the amount of money which is extracted
from a participant to enter the program the injury which may be
done is thereby also diminished. [FN10] But the potential for
some injury remains, and we are loath to abandon a disclosure
requirement so germane to the decision to become a distributor,
so long as respondents require any investment whatsoever on the
part of their distributors in order to participate in their program.
As modified, our order will require respondents to disclose the
number of other participants in a given market area, prior to
the time an individual is required to apy any consideration to
respondents in order to enter their program, including payment
for sales aids. Respondents may avoid the bite of this paragraph
by furnishing sales aids to their distributors on a consignment
or delayed payment basis, so that an individual may determine
for himself or herself the extent of the intrabrand competition
before being obliged to make any monetary investment.
Respondents object to Section III(23) of the administrative law
judge's order, and Section VIII of the order. The former would
require delivery to all prospective participants of the Commission's
Consumer Bulletin No. 4, 'Advice for Persons Who Are Considering
an Investment in a Franchise Business,' and the latter would require
delivery of a copy of the order in this matter to prospective
distributors. Respondents argue that the cost of such requirements
is unwarranted in view of the substantially reduced nature of
their business.
There is no question that the Commission may properly require
delivery of a copy of its order to distributors of a franchisor
found to be in violation of Section 5. Delivery of the order places
the distributor on notice of past violations and future prohibitions,
and assists in enforcement of the order by alerting potential
victims of conduct which would violate it. While the rationale
for delivery of the order is abundantly applicable to the case
before us, we also recognize the unusual length of the order in
this matter, and the cost its distribution to thousands of distributors
might entail. We believe it is most important that participants
be furnished with the provisions of Section III of the administrative
law judge's order forbidding specific misrepresentations. Other
provisions of the order are likely to be less readily comprehensible
to the full range of participants, and compliance therewith is
more readily determinable by review of the company's printed materials.
We have modified our order accordingly to require provision to
distributors only of Section III of the order.
Also, we do not believe that furnishing Consumer Bulletin No.
4 to prospective participants in the program should prove unduly
burdensome to respondents, particularly in view of the large number
of publications they have been able to distribute to participants
in the past. The purpose of this short consumer bulletin is to
alert individuals to the questions they should ask in order to
evaluate, and before investing in, a business opportunity. The
need for such vigilance on the part of participants in respondents'
program is abundantly clear from the record and will help to ensure
that past deceptions are not repeated.
With respect to Section II of the administrative law judge's order,
we have omitted some of the more nebulous prohibitions, and those
pertaining solely to the vacated lottery count, but retained,
we believe, the essence of his proposed relief. Paragraph II(1)
prohibits respondents from operating a marketing program in which
an individual pays a valuable consideration in return for the
right to earn compensation for the mere act of recruiting other
participants, irrespective of such recruits' sales to consumers.
This paragraph is designed to ensure that any compensation received
by a participant for recruiting activities will be based strictly
on product sales of recruits, and not on the inventory purchases
(or other payments) of recruits. Without such an absolute prohibition,
individuals may be induced to purchase inventory from, or pay
other consideration to, respondents on the understanding that
they may recoup their investment (at least in part) by inducing
others to purchase inventory and pay a consideration, and by offering
them the prospect of making back their investment in the same
way. This is a chain letter scheme, pure and simple. We must unequivocally
reject respondents' contention that they be allowed to apy some
'nominal' sum to distributors for the mere act of recruiting other
distributors, whether such distributors sell at retail or not.
The amounts taken from individual Holiday Magic victims ran into
the thousands of dollars, but they might as easily and no less
unfairly have been in the hundreds. 'Buy a sales kit, sell cosmetics,
and earn the right to $25 for each person you induce to buy the
sales kit and enter our program.' This is an illegal chain letter
scheme just as much as 'Buy $5000 worth of cosmetics, sell cosmetics,
and earn the right to $500 for each person you induce to do the
same thing.' At some point many people will be unable to recoup
their investment from referral fees, and to induce them to make
such investment with the promise that they can so recoup it is
fraudwhether or not such product as is involved in
the program happens to be rendered in substantial degree to consumers.
Paragraph II(1) will not prohibit payment of compensation to distributors
for recruiting other distributors based on actually consummated
sales of such recruits to consumers. We recognize that some incentive
is necessary in a direct selling system in which a company lacks
resources to hire distributional personnel, to induce distributors
to recruit other distributors. Overrides based on actually consummated
retail sales of recruits appear to us to be the least potentially
pernicious of such incentives, and not subject to the same abuse
in which respondents engaged with respect to flat payments or
overrides related to inventory purchases. The order would not
forbid such payments to compensate distributors for recruiting
efforts, but such an incentive structure should help impress upon
all participants that their concern must be with retailing or
building a retail organization, and not merely with recruiting.
Order Paragraph II(2) is addressed to the related problem of unlimited
recruitment. Even if socalled 'headhunting' is eliminated
by Paragraph 1, and participant profits from recruiting in the
system are related solely to the retail sales of successive generations
of recruits, the possibility of deception remains, because an
individual may be induced to participate in the program on the
mistaken premise that he or she can delegate the retailing function
to later generations of recruits, who in turn may enlist for similar
mistaken reasons. The misrepresentations made by respondents concerned
both the possibility of huge profits based on inventory purchases
and payment of release fees by recruits, and the possibility of
such profits based on retail sales of successive generations of
recruits. Our order will allow respondents to establish a participantrecruited
threetiered system of distribution, provided that those
at the lowest level may not perform recruiting functions for a
period of at least one year following their entry into any merchandising
program. This should permit respondents reasonable flexibility
in building a distribution network, while helping guarantee that
the plan must be presented to potential participants in a way
which makes clear that their profits will depend directly on their
own efforts in retailing to consumers or in directly building
a retail organization. We recognize that upgrading of participants
at the lowest level of a legitimate business organization is an
important feature; for that reason the third level of recruits
is allowed to engage in recruiting functions after one year. At
the same time, it is crucial to create a pronounced interruption
in any chain of recruitment, even one limited by Paragraph II(1),
to avoid the inherently deceptive lure of the pyramid mechanism
as exploited by respondents.
Paragraph II(3) is adapted from Paragraph II(7) proposed by the
administrative law judge. It prohibits respondents from suggesting
or requiring that an individual make any inventory purchase as
a condition of participating in any marketing program. We believe
this provision is fully warranted in light of the gross abuses
of inventory purchases wrought by respondents. There is no evidence
in the record to suggest that respondents cannot operate a legitimate
direct selling business without requiring inventory purchases
on the part of participants.
Restitution
The administrative law judge concluded that restitution is necessary
to remedy the continuing violation of Section V resulting from
retention by the corporate respondent and respondent Patrick of
monies unlawfully obtained from participants in the Holiday Magic
program. The administrative law judge found that by virtue of
respondents' massive misrepresentations and inventory loading
schemes, the large inventories of cosmetics purchased by participants
'in many situations are largely worthless to persons who are unable
to sell the same at wholesale or at retail.' (I.D. pp. 37172
[pp. 10111012 herein])
The order proposed by the judge provides in essence that restitution
shall be made based upon the amount of money paid by distributors
to respondents, less any monies returned to distributors by respondents,
and less the cost to distributors of inventory which distributors
do not tender back to respondents.
In view of respondent Patrick's postinitial decision demise,
complaint counsel moved to substitute his executor, Sam Olivo,
as party respondent in this matter for the purpose of effecting
such restitutionary relief as might be appropriate. Olivo opposed
this motion. By order of Aug. 29, 1974 [p. 347 herein], the Commission
granted the motion to substitute the executor, and granted him
30 days within which to file an appeal brief from the initial
decision. The executor has filed no appeal brief, however the
arguments raised in opposition to restitution by corporate respondent
Holiday Magic apply generally to the executor as well and will
be considered with respect to both parties. Holiday Magic challenges
the Commission's authority to order restitution generally, and
in this particular case, and the propriety of ordering restitution
in view of the previouslynoted settlements between respondents
and the SEC and class action litigants in California.
We have discussed at length in other recent opinions our general
authority to order restitution of unlawfully obtained and retained
monies and will not repeat those arguments here. See Curtis Publishing
Co., 78 F.T.C. 1472 (1971); Universal Credit Acceptance Corporation,
82 F.T.C. 570 (1973). Respondents' challenge to the Commission's
authority to order restitution is thus rejected. [FN11]
Holiday Magic further alleges that it was not adequately apprised
that the Commission would consider restitution in this case, and
that certain comments of the administrative law judge led respondents
to think that restitution would not be considered. (Tr. 6970.)
These contentions are similarly rejected. Complaint counsel stated
their intention to seek restitution on the first day of trial
(Tr. 6870), at least 15 months before closing of the record.
Respondents were left with adequate time in which to prepare to
crossexamine and call witnesses with relation to the matter
of restitution.
At the start of the trial, the administrative law judge stated
as follows:
I will be guided by the complaint insofar as the order is concerned
* * * my ruling will be they [complaint counsel] are not going
to get any relief that they haven't asked for, that cannot be
supported by the complaint. (Tr. 6970.)
These comments expressed nothing more than an intention to limit
any eventual order to the scope of the complaint. The complaint
set forth clearly the basis for a restitutionary order, alleging
that as a result of various unlawful practices individuals were
induced to make investments on which they subsequently received
little or no return. Respondents' counsel had full opportunity
to argue the relevant issues at trial and on appeal, and indeed
was not so misled by the administrative law judge's remarks that
he did not seek to justify the presentation of a mammoth defense
record on grounds of its relevance to restitution. (Tr. 7570.)
We do not believe that respondents were deprived of due process
by postnotice order introduction of restitution, nor have
they indicated with particularity any respect in which they were
injured by noninclusion of restitution in the notice order.
With regard to the propriety of restitution in this particular
case, we believe it is clear beyond peradventure. Illegality permeated
every facet of the promotion of the Holiday Magic marketing program.
All agree that respondent Patrick was its architect and prime
mover. Tens of thousands of individuals invested tens of millions
of dollars in huge inventories of cosmetics and release fees,
often as the result of misconceptions fostered by respondents,
and often with the end result of financial disaster. There is
every indication in the record that respondent Patrick regarded
institution of the Commission's suit not as a sign to go slow,
but as a spur to intensify the heist. [FN12] Retention of deceptively
and illegally obtained property is as much a violation of Section
5 as continuation of the deception. Our duty is to enjoin both.
The administrative law judge's proposed formula for measuring
the amount of unlawfully obtained funds appears reasonable, though
exactitude is obviously impossible under the circumstances. Unlike
common law restitution, restitution under Section 5 is designed
to remedy the continued violation of the statute resulting from
retention of unlawfully obtained funds. To some extent, therefore,
respondents are let off the hook by the requirement that refunds
on inventory purchases be made only to the extent that inventory
is returned, because in certain instances distributors may have
destroyed or given away such inventory, and even in instances
in which inventory has been sold, this would not alter the fact
that respondents had made their sale as a result of deception.
A countervailing consideration is that, despite the pervasive,
all encompassing nature of deception in the Holiday Magic
scheme, some inventory sales to distributors may have been consummated
without deception, even though distributors still retain such
inventory. On the whole, we believe the administrative law judge's
formula is a reasonable and equitable one for measuring the amount
of funds obtained unlawfully by respondents, and we shall not
disturb it.
Holiday Magic argues that no order is required, because by virtue
of a settlement reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission
and certain class action litigants, respondent Holiday Magic has
agreed to devote a large part of current assets and a portion
of future earnings towards repaying monies taken from General
and Master distributors. Our concern under Section 5 is to ensure
that monies unlawfully obtained and retained are disgorged. With
respect to the corporate respondent, the settlement, if executed,
appears likely to achieve the result. While Holiday Magic will
retain certain assets fraudulently procured, these will be used
to continue its operations, some profits from which will be returned
to distributors. Under these circumstances, it appears that the
settlement does contemplate effective disgorgement by the corporate
respondent of all unlawfully retained monies.
At the same time, the violations of Section 5 have been massive,
and in view of the record herein and the length of these proceedings,
we are reluctant to omit entirely any provision for restitution,
thereby necessitating reopening of the proceedings in the event
a material modification or violation of the California settlement
should occur. For this reason, we shall enter an order of restitution
against the corporate respondent, but stay its effective date
so that it will not (ever) become operative unless a violation
of the California settlement pertaining to restitution should
occur. In that event, the order permits the corporation to request
proceedings to consider the practicability of further restitution,
but the question of its legal justification will not be subject
to retrial.
The situation is somewhat different with respect to the assets
unlawfully retained by decedent Patrick. The record before us
indicates that tens of thousands of individuals became Masters
or Generals in Holiday Magic, each investing sums of $2000 to
$9000 or more. Not all this money was retained by Holiday Magic
(some release fees went back to recruiting Generals, for instance)
and some of the inventory purchased by defrauded individuals has
undoubtedly been resold (and so would not come within the scope
of our restitution order). Nonetheless, it would appear that the
amount of money illegally obtained by Holiday Magic and deceased
respondent Patrick amounts to scores of millions of dollars.
The papers now before us indicate only that, after liquidation
of certain assets, a sum somewhat in excess of $2 million will
be available for the class victims. Since this amount is far less
than the amounts unlawfully obtained by respondents, since the
assets of the corporation appear to be effectively depleted by
the settlement, and since decedent Patrick exercised substantial
control over the corporation and was in a position to withdraw
substantial amounts of money from it, it seems to us that the
Patrick estate may well be retaining substantial sums of illegally
obtained funds, unless such funds have been spent. [FN13]
If it is an unfair practice for an individual to retain monies
obtained as a result of fraud and overreaching, it would seem
no less unfair for the estate of that individual to retain such
monies and dispose of them in accord with the wishes of the defrauder.
It is clear to us that Section 5 does not permit an individual
or a corporation to become rich and powerful by use of monies
secured as a result of flagrantly illegal behavior. This case
may present the question of whether the law allows an individual
to pass on to his heirs a massive financial legacy crafted from
the callous deception of his fellow citizens. We think Section
5 clearly does not, and we think it our clear duty to inquire
further to determine whether or not that is what is transpiring
here. We shall thus order that restitution be made by substituted
respondent Olivo to the extent he administers funds obtained from
Holiday Magic, which are not already subject to restitution. The
order provides that at such time as it becomes effective, the
individual respondent, as to whom its effect would not be stayed,
may petition the Commission to hold supplemental hearings in the
event he cannot make the restitution required. It may be that
the estate is not in possession or entitled to possession of funds
obtained as a result of illegality, in which case respondent Olivo
will be effectively in compliance and may so demonstrate. We would
be remiss in our duty, however, were we not to provide for the
possibility that the situation is otherwise.
IV. RESTRAINT OF TRADE COUNTS
A. PriceFixing
Holiday Magic rule 3, contained in company manuals and incorporated
by reference into the contract signed by the company's distributors,
provided that:
Distributor agrees to purchase merchandise only from the company
or his Sponsor in accordance with the Holiday Magic marketing
plan and to sell merchandise only at those prices established
by the company. (I.D. 179)
An agreement to fix prices, whether horizontal or vertical, is
illegal per se, United States v. SoconyVacuum Oil Co, 310
U.S. 150, 228 (1940); Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Parke &
Sons Co., 220 U.S. 373, 408 (1911); Albrecht v. Herald Co., 390
U.S. 145, 15253 (1968). The distributor's contracts incorporating
the abovequoted language were clearly agreements to fix
prices, and hence illegal. Even assuming, as respondents argue
(contrary to the findings of the administrative law judge) that
the above provision was not enforced, its inclusion in the distributor's
contract would still constitute a violation of the law, for it
is the agreement to fix prices that is illegal, regardless of
whether it comes to fruition or not. See United States v. Socony
Vacuum Oil Co., supra, p. 275 n. 59. The danger of illegal pricefixing
agreements in an organization like Holiday Magic is particularly
great, because it is likely that many distributors signing the
contract will lack the legal expertise or recourse to legal counsel
necessary to inform them that their agreement is unenforceable
in court. Whether or not the company takes steps to enforce the
pricefixing contract, there is always a danger that the
other party to it will feel obliged to adhere. Moreover, as noted,
there is evidence in the record to indicate that at various times
and places efforts were made to enforce the resale price maintenance
provisions of the Holiday Magic contract. (I.D. 184, 186)
Sometime in the fall of 1967, the abovecited rule appeared
with the added phrase 'in accordance with Fair Trade Statutes
in those states having Fair Trade Laws.' (I.D. 179) Respondents
argue that by addition of this phrase they effectively abandoned
their earlier policy of illegal pricefixing, limiting retail
price maintenance to socalled 'fairtrade' states.
[FN14] The administrative law judge concluded otherwise, citing
certain other language in the Holiday Magic manuals (I.D. 179),
continued reference by the company to resale prices without indication
they were suggestions only (I.D. 18083), and occasional
efforts to enforce adherence to stated prices (I.D. 186). It is
clear from the initial decision that prior to the fall of 1967,
respondents did enter into illegal agreements to fix prices, and
they did not entirely discontinue such pricefixing by virtue
of the change in their manual as of October. Moreover, even were
the abovementioned change to be construed as discontinuance,
we find no basis in the record of this case for concluding that
respondent corporation may be relied upon to abstain permanently
from the discontinued activities except under compulsion of law.
Our duty is thus to enter an order prohibiting any recurrence
of pricefixing found to have existed in the past. [See Carter
Products, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, 323 F.2d 523, 531
(5th Cir. 1963); Guziak v. Federal Trade Commission, 361 F.2d
700, 704 n. 6 (8th Cir. 1966).]
With respect to pricefixing at the wholesale level, it appears
that this practice has continued unabated to the present time.
If a company chooses, as did Holiday Magic, to pass title to its
distributors and receive payment from them without regard to their
ability to resell, it has no right whatsoever to establish the
price terms under which those distributors may resell the product
they have purchased. [FN15]
For these various reasons, an order prohibiting resale pricefixing
will be entered. We shall, however, modify the order of the administrative
law judge in certain respects. As urged both by respondents and
complaint counsel, we shall alter the order to take account of
Fair Trade laws. In addition, our order will not require the company
to desist from the use of all suggested price lists for a period
of three years, as recommended by the administrative law judge.
Under normal circumstances, of course, the use of suggested resale
prices is not illegal, and, indeed, where the distributors to
whom the suggestion is made are, as here, generally in need of
business guidance, provision of information as to what price might
constitute a competitive resale price may serve a useful and procompetitive
function, provided it is very clear that the suggested price is
merely that.
Those cases in which a temporary prohibition on use of resale
price lists has been imposed have generally involved distributors
who were also fulltime business people, and not likely to
be in need of pricing information. [FN16] There were also involved
longstanding coercive relationships between supplier and
distributor, such that simply prohibiting the overt coercion,
while permitting uninterrupted use of the price lists which had
been at the heart of such coercion, was deemed unlikely to eliminate
the impetus to fix prices. In this case, the constant turnover
in distributors militates against the sort of relationship found
in Coors or Lenox, supra. Moreover, while not effectively abandoned,
it is clear that respondents' pricefixing activities have
moderated in some respects since the early stages of the Commission's
investigation. For all the above reasons, we believe that the
corporate respondent should be allowed to continue use of 'suggested
retail prices.' Our order provides, however, that such suggested
prices must be clearly denominated as 'suggested' in states in
which the suggestions may not legally be enforced. This proviso
should satisfy the legitimate business needs of Holiday Magic
to inform its distributors of suggested resale prices and permit
them to advertise suggested retail prices like other cosmetics
salespersons, while making clear to those distributors that they
remain free to charge the prices they choose.
B. Marketing Restrictions
Count V of the complaint charged that various restrictions imposed
upon Holiday Magic participants via the distributor's contract
were unfair methods of competition in violation of Section 5.
Respondents do not generally contest that the challenged restrictive
agreements were in fact entered into, but they dispute the administrative
law judge's conclusions of illegality and recommendation that
appropriate order provisions issue.
1. Wholesale Sale Restrictions
Respondents required that Masters, Generals, and Organizers sell
at wholesale only to the Organizers and Holiday Girls they sponsored,
and that Holiday Girls and Organizers purchase only from their
sponsoring distributors. Distributors were prohibited from buying
back merchandise already sold to other distributors. (I.D. 187,
189, 191, 192)
The administrative law judge concluded that the above restrictions
were anticompetitive and unreasonable because their only 'Purposes'
were to (1) generate further master inventory purchases from Holiday
Magic, Inc., without regard to the needs of the distributor, and
(2) maintain the pricing, override and pyramid structure
of the marketing plan. (I.D. p. 344, [p. 991 herein]) Respondents
argue summarily that the restrictions were necessary to facilitate
the entry of Holiday Magic into an oligopolistic market and that
in any event these restrictions were not enforced. (RB 10102)
We do not find these contentions convincing. The restrictions
described above are in essence customer restrictions, limitations
of the right of one who has purchased goods outright to resell
those goods to customers of the owner's choosing. The Supreme
Court has declared customer restrictions to be illegal per se,
United States v. Arnold, Schwinn & Company, 388 U.S. 365,
382 (1967). There is some suggestion in the Schwinn opinion that
exceptions to this rule might be recognized in the case of failing
firms or small and aspiring entrants, whose use of such restrictions
would be evaluated on a 'rule of reason basis.' While not deciding
whether Holiday Magic would fall within this possible narrow exception
to the Schwinn rule, the administrative law judge did determine
that the challenged customer restrictions were not reasonable
and on balance served anticompetitive ends. We find no reason
to upset this conclusion. The record in this case indicates that
individuals acquired large inventories of Holiday Magic cosmetics
which they were in some cases subsequently unable to resell. Prohibitions
on the right of such individuals to resell acquired merchandise
to particular distributors or, conversely, limitations on the
right of particular distributors to purchase inventory) could
only serve to increase inventory purchases from Holiday Magic
itself, without at the same time necessarily increasing the flow
of product to the ultimate consumer. It is possible, of course,
that from the standpoint of the potential distributor, a guarantee
that his or her recruits would be bound to purchase from the distributor
might serve to operate as a needed incentive for undertaking the
risk of becoming a Holiday Magic distributor. (Tr. 9314) At the
same time, however, the restrictions could only serve to increase
the risk of loss if it turned out that the distributor could not
liquidate inventory via his or her own efforts or those of recruits,
since the likeliest resale outlets for the remaining inventory
would be foreclosed.
In addition, these restrictions would clearly have the possible
effect of supporting the company's illegal policy of wholesale
and retail price maintenance. See United States v. Bausch &
Lomb Co., 321 U.S. 707, 724 (1944). On the whole, we believe that
the administrative law judge's evaluation of the 'purpose, nature,
and probable effect' of these restrictions was accurate and we
find no reason to disturb his conclusion that they were anticompetitive.
Respondents' alternative argument that the restrictions were not
enforced (RB 102) is not well taken, For one thing, there is evidence
that these contract provisions were enforced [CX 686B; I.D. 191(c)].
[FN17] The point was often made by Holiday Magic officials that
adherence to the marketing plan was critical, and violators would
be terminated. As in the case of pricefixing, the existence
of an illegal agreement itself creates the danger that parties
unaware of its illegality will feel constrained to adhere.
2. Retail Outlet Restrictions
Respondents, at least until 1970, entered into agreements with
their distributors prohibiting them from reselling to a wide variety
of commercial retail outlets, including drug stores, grocery stores,
variety stores, and chain stores. Evidence that these agreements
were enforced was adduced at trial. (I.D. 194) In 1970, well after
institution of the Commission's investigation, this policy was
changed to the extent that the formerly 'unauthorized' outlets
became merely 'nonrecommended' outlets. (RB 103; RX 133D)
Also prohibited under the marketing plan were sales of products
on consignment (I.D. 202), a practice which would be necessary
in some cases in order to supply retail outlets.
Respondents contend that these restrictions were intended for
protection of the Holiday Magic trademark, which might suffer
if Holiday cosmetics were displayed alongside the products of
betterestablished competitors (a fate which might, of course,
befall them in the boutiques, wig shops, beauty schools, barber
shops, and health food stores which were 'authorized outlets').
The administrative law judge found this justification unconvincing,
whatever its legal relevance, and concluded that this customer
restriction, like others, was designed to prevent pricecutting
on Holiday Magic products. (I.D. pp. 342, 344 [pp. 989, 991])
There can be no doubt that prohibition of resale to the kinds
of retail outlets noted above does serve to limit the likelihood
that pricecutting on the retail level will occur by eliminating
the most likely pricecutters from access to the product.
It is not illegal for Holiday Magic merely to 'recommend that
its products be withheld from certain classes of stores, but it
is unlawful for it to enter into agreements with its distributors
which prohibit resale to certain classes of customers. Even assuming,
arguendo, as did the administrative law judge, that a justification
for these restrictions initially should be considered in view
of Holiday's fledgling status at the time they were instituted
(though not, of course, by the time they were nominally eliminated)
we still do not find the justification presented adequate to excuse
the likely anticompetitive potential of the practice. We find
that the retail outlet restrictions of Holiday Magic are unfair
methods of competition in violation of Section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act, and an order provision prohibiting their
recurrence is required.
3. Advertising Restrictions
The administrative law judge found that Holiday Magic had entered
into agreements with its distributors providing that prior company
approval must be obtained for advertising or promotion of Holiday
Magic products. (I.D. 195) The law judge concluded that the prescreening
of advertising was a:
device which enables Holiday Magic, Inc., to control and supervise
by prior restraint the price fixing and retail outlet restriction
requirements of Holiday Magic, Inc. * * * (I.D. 196)
There is no doubt that prescreening of all product advertising
may be a powerful means of coercing adherence to unlawful pricefixing
and customer agreements. The distributor who wants to cut prices
will likely want to advertise that fact, and it is not hard to
surmise the chilling effect created by the necessity to clear
such advertisements in advance with the company which disapproves
of such pricecutting. In the circumstances of this case
we agree with the administrative law judge that unqualified prescreening
of advertising material is a violation of Section 5.
Holiday Magic argues that it is obliged to review the advertising
of its distributors by virtue of various orders of the Food and
Drug Administration and the Attorney General of the State of California.
(RB 10304) The order proposed by the administrative law
judge speaks fully to this objection by forbidding only the prescreening
of advertising from which price terms and the names of retail
outlets have not been deleted. Under the proposed order, which
we shall adopt as our final order, Holiday Magic may in the future
concern itself fully with those aspects of distributor advertising
which are its legitimate business, and with which other agencies
have required it to be concernedi.e., claims about
the product itself, and claims about the marketing system which
have been the subject of so much abuse. Deletion from prescreened
advertising of price terms and retail outlet identifications will
ensure that the company does not exercise control over matters
which the law requires be left to the ultimate control of its
independent distributors.
4. 'Private Arrangements'
Certain other restrictions on distributors, deemed 'private arrangements'
by the administrative law judge, were challenged by the complaint.
These related to the fact that a 'Distributor' (Master or General)
under the Holiday Magic system might be not only one individual
person, but a husband and wife, a partnership, a corporation,
or some other business entity. Among challenged contractual restrictions,
whose existence was not contested, were:
(1) Upon the dissolution of a distributor partnership, the departing
partner is required to revert back to his or her original sponsor
(i.e., he or she may not remain in the role of Master or General
occupied by the partnership). (I.D. 197)
(2) In the event a General Distributorship dissolves, the principal
or partner who is departing, if desirous of staying in the organization,
must requalify as a new Master Distributor under the original
sponsor, create a replacement Master, and pay a $2500 release
fee to qualify as a General again. (I.D. 198)
The administrative law judge found these restrictions to be unreasonable
restraints of trade, in violation of Section 5. This portion of
the administrative law judge's opinion is not, however, adequately
supported by record evidence or legal precedent, nor, after our
own review of counsel's arguments and the sparse record on this
point, can we find these restrictions to be in violation of Section
5. The record evidence concerning the meaning and operation of
these restrictions is not overwhelmingly clear. Apparently the
thrust of the restrictions is that once an individual leaves a
distributorship, the individual may not continue to purchase from
Holiday Magic on the same terms as did the distributorship, but
must revert to purchasing from the original sponsor, and requalify
if so desired as Master or General in order to purchase on the
terms granted a Master or General.
These restrictions are not, in the same sense as those discussed
previously, limitations on the right of alienation by the distributor
of goods already owned. [FN18] It is not challenged that Holiday
Magic may establish certain conditions under which it will accord
an individual the rights of a distributor. It chose to require
a certain initial inventory purchase for the buyin Master,
whether the Master was an individual or a group. Imposition of
the subject restrictions on departing partners amounts to no more
than insistence on the same qualifying conditions for all distributorships,
whether the distributor be a de novo entrant or a prior partner.
While this restriction was obviously designed to encourage large
inventory purchases and no doubt might have such an effect, the
same can be said of the very requirement that one purchase $5000
of merchandise in retail value to become a Master instead of any
lesser amount. Assuming that Holiday Magic had the right to impose
such a requirement on an individual entering initially, [FN19]
we do not see why it did not have a right to impose the same requirement
on one who might initially have qualified for the Master's discount
by virtue of making only half the required investment (by entering
with a partner), so long as these rules were clearly spelled out
and no deception was involved. Certainly these restrictions are
not per se illegal, and it is not apparent to us from the sparse
record that they operated, or were likely to operate, to achieve
an impermissible anticompetitive end.
Other restrictions on private arrangements of distributors were
that
(3) An individual could not be part of more than one distributorship;
(4) Distributors could not enter into agreements with other distributors
to make a division of profits, assets, or new recruits in violation
of the marketing plan; and
(5) Addition of new partners to an existing distributorship, or
sale of the distributorship must meet the same requirements as
a new Master or General (whichever the distributorship was).
Here, again, the record is insufficient to permit an evaluation
of the competitive effects of these restrictions, and we shall,
therefore, dismiss the complaint with respect to them. [FN20]
C. Exclusive Territories
The administrative law judge found that respondents had conspired
to allocate territories among their Holiday Girls. (I.D. 38591)
The record shows that various Holiday Magic manuals advised and
instructed socalled 'Distributor's Council' organizations
of Holiday Magic distributors to assign routes to Holiday Girls.
(I.D. 385388) While it appears that in many areas routes
were not assigned, evidence exists to show that they were assigned
in areas of Florida at the instigation of Holiday Magic, via its
'suggestions' in the manuals and at the express recommendation
of respondent Pape, corporate president. (I.D. 386)
There is some question initially as to whether or not the territories
imposed by respondents were exclusive, or more akin to the 'areas
of primary responsibility' permitted by the order of the administrative
law judge. While the Holiday Magic manuals speak of allocations
in order to insure market coverage, at least one case in which
respondents conspired to allocate routes arose where the market
had become saturated, and the purpose of imposing territories
was to avoid competition between Holiday Girls and their distributors.
(I.D. 386) This consideration is dispositive of the issue of exclusivity.
Clearly the conspirators did not contemplate, in trying to undo
the effects of market saturation, that distributors given scarce
territories would be able to go outside them, since the entire
point was to allocate scarce territory, not stretch limited resources
over large areas. (See also I.D. 391, CX 76D.)
We believe that a determination of the legality of these exclusive
territories is governed by our decision in Adolph Coors, supra
(slip op. pp. 1430). Here, as in Coors, imposition of exclusive
territories was accompanied by price fixing, and that combination
renders the use of exclusive territories illegal per se.
Respondents argue that the only instances in which allocation
of territories was actually proven to have occurred were in Florida,
a state which sanctions resale price fixing contracts under certain
conditions. We do not believe that this situation constitutes
an exception to the rule in Coors, nor have respondents shown
any reason why it should. Fair trade laws are in essence a compromise
of the public interest in competition, and the exemption from
the antitrust laws they confer must be construed narrowly, United
States v. McKesson & Robbins, 351 U.S. 305, 316 (1956).
The order of the administrative law judge on this point is entirely
proper, forbidding the imposition of exclusive territories, but
expressly permitting the assignment of areas of primary responsibility
to Holiday Girls, which will enable the company to insure coverage
of a particular market area.
D. Price Discrimination
The administrative law judge concluded that respondents had engaged
in price discrimination violative of Section 2(a) of the Clayton
Act (15 U.S.C. 13) in two major respects:
(1) WholesaleGeneral Distributors, the favored customers,
received goods at 35 percent of list price, while the disfavored
Master Distributors received them at 45 percent of list (and disfavored
Organizers at somewhat more). All sold at wholesale.
(2) RetailThe disfavored customers, Holiday Girls
and Organizers, purchased product at 70 percent of list price
(or less, depending on volume) which they sold at retail, as did
the favored General and Master Distributors who bought at 35 percent
and 45 percent of list, as noted above. (Masters were also disfavored
at retail with respect to Generals.) (I.D., pp. 345363 [pp.
991 1006 herein])
The only issue with respect to both facets of the challenged discriminations
is whether or not their effect, in statutory terms, 'may be substantially
to lessen competition.'
Complaint counsel did not demonstrate any actual injury to competition
from the discriminations, but both sides recognize that such a
demonstration is not necessary for a violation to be made out.
All that need by shown is that the challenged discrimination may
have the prescribed anticompetitive effect, see FTC v. Morton
Salt Co., 334 U.S. 37, 46 (1947); Corn Products Refining Co. v.
FTC, 324 U.S. 726, 738 (1945), and this showing may rest on inferences
drawn from the state of competition and the nature of the discrimination.
With respect to the discriminations at the wholesale level, respondents
attempt to nip the inferential process in the bud by arguing that
Masters and Generals did not actually compete at wholesale because
of companyimposed customer restrictions which required that
a Holiday Girl (or other retail outlets buying at a similar discount)
continue to purchase from her or his recruiter. (RB 39) This argument
is wholly unpersuasive. Even assuming the complete effectiveness
of this customer restriction, it would not have eliminated vital
competition between Masters and Generals for new accounts, i.e.,
individual Holiday Girls, boutiques, beauty parlors, and the like,
selling at retail. Such competition assumed a particularly important
role in the Holiday Magic scheme in view of the demonstrably large
turnover of Holiday Girls, necessitating continuous recruitment
on the part of any Master or General who desired to make a living
by wholesaling to retailers. (I.D. 6566) The fact that Masters
or Generals did not compete for sales to already recruited
girls and retail outlets simply does not have any bearing on the
existence of substantial competition to sign up new girls and
outlets. The evidence clearly shows that Masters and Generals
operated in the same limited geographic areas in seeking to enlist
Holiday Girls and retail outlets to the cause. (I.D. 442445;
447) There were no divisions of territories or populations between
Masters or Generals seeking individuals and businesses to sell
at retail. They were free to, and did, advertise to and solicit
within the same population group in any geographic area. No more
than this need be shown to demonstrate that favored and disfavored
customers were in competition. Hand tohand combat
on the doorsteps of prospective Holiday Girls is not a necessary
element of proof. (But see I.d., pp. 289290 [pp. 954955
herein])
It is clear, moreover, that the substantiality of the price discrimination
(the favored customer bought at 22.2 percent less than the disfavored
customer), and other findings of the administrative law judge
compel a finding of substantial potential prejudice to competition.
Such a margin obviously leaves great leeway for the favored customer
to offer a discount from the suggested resale price when it is
not enforced, or to subsidize various services which would assist
the favored customer in competing for accounts. (Cf. I.D. 452)
The record contains many instances of wholesale distributors operating
at low or nonexistent profit margins (I.D. 453), and in such circumstances
product price advantages are obviously crucial. The evidence compels
us to conclude, therefore, that the discrimination in favor of
General Distributors at wholesale runs afoul of Section 2(a).
[FN21]
With respect to discriminations at the retail level, we do not
find the evidence of violation to be as convincing. Once again,
we are not impressed by respondents' argument that customer restrictions
prevented favored and disfavored customers from competing for
repeat sales to Holiday customers, because this does not account
for competition for initial purchasers. Nevertheless, respondents'
assertions regarding the relative insignificance of competition
between favored and disfavored customers ring somewhat truer in
the context of Holiday Magic retail sales than they do at the
wholesale level. Of the purchases made by favored Generals, cited
by the administrative law judge, only a relatively small portion
appear to have been devoted to retail sales, and in some cases
socalled favored retailing generals do not appear to have
engaged in more than sporadic retail sales to friends and relatives.
Certainly the fact that products were retailed doortodoor
does not in itself necessitate evidence of competitive 'encounters'
to sustain the complaint, as respondents suggest. The situation
of casual salespeople endeavoring to dispose of product by going
doortodoor and in a pinch prevailing on sympathetic
relatives is, however, somewhat different from that in which the
same volume of goods is offered to all comers by competing retailers
at stationary outlets accessible to the public at large. On the
record before us we are unable to find a degree of retail competition
between favored and disfavored customers sufficient to warrant
an inference that the challenged discriminations may have had
the statutorily proscribed effect. See UniversalRundle Corporation
v. Federal Trade Commission, 382 F.2d 285, 287 (7th Cir. 1967).
The proposed order language of the administrative law judge will
be retained insofar as it relates to the illegal discrimination
at the wholesale level.
V. INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS
Respondents object to application of any order to individuals
Pape and Gillespie. They argue that deceased respondent Patrick
was the creator and guiding light of Holiday Magic, and that to
select two of his employees for imposition of liability is unwarranted.
With respect to respondent Pape, the record clearly compels a
finding of individual liability. The record relates that Pape
'took the reins' and 'raised Holiday Magic to even greater heights'
while his patron Patrick ran for the California gubernatorial
nomination. (CX 1840L; I.D. 30) Later Pape became president and
as chief executive officer he was responsible for directing the
daytoday activities of the corporation. While Pape
may not have originated various of the plans and policies attacked
in the complaint, he played an instrumental role in directing
their execution, with full knowledge of what they were. This is
emphatically not a case in which the subordinates of a corporate
president perform illegal acts without his knowledge. Holiday
Magic was a small organization and direction of all facets of
business operation came directly from the top, from William Penn
Patrick and respondent Pape. That Mr. Pape left Holiday Magic
in 1968 is wholly immaterial to his liability. Some of the worst
practices evidenced in the record occurred while Mr. Pape directed
the operations of corporate respondent. In order to prevent recurrence
of illegal practices, it is necessary that any order run against
those shown to have engaged in or directed such practices. We
conclude that the administrative law judge properly applied his
order to respondent Pape. (I.D. 2732; Federal Trade Commission
v. Standard Education Society, et al., 302 U.S. 112, 119120
(1937); Benrus Watch Co. v. Federal Trade Commission, 352 F.2d
313, 324325 (8th Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 384 U.S. 939
(1966)
Respondent Gillespie was the first Holiday Magic Organizer, and
later served as administrative vice president, and a member of
the Board of Directors. Gillespie's own testimony reflects considerable
familiarity with the daytoday operations and policies
of Holiday Magic, which is understandable inasmuch as she was
responsible at various times for directing headquarters' operations
and wrote revised editions of various Holiday Magic distributor's
manuals. The testimony of witness Gay indicated that Gillespie,
together with Pape, directed the activities of Holiday Magic during
Patrick's absence. (Tr. 992632) Though not president, it
is clear that Gillespie was centrally involved in directing the
operations of Holiday Magic, and at a time when respondent Patrick
had withdrawn to the political arena. Once again, hers is not
a case in which a respondent is charged with actions of subordinates
for which the respondent is nominally responsible, but of which
the respondent is unaware. Gillespie, with full knowledge of the
operations of the company, played a key role in directing them.
To eliminate practices found, an order must name those found to
have engaged in or knowingly directed the practices, particularly,
as here, where the wrongdoing was so pervasive, and is readily
subject to transfer to a different business operation. For these
reasons, we believe that respondent Gillespie was properly included.
While it may be that the complaint did not exhaust the universe
of individuals who should be held accountable for the wrongdoing
which occurred, the naming, in addition to founding father and
guiding light Patrick, of the two individuals who shared primary
responsibility for directing the company in the patriarch's absence,
was in no sense arbitrary.
VI. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTIONS
Respondents have raised other miscellaneous objections which are
without merit.
A. Alleged Prejudgment
Respondents claim that the Commission has prejudged certain issues
in their case, because shortly after these proceedings began the
Commission initiated a Trade Regulation Rule Proceeding in which
it indicated its belief that certain practices in the area of
franchising might constitute violations of Section 5. Respondents
allege that the practices covered by the proposed rule are so
similar to theirs that the Commission's consideration of the rule
amounts to a consideration of the illegality of their own practices,
a consideration in which respondents (like all others), have been
denied leave to crossexamine witnesses, and in which ex
parte communications have been made by the staff to the Commission.
As we have noted before,
Prejudgment occurs when there is evidence that a decision maker
in an adjudicatory proceeding has irrevocably closed his mind
on the specific facts of a case yet to be heard by him. [Emphasis
added. Hearst Publishing Co., Docket No. 8832, Interlocutory Opinion;
79 F.T.C. 1007, 1011 (1971)]
There is no suggestion here that the Commission or the administrative
law judge has prejudged in any respect whether or not respondents
engaged in the acts and practices challenged in the complaint.
The determination of the facts in this case has been entirely
on the voluminous record compiled in accord with standard adjudicatory
procedures.
Respondents appear to argue that prejudgment still exists because,
by instituting the rulemaking proceedings, the Commission had
made a determination that certain actions of respondents, allegedly
subject to coverage by the rule, were violations of Section 5.
Initially, it should be noted that the rule in question has not
been finally promulgated, and, in promulgating a rule for public
comment, the Commission expresses no more than a determination
that it has reason to believe that the practices subject to the
rule are violative of the laws it administers. Thus, even if respondents'
acts and practices are in some respects subject to the rule, the
Commission has as yet made no determination in the rulemaking
proceeding as to their legality. Assuming, however, that the Commission
were to make such a determination in the rulemaking proceeding,
it is not clear in what respect respondents would have been injured,
since rulemaking is a proper function of the Commission, and,
if undertaken according to appropriate rulemaking procedures,
parties engaging in covered activities are subject to the rule
made, even though the rulemaking process does not confer all the
rights of an adjudication. Federal Trade Commission v. National
Petroleum Refiners Association, 482 F.2d 672 (D.C. Cir. 1973),
cert. denied, 415 U.S. 951 (1974) Of course, any party cited for
violating a rule is entitled to an adjudication to determine whether
or not it has engaged in the acts and practices which the rule
condemns.
More to the point, perhaps, respondents' arguments amount to the
contention that the Commission must enter every judicial proceeding
with a totally open mind concerning the legal principles applicable
to the conduct challenged in the particular adjudication. This
is folly. The Commission's statutory mandate requires that it
be constantly considering, in both adjudicative and non
adjudicative contexts, the applicability of statutes it is charged
to administer to a variety of acts and practices. No citizen or
corporation accused of violating the law has the right, under
the Constitution or any law, to a judge with an open (or empty)
mind as to what the meaning of the law is under which the citizen
or corporation is be tried. [FN22] Virtually all the cases cited
by respondents in support of their position deal with prejudgment
of facts. (RB 145157) Respondents conclude by citing the
APA which grants a party adjudicatory rights to obtain a 'full
and true disclosure of the facts.' [5 U.S.C. s 556(d) (1967)]
There has been no prejudgment in this case whatsoever with respect
to the factual issues of whether or not respondents have engaged
in challenged acts and practices. Moreover, the Commission has
considered carefully the arguments of respondents on all legal
issues. Whether or not the Commission has considered these same
or related legal issues in other proceedings, in which respondents
had no right to crossexamine or even participate at all,
is, however, totally immaterial to whether respondents have been
accorded a fair hearing.
B. Denial of Right to Amend Answer
Petitioners also object to the decision because the administrative
law judge denied them leave to amend their answer to the complaint
to include the meritless defense which we have just considered.
If the judge erred in this regard his error was harmless, since
the Commission has now fully considered respondents' argument
on the issue of prejudgment as it relates to the Trade Regulation
Rule Proceedings. Respondents apparently still object, on the
grounds that if the administrative law judge had permitted them
to amend their answer they could then have undertaken discovery
of Commission files to determine the extent of what they mistakenly
view as illegal Commission prejudgment of the issues. The administrative
law judge correctly perceived that repsondents' argument on prejudgment
raised no issues that would warrant further factfinding.
There is simply no hint here of prejudgment or ex parte communications
concerning the facts of this case, and hence no grounds for discovery.
In denying respondents' motion to amend their answer, the administrative
law judge in effect dealt as fully with the prejudgment defense
as if he had allowed an amendment of the answer but then denied
motions for discovery on the gounds the answer raised no basis
for them. Whether the administrative law judge should technically
have allowed an amendment of the answer is unnecessary to decide.
Respondents' legal argument has been fully considered here. It
is misconceived and raises no issues that could possibly warrant
additional factfinding below.
C. Interference of SEC
Respondents allege a denial of the right to present witnesses
in their defense because an SEC process server caught one defense
witness in the hearing room after her testimony (and after departure
of the ALJ) and served her with a subpoena in that agency's investigation
of respondents. Thereafter, contend respondents, only a few of
the 84 witnesses they had planned to call in the New York area
were willing to appear for fear of similar treatment.
While the incident is regrettable, it did not deprive respondents
of the right to present their defense. Both complaint counsel
and the administrative law judge deplored the occurrence, and
assurances were given by an SEC official that the agency would
F.T.C.'s New York proceedings. witnesses during the pendency of
the F.T.C.'s New York proceedings. (Tr. 744749) Respondents
thereafter had the opportunity to subpoena any witnesses who might
still have been apprehensive about testifying. They did subpoena
some, but six refused to testify on Fifth Amendment grounds, arguably
still for fear of the SEC. When respondents made no proffer of
proof, the administrative law judge ruled that, in the absence
of a proffer, the testimony of nonappearing and appearing
non testifying witnesses would be held cumulative. Respondents
then filed a limited proffer of proof, though not covering the
witnesses who had taken the Fifth Amendment. No indication is
given in their brief by respondents of how the proffered evidence
might undermine the conclusions of the administrative law judge,
and that being so we cannot accept the argument that respondents
were in any way prejudiced by the SEC's intervention.
D. Rulings on Respondents' Witnesses
Respondents argue that they were also denied an opportunity to
present their defense because of rulings by the administrative
law judge to the effect that testimony of witnesses respondents
sought to produce would be cumulative, and because of various
comments made by the administrative law judge regarding the approach
he would take in evaluating the testimony of those distributors
who did appear.
It had not occurred to us, upon first glance at a record comprising
over 10,000 pages of testimony, and 17 binders of physical exhibits,
compiled in hearings spanning more than a year, to commend the
presiding official for his expedition. Respondents' arguments
(and our review of the record) convince us, however, that such
commendation is warranted. A balance must be struck in all adjudications
between the respondents' right to defend and the public's right
to have violations of law adjudicated and halted in a reasonable
amount of time. The administrative law judge struck this balance
more than equitably with respect to respondents, who have given
no concrete indication of how any limitations on witnesses would
have altered the findings [Cf. Basic Books, Inc. v. Federal Trade
Commission, 276 F.2d 718, 72021 (7th Cir. 1960)] and who
might even still be calling witnesses at hearings throughout the
land had their original grandiose of what justice and the public
6786) not yielded to a more realistic notion of what justice and
the public interest require. Enough is enough.
An appropriate order is appended.
FINAL ORDER*
This matter having been heard by the Commission upon the appeal
of respondents' counsel from the initial decision, and upon briefs
and oral argument in support thereof and opposition thereto, and
the Commission, for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion,
having denied, in larger part, and granted in lesser part, the
appeal:
It is ordered, That the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions
of Law of the administrative law judge (as hereinafter modified
by the appended listing of 'Errata') are adopted as Findings of
Fact and Conclusions of Law of the Commission: Pp. 16 [pp.
763766 herein]; Findings 1483; pp. 292311 (through
1st paragraph) [pp. 956967 herein]; pp. 326 (penultimate
paragraph)342 [pp. 978989 herein]; Paragraphs
D(1)(2) and E(6) on pp. 343344 [pp. 989991 herein];
pp. 345361 [pp. 9911005 herein]; pp. 364367
(through 3rd paragraph) [pp. 10061008 herein]; p. 368 (last
6 paragraphs, except for second sentence of penultimate paragraph
and substituting 'higher' for 'lower' in last paragraph) [pp.
1009 herein]; p. 369 (except for 2nd paragraph) [pp. 1010 herein];
page 370 (except for 3rd and 4th full paragraphs) [pp. 10101011
herein]; pp. 371376 [pp. 10121015 herein].
Other Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law of the Commission
are contained in the accompanying Opinion.
It is further ordered, That the following order be, and it hereby
is, entered:
ORDER
I.
It is ordered, That respondent Holiday Magic, Inc., a corporation,
Its officers, agents, representatives, employees, successors and
assigns, respondent Fred Pape, individually, and respondent Janet
Gillespie, individually, their agents, representatives and employees,
directly or indirectly through any corporate or other device,
in connection with the offering for sale, sale, or distribution
of goods or commodities in commerce, as 'commerce' is defined
in the Federal Trade Commission Act and in the Clayton Act, shall
forthwith cease and desist from:
1. Entering into, maintaining, promoting, or enforcing any contract,
agreement, understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct
with any dealer or distributor of such goods or commodities to
do or perform or attempt to do or perform any of the following
acts, practices, or things:
(a) Fix, establish, or maintain the prices, discounts, rebates,
overrides, commissions, fees, or other terms or conditions of
sale relating to pricing upon which goods or commodities may be
resold; Provided, That in those states having Fair Trade laws
products may be marketed pursuant to the provisions of such laws.
(b) Require or coerce any person to enter into a contract, agreement,
understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct which fixes,
establishes, or maintains the prices, discounts, rebates, overrides,
commissions, fees, or other terms or conditions of sale relating
to pricing upon which goods or commodities may be resold; Provided,
That in those states having Fair Trade laws products may be marketed
pursuant to the provisions of such laws.
(c) Require or coerce any person to refrain from selling his or
her merchandise in any quantity to or through any specified person,
class of persons, business, class of business, or retail outlet
of his or her choosing.
(d) Require or coerce any person to enter into a contract, agreement,
understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct or require,
induce, coerce, or enter into any agreement with any distributor
to refrain from selling any merchandise in any quantity to or
through any specified person, class of persons, business, class
of business, or retail outlet of his or her choosing.
(e) Require or coerce any person to enter into a contract, agreement,
understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct requiring,
inducing, or coercing any distributor to refrain from selling
any merchandise in any geographic area; Provided, however, That
nothing contained herein shall prevent respondents from assigning
routes to individual distributors as areas of primary responsibility.
(f) Require or coerce any person to enter into a contract, agreement,
understanding, marketing system, or course of conduct which discriminates,
directly or indirectly, in the net price of any merchandise of
like grade and quality by selling to any purchaser at net prices
higher than the net prices charged to any other purchaser who
in fact competes in the resale or distribution of such merchandise
with the purchaser paying the higher price.
2. Discriminating, directly or indirectly, in the net price, or
terms or conditions of sale of any merchandise of like grade and
quality by selling to any purchaser at net prices, or upon terms
or conditions of sale less favorable than net prices or terms
or conditions of sale upon which such products are sold to any
other purchaser to the extent such other purchaser competes in
the resale of any such products with the purchaser who is afforded
less favorable net price or terms or conditions of sale, or with
a customer of the purchaser afforded the less favorable net price
or terms or conditions of sale.
3. Preventing distributors from entering into consignment agreements
or selling their business to another individual.
4. Engaging, either as part of any contract, agreement, understanding,
or course of conduct with any distributor or dealer of any goods
or commodities, or individually and unilaterally in the practice
of:
(a) Publishing or distributing, directly or indirectly, any resale
price, product price list, order form, report form, or promotional
material which employs resale prices for goods or commodities
without stating clearly and visibly in conjunction therewith the
following statement:
The prices quoted herein are suggested prices only. Distributors
are free to determine for themselves their own resale prices.
(b) Publishing or distributing, directly or indirectly, any schedule
of discounts, rebates, commissions, overrides or other bonuses
to be paid by one distributor or class of distributors to any
other distributors or class of distributors, without stating clearly
and visibly in conjunction therewith the following:
The discounts [rebates, commissions, etc.] quoted herein are suggested
only. Distributors are free to determine for themselves any amounts
to be paid.
Provided, That in those states having Fair Trade laws products
may be marketed pursuant to the provisions of such laws.
5. Requiring any distributor or dealer or other participant in
any merchandising program to obtain the prior approval of respondents
for any product advertising or promotion, or proposed product
advertising or promotion, unless any selling prices and names
of any selling outlets are required to be deleted from such proposed
advertising or promotion prior to submission for prior approval.
II.
It is further ordered, That the aforesaid respondents and their
officers, agents, representatives, employees, successors and assigns,
in connection with the advertising, offering for sale or sale
of products, franchises or distributorships, or in connection
with the seeking to induce or inducing the participation of persons,
firms, or corporations therefor, in connection with any marketing
program or any other kind of merchandising, marketing or sales
promotion program, in commerce, as 'commerce' is defined in the
Federal Trade Commission Act, to forthwith cease and desist, directly
or indirectly, from:
1. Offering, operating, or participating in, any marketing or
sales plan or program wherein a participant gives or agrees to
give a valuable consideration in return for (1) the opportunity
to receive compensation in return for inducing other persons to
become participants in the plan or program, or for (2) the opportunity
to receive something of value when a person induced by the participant
induces a new participant to give such valuable consideration;
Provided, That the term 'compensation' as used in this paragraph
only does not mean any payment based on actually consummated sales
of goods or services to persons who are not participants in the
plan or program and who do not purchase such goods or services
in order to participate in the plan or program.
2. Offering, operating, or participating in, directly or indirectly,
any marketing or sales plan or program wherein the financial gains
to participants are represented to be based in any manner or to
any degree upon their recruiting of other participants who obtain
the right under the plan or program to recruit yet other participants
whose function in the program includes during their first year
of participating the recruitment of participants.
3. Requiring or suggesting that prospective participants or participants
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program purchase
product or pay any other consideration, either to respondents
or to any other person in order to participate in said program,
other than payment for the actual cost of reasonably necessary
sales materials, as determined by the purchaser, in order to participate
in any manner therein.
III.
It is further ordered, That the aforesaid respondents (Holiday
Magic, Inc., Fred Pape, and Janet Gillespie) and their officers,
agents, representatives, employees, successors and assigns, in
connection with the advertising, offering for sale or sale of
products, franchises, or distributorships, or in connection with
the seeking to induce or inducing the participation of persons,
firms or corporations in any marketing program or other kind of
merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, in commerce,
as 'commerce' is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act,
do forthwith cease and desist, directly or indirectly, from:
1. Representing, directly or by implication, or by use of hypothetical
examples that participants in any marketing program, or any other
kind of merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program, will
earn or receive, or have the potential or reasonable expectancy
of earning or receiving, any stated or gross or net amount, or
representing in any manner the past earnings of participants,
unless in fact the earnings represented are those of a substantial
number of participants in the community or geographic area in
which such representations are made, and the representation clearly
indicates the amount of time required by said past participants
to achieve the earnings represented, and failing to maintain adequate
records which disclose the facts upon which any claims of the
type discussed in this paragraph of the order [III(1)] are based;
and from which the validity of any claim of the type in this subparagraph
of the order can be determined.
2. Representing, directly or by implication, or by use of hypothetical
examples, that a gross income figure is a net income, salary,
earnings, or profit figure.
3. Misrepresenting the ease of recruiting or retaining participants
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion programs, as
distributors or sales personnel.
4. Representing, directly or by implication, that any participant
in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion program can
attain financial success.
5. Misrepresenting the supply or availability of potential participants
or customers in any merchandising, marketing or sales promotion
program in any given community or geographical area.
6. Requiring that an individual pay a valuable consideration of
any kind in return for the right to participate in any marketing
or sales program without first disclosing to such prospective
participant in writing the number of other participants already
active in the market area in which such prospect plans to operate.
7. Misrepresenting that participants can expect to remain active
in business for any length of time, or misrepresenting in any
manner the longevity or tenure of past or current participants,
as, for example, by using a hypothetical illustration of how a
marketing program operates, which implies that participants remain
active for a given period, when in fact such period is more than
the average length of time for which such participants do remain
active.
8. Misrepresenting the reasonably necessary and anticipated costs
of doing business for prospective distributors, dealers, sales
personnel or franchisees.
9. Representing that once a man or woman understands any business,
or marketing plan or program, he or she will not or cannot or
should not fail to achieve success in it.
10. Misrepresenting that any business operation, merchandising
or sales promotion plan can be the key to a person's financial
future and security, or the answer to a person's financial dreams.
11. Representing that a business operation, merchandising or sales
promotion plan is a onceinalifetime opportunity.
12. Misrepresenting the amount or degree of the consuming public's
acceptance of any products or representing that the public receives
any products with great enthusiasm or that repeat business is
high without making available at the same time market studies
which in fact substantiate the representations.
13. Representing that it is not difficult to obtain a lifelong
income in connection with any merchandising, marketing or sales
promotion program.
14. Misrepresenting that any merchandising, marketing or sales
promotion program is sound, profitable, or distinguished.
15. Representing that persons who fail in any merchandising, marketing
or sales promotion program are lazy, stupid or greedy, or any
combination thereof.
16. Misrepresenting the relationship between profits and income
at one functional level of a business to those at any other functional
level of that or any other business.
17. Misrepresenting that wholesale sales actually reflect retail
sales or consumer demand for products.
18. Using or encouraging the use of advertisements which offer
or suggest employment when the purpose of such advertisement is
to obtain nonemployee participants in any merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion program; or misrepresenting, in any
manner, the kind or character of any position or job opportunity
offered to prospective participants.
19. Representing, directly or by implication, that it is not difficult
for participants to recruit or retain persons who will invest
or participate in any marketing program or any other kind of merchandising,
marketing or sales promotion program, either as distributors,
franchisees, wholesalers or sales personnel, or that there is
a very large number of prospective distributors or sales persons
from whom to choose.
20. Representing, directly or by implication, that products will
be or are advertised either locally or nationally, or in the geographic
area in which such representations are made, without clearly and
truthfully representing the manner, mode, extent and amount of
the advertising.
21. Selling, or offering franchises or distributorships, to obtain
which a participant is required to make monetary investment without
furnishing to such participant at least seven (7) days prior to
the time at which such investment must be made, a copy of the
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Bulletin No. 4, 'ADVICE FOR
PERSONS WHO ARE CONSIDERING AN INVESTMENT IN A FRANCHISE BUSINESS.'
22. Misrepresenting that respondents have applications pending
for distributorships in a particular area; or that any person
must act immediately to be considered for a franchise or distributorship,
or that any person must act immediately to take advantage of a
special deal, sale or event, or misrepresenting in any manner
the nature and extent of interest of others in any particular
franchise or distributorship.
23. Misrepresenting that persons risk losing little or nothing
by investing in a franchise or distributorship.
24. Misrepresenting that franchises or distributorships increase
in value over the years.
25. Using any payment check which purports to portray the satisfaction
or success of franchisees or distributors, or any other document
which misrepresents the satisfaction or success of franchisees
or distributors.
26. Misrepresenting the earnings potential of franchises or distributorships,
prospective franchisees or prospective distributors.
IV.
It is further ordered, That the aforesaid respondents, their successors
and assigns, incident to selling any franchise or distributorship
shall:
1. Inform orally all persons to whom solicitations are made, and
provide in writing in all applications and contracts, in at least
tenpoint gold** type, that the application or contract may
be cancelled for any reason by notification to respondents in
writing within at least seven (7) days from the date of execution.
2. Refund immediately all monies paid pursuant to any contract
or application by all persons who request cancellation of the
application or contract within at least seven (7) days from the
execution thereof.
V.
It is further ordered, That corporate respondent and respondent
Sam Olivo, as executor for William Penn Patrick, their successors
and assigns, within thirty (30) days after this order becomes
final, shall make an offer to any participant of a refund of all
sums of money to which the participant is entitled under this
order, and within sixty (60) days after the aforesaid respondents,
their successors and assigns, receive notification of the acceptance
of such offer of refund from such participant, shall pay all sums
of money to which the participant is entitled under this order.
1. For the purposes of this order, the term 'participant' shall
mean any person who invested money to participate, in any manner,
in marketing programs of respondents, their successors and assigns.
2. For the purposes of this order, the term 'refund' means all
sums of money paid by a participant to respondents or their successors
and assigns, directly to or through a trust, parent or subsidiary
corporation:
(a) less any amount of money paid by respondents or their successors
or assigns to participants, including any refund either made voluntarily
or pursuant to court order, and
(b) less the price paid for any products purchased by participant
that participant does not return, and
(c) plus interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum on the amount
to be refunded to participant from the date participant entered
into respondents' program to the date notification of the right
to refund is received by participant.
3. For the purposes of this order, the term 'offer' means a notification
by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each participant
with the following information and none other:
(a) On the front of the envelope, together with the name and address
of the participant and the name and address of the sender, the
following legend in 16 point, boldface type: 'IMPORTANT:
REFUND NOTICE.'
(b) On the letter, in 12point, boldface type, the
following language:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
By order of the Federal Trade Commission, all persons who invested
money to participate, in any manner, in [name of company] are
hereby offered a refund of all sums of money so paid, less (1)
any amount of money paid by [company or individual] to you, including
any refund either made voluntarily or pursuant to court order,
and (2) the price paid for any products purchased by you that
you do not return to [company or individual], plus interest at
the rate of 6 percent per annum on the amount to be refunded to
you, from the date you entered into [name of company]'s program
to the date this notification of the right to refund is received
by you. A participant requesting refund pursuant to this order
who has [name of company] product either credited to him in an
account, or in his actual possession, shall be entitled to refund
for such products on the basis of the price paid by participant
for the products; Provided, however, that any of said products
in participant's possession for which participant requests refund
under this order must be delivered to one of [company's or individual's]
warehouses before refund is payable.
If you accept this offer, then (1) send a letter to [name and
address f company or individual] within 60 days of receipt of
this notification stating the amount and basis of your claim,
and (2) send any product in your possession to a [name of company
or individual] warehouse, or (3) in the event product is credited
in an account with [name of company], a statement that upon receiving
a refund you relinquish any rights to such account.
Within 60 days after the receipt of the said information, you
will receive all sums of money to which you are entitled under
the formula set forth above.
Provided, however,
(c) A participant requesting refund pursuant to this order who
has product either credited in an account or in his or her actual
possession, shall be entitled to refund for such products on the
basis of the price paid by participant for the product; Provided,
That any of said products in participant's possession for which
participant requests refund under this order must be delivered
to one of the company's or individual's warehouses before payment
is made, if the company or individual so elects.
(d) The obligations of this section (V) of the order shall be
stayed indefinitely with respect to corporate respondent for so
long as it remains in compliance with the order entered In the
Matter of Securities and Exchange Commission v. Holiday Magic,
Inc., et al., Civil Action No. C 73 1095 LHB (N.D. Cal. Apr. 1,
1974) insofar as that order requires the payment by corporate
respondent of monies to its Master and General Distributors.
(e) If respondents or their successors and assigns claim they
do not have adequate funds to comply with this order provision,
each may within sixty (60) days of the effective date as to him
or it of the refund obligations of this order petition the Commission
to reopen the proceedings to consider the claim. The petition
shall set forth the list of distributors or franchisees to whom
refunds are due under this order and the sum of money each such
distributor or franchisee is to receive in accordance with this
order, plus a notarized statement of all assets and liabilities.
Upon receipt of this petition, and any response thereto which
complaint counsel shall make, the Commission will assign an administrative
law judge for the purpose of making findings and recommendations
with respect to the claim. The administrative law judge shall
furnish petitioner with the Commission's Statement of Financial
Status, shall require its prompt execution, and may conduct such
interrogations of the petitioner or require the production of
such documents as he deems necessary in order to make findings
and recommendations as to any modification of this order which
may be warranted on the issues raised by petitioner's claim. The
findings and recommendations will be reported to the Commission
for a final determination.
(f) If any dispute arises as to compliance with the refund provisions
of this order which cannot be satisfactorily resolved by the parties,
notice shall be given to respondents or to their successors and
assigns of the extent to which they are regarded not to be in
compliance and the facts respecting such alleged noncompliance.
Within thirty (30) days after the receipt of such notice of noncompliance,
they may petition the Commission for a hearing on such noncompliance,
or for a modification of the order provision giving rise to the
compliance dispute or for such other relief as is believed warranted,
and the Commission may set the matter down for hearing before
itself or before an administrative law judge, or shall either
grant or deny such petition by order formally entered in the same
manner and form as if it were an original order of this Commission.
VI.
It is further ordered, That respondents Holiday Magic, Fred Pape,
and Janet Gillespie, their successors and assigns shall forthwith
deliver a copy of Section III of this order to cease and desist
to all present and future salespeople, franchisees, distributors
or other persons engaged in the sale of franchises, distributorships,
products, or services on behalf of respondents, and secure from
each such person a signed statement acknowledging receipt of said
Section III of this order.
VII.
It is further ordered, That respondent corporation and its successors
and assigns shall forthwith distribute a copy of this order to
each of its operating divisions.
VIII.
It is further ordered, That the corporate respondent and its successors
and assigns notify the Commission at least thirty (30) days prior
to any proposed change in the corporate respondent, such as dissolution,
assignment or sale resulting in the emergence of a successor corporation,
the creation or dissolution of subsidiaries or any other change
in the corporation which may affect compliance obligations arising
out of this order.
IX.
It is further ordered, That Fred Pape and Janet Gillespie promptly
notify the Commission of the discontinuance of their present business
or employment, and of their affiliation with any new business
or employment. Such notice shall include the individual's current
business address and a statement as to the nature of the business
or employment in which he or she is engaged, as well as a description
of his or her duties and responsibilities.
X.
It is further ordered, That each of the respondents herein and
their successors and assigns shall, within sixty (60) days after
service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report,
in writing, setting forth in detail the manner and form in which
they have complied with the provisions of this order. Thereafter,
within two hundred and ten (210) days after service upon them
of this order, corporate respondent, and respondent Sam Olivo
as executor for William Penn Patrick, shall file with the Commission
a second report, in writing, setting forth in detail the manner
and form in which they have complied with Section V of the order.
Commissioner Nye not participating.
ERRATA
(The initial decision is adopted by the Commission subject to
the exclusions noted in the order, and subject to the following
changes. Lines are numbered by including chapter headings, captions
and all other lines of print in the count.)
1. Finding 86, line 3, substitute '65%' for '54%'
2. Finding 115, line 3, substitute 'continues' for 'contines'
3. Finding 131, delete subparagraph 'a'
4. Finding 132, subparagraph 'a,' substitute 'Finding 130' for
'XIII 3'
5. Finding 133, subparagraph 'a,' substitute 'Finding 130' for
'XIII 3'
6. Finding 140, substitute 'Finding 131' for 'XIII 4'
7. Finding 141, lines 2 and 3, substitute 'who obtain a 10% override
on their sales' for 'over whom a 10% override is obtained'; substitute
'Findings 132, 133' for 'XIII 5, 6'
8. Finding 159, subparagraph 'a,' substitute 'Findings 152158'
for 'XVII 174'
9. Finding 175, p. 64, line 9 [p. 810, line 12 herein], substitute
'$200' for '$300'
10. Finding 186, p. 71, lines 13 and 38, substitute 'lose' for
'lost'
11. Finding 187, line 9, substitute 'marketing' for 'merketing'
12. Finding 196, delete 'See Part XVII 6'
13. Finding 198, line 5, substitute 'is' for 'in'
14. Finding 287, line 8; Finding 288, line 6, substitute 'Enrollments'
for 'Enrollements'
15. Finding 333, p. 128, line 17 [p. 851, line 20 herein], substitute
'$39,600' for '$39,009'
16. Finding 360, line 23, substitute 'Pangerl' for 'Pangrel'
17. Finding 369, subparagraph 'c,' substitute 'Finding 320' for
'Part XXXII 4'
18. Finding 381, line 12, substitute 'Marget' for 'Margert'
19. Finding 381, p. 159, line 22 [p. 871, line 44 herein], delete
second 'to'
20. Finding 382, line 9, substitute 'procedures' for 'producers'
21. Finding 387, p. 164, line 7 [p. 874, line 30 herein], insert
'in' before 'approximately'
22. Finding 393, p. 170, line 14 [p. 878, line 16 herein], substitute
'undivided' for 'individed'
23. Finding 393, p. 170, line 40 [p. 878, line 30 herein], substitute
'their' for 'their'
24. Finding 402, line 14, substitute 'accomplish' for 'accompolish'
25. Finding 403, p. 202, line 36 [p. 896, line 37 herein], substitute
'indication' for 'inclination'
26. Finding 418, line 15, substitute 'insistence' for 'insistance'
27. Finding 421, line 11, substitute 'dollar' for 'dollars'
28. Finding 433, p. 219, line 26; p. 220, line 11 [p. 907, line
19; line 35 herein], substitute 'echelons' for 'exchelons'
29. Finding 441, p. 224, line 4 [p. 910, line 34 herein], substitute
'principle' for 'principal'
30. Finding 453, p. 260 [p. 932 herein], substitute 'variance'
for 'varience'
31. Finding 483, p. 288, line 26 [p. 954, line 22 herein], substitute
'thought' for 'though'
32. P. 293, line 11 [p. 957, line 3 herein], substitute 'was'
for 'were'
33. P. 296, line 6 [p. 959, line 13 herein], substitute 'rounds'
for 'rouds'
34. P. 299, line 27 [p. 961, line 16 herein], delete 'in'
35. P. 301, line 11 [p. 962, line 11 herein], substitute 'Blachly'
for 'Blachy'
36. P. 304, line 25 [p. 964, line 4 herein], substitute 'attendant'
for 'attenant'
37. P. 306, line 14 [p. 965, line 6 herein], substitute 'proposes'
for 'proposeds'
38. P. 306, line 33 [p. 965, line 18 herein], substitute 'members'
for 'embers'
39. P. 308, line 21 [p. 966, line 16 herein], substitute 'Promotes'
for 'Promoter'
40. P. 309, line 30 [p. 966, line 44 herein], substitute 'inseverable'
for 'inservable'
41. P. 330, line 32 [p. 981, line 20 herein], delete comma
42. P. 330, line 34 [p. 981, line 21 herein], delete 'that'
43. P. 335, line 18 [p. 984, line 12 herein], substitute 'Carburetor'
for 'Carburator'
44. P. 336, line 4 [p. 984, line 36 herein], substitute 'caused'
for 'causing'
45. P. 336, line 30 [p. 985, line 18 herein], substitute 'role'
for 'roll'
46. P. 337, line 8 [p. 985, line 39 herein], delete 'where'
47. P. 337, lines 1920 [p. 986, line 7 herein], substitute
'Commission's finding' for 'Commission found'
48. P. 337, line 34 [p. 986, line 19 herein], add apostrophe after
'petitioners'
49. P. 338, line 39 [p. 987, line 15 herein], delete 'of'
50. P. 341, line 19 [p. 989, line 19 herein], substitute 'Lenox'
for 'Lennox'
51. P. 343, line 14 [p. 990, line 24 herein], add 'be allowed'
at end of line
52. P. 351, lines 1819 [p. 966, line 29 herein], substitute
'competed for' for 'completed with in'
53. P. 353, line 32 [p. 998, line 23 herein], substitute 'is this'
for 'as this is'
54. P. 364, line 6 [p. 1006, line 27 herein], substitute 'and'
for 'as'
55. P. 364, line 13 [p. 1006, line 34 herein], delete 'd' from
'entered'
56. P. 365, line 10 [p. 1007, line 20 herein], substitute 'or'
for first 'of'
57. P. 370, line 12 [p. 1011, line 2 herein], insert 'from' between
'that' and 'the'
58. P. 375, line 22 [p. 1014, line 23 herein], delete first 's'
from 'ssuccessors'
FN* Petitions for review filed on Jan. 3, 1975 by Holiday Magic,
Inc. and by Sam Olivo on Jan., 7, 1975, C.A. 9th.
FN** By order of the Commission issued Aug. 29, 1974, the complaint
in this matter was amended to substitute Sam Olivo, Executor of
the Estate of William Penn Patrick, for deceased respondent Patrick
for the purpose of effecting restitution of such funds as are
in the estate of decedent Patrick and are subject to any order
of restitution entered in these proceedings. See p. 347 herein.
FN*** See Errata Sheet pp. 10751078, herein.
FN1 Complaint counsel during the course of the hearing seemed
to take the position that any contravention of public policy would
per se be a violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission
Act as an unfair act and practice and an act of unfair competition.
If public policy is contravened this does not mean per se that
there is a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act unless
the public policy involved specifically relates to those matters
over which the Federal Trade Commission would have jurisdiction
under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The charges here, however,
as enunciated by the complaint, do suggest that the public policy
referred to involves deception in the sense that the plan as alleged
is conducive to inducing participants to erroneously believe they
will receive substantial financial gains not dependent on their
efforts. Furthermore, Count II specifically indicates that the
nature of the lottery 'is contrary to the public policy of the
United States, is false, misleading and deceptive.' This phraseology
suggests it is inherent deception that is violative of public
policy and is therefore within the purview of the Federal Trade
Commission Act.
FN1a Complaint counsel however contends the evidence actually
establishes, as set forth in the findings, that 'most participants'
must have been deceived because of the inherency of the deception
and otherwise. (See also the conclusions.)
FN2 The abbreviations used in this decision are as follows: RXRespondents'
Exhibit; CXCommission Exhibit; Tr.Transcript
of Record.
FN3 At Tr. 956090 percent purchased by his Masters.
FN4 Testimony of Gay at Tr. 10615 that Pangerl won 5 automobiles,
watches, rings, diamond lapel pins, and two trips around the world
for two. He didn't take the trip because they were of long duration
and it took too much time away from recruiting. At Tr. 9562, 9570,
Pangerl claimed to have recruited 200 Masters and 50 Generals.
FN5
TABULAR OR GRAPHIC MATERIAL SET FORTH AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE
FN6 See also McNamara v. Gargett, 36 N.W. 218; Davis v. Seeley,
38 N.W. 901 (Mich.); Merril v. Packer, 45 N.W. 1076 (Iowa); Schmuekle
v. Waters, 125 Ind. 265, 25 N.E. 281; Shirley v. Ulsh, 2 Ohio
Cir. Ct. Rep. 401; Hubbard v. Freiburger, 94 N.W. 727 (Mich.);
Bonisteel v. Saylor, 17 Ont. App. 505; Commonwealth v. Allen;
404 S.W.2d 464 (Ky., 1966); State of New York v. ITM, Inc., 52
Misc. 2d 39, 275 N.Y.S.2d 303(1966); Sherwood & RobertsYakima,
Inc. v. Leach, 67 Wash. 2d 630, 409 P.2d 160 (1965).
FN7 Actually, it is more than a geometric progressionit
is a continuing series of geometric progressions. Since the way
the plan is described, the participants continue to start new
geometric progressions of five each of the ensuing months as well.
FN* Footnote in original:
'The illustrative calculations set forth in the Government's brief
are not challenged.
'By way of a simple illustration, if the first fifteen recipients
of the opening wedge, that is, the initial letter in turn each
sent out or mailed fifteen letters the number of such letters
put in circulation would reach 225. On the second step, the number
increases to 3,375, and on the fifth step to the somewhat astounding
total of 11,390,625. * * * The mathematical certainty that the
'referral' plan of merchandising is inevitably doomed to failure
is obvious. To this the Government adds by way or argument, 'Such
is the natural vice and structure of quicksand found present in
all 'endless chain' transactions.'
From an analysis of the record, the Government's use of 15 as
the base seems ultra conservative. Some purchasers provided as
many as 100 references, majority around 50 or 60.'
FN** Footnote in original:
'In a very similar case involving the referral selling of stereo
sets the 8th Circuit had this to say:
'The referral plan cannot succeed even if used for only a short
time unless at some point customers subsequent to the first one
are not allowed to earn the set. As the Government brought out
at the trial, once the plan is set in motion the referrals spiral
due to the principle of geometric progression. If each person
who purchases a set can earn it by referring names, no profit
will be made; hence, no funds would be available to satisfy referral
commitments. The only method of halting the progression is to
withhold the referral privilege for customers who were obtained
by referral.' * * *'
FN8 The Commission has issued advisory opinions disapproving of
gaming devices, which could not be classified as lotteries in
the technical sense. In Opinion No. 45, wherein it was contended
that one of the three essential elements of a lottery, namely
consideration, was missing from the plan, the Commission advised
that it did not need to decide the question of whether or not
consideration would exist, so the proposal could be held to constitute
a technical lottery, for it was still of the view that the plan
would involve an illegal effort to sell or dispose of merchandise
by means of a chance or gaming device. * * * [L]otteries are not
the only method by which the public's gambling instinct may be
aroused, for other methods are comprehended within the general
concept of merchandising by gambling.'
And in Opinion No. 78, 'The mere fact that each participant receives
a thing of value for his contribution does not negate the existence
of a lottery nor change the plan's essential nature as an appeal
to the public's gambling instincts. Clearly, the participants
in this drawing would be motivated by the chance of receiving
something of more value than the amount they contributed. Hence,
the nature of the appeal is unmistakable.' (See also Opinion No.
86.)
FN9 In order for at least half to earn $108,000, the lowest possible
figure for an average would be if the other half (minus one) were
producing nothing, thereby producing a minimum figure of $54,000
a year for Generals on the average, for most generals to be earning
$108,000 a year in wholesale income.
FN10 As noted, however, the distinction in price in Holiday Magic
are greater than 10 percent.
FN11 The volume discount purchase situation is somewhat more easily
justified than a cumulative discount. In the Holiday Magic plan
the volume discounts are cumulative.
FN12 The Ninth Circuit, initially set aside the Commission's Order
for reasons not relevant herein (See Alhambra Motor Parts v. F.T.C.,
309 F.2d (9th Cir. 1962). The circuit court subsequently affirmed
the relevant portions of said order as well as the aforesaid compliance
report by its unreported order in Alhambra Motor Parts v. F.T.C.
No. 20, 764, issued Dec. 1, 1967.
FN1 In the Matter of Adolph Coors Company, Docket No. 8845 (July
24, 1973) [83 F.T.C. 32], slip op. p. 4; aff'd No. 731567
(10th Cir. 1974); In the Matter of Grand Caillon, 65 F.T.C. 799,
80607, 81415 (1964).
FN2 The system described herein in the present tense is generally
that which existed at times prior to the complaint in this matter,
except where indicated. Certain of the excesses of the program
have been moderated in the face of challenge by various government
agencies and private litigants.
FN3 This amount would purchase a 'minikit.' An alternative
would be purchase of $39 of product and sales aids (I.D. 60)
The following abbreviations will be used throughout:
I.D.Initial Decision (Finding No.)
I.D. p.Initial Decision (Page No.)
CXComplaint Counsel's Exhibit (No.)
RXRespondents' Exhibit (No.)
Tr.Transcript (Page No.)
RBRespondents' Appeal Brief to the Commission (Page
No.)
CBComplaint Counsel's Answer Brief on Appeal to the
Commission (Page No.)
FN4 This amount was later raised to $299, for which the Organizer
received a 'onepack' of all Holiday Magic products, a minikit,
a ten cassette library of recorded inspirational messages, a year's
subscription to 'Perception' Magazine, and a twoday course
in selling. (I.D. 70)
FN5 Any Organizer who achieved the volume of recruitment represented
by Holiday Magic promotional materials would automatically become
a workin Master by virtue of the inventory purchases of
his recruits.
FN6 In addition to the above, a complex system of reimbursement
exists to provide Generals with overrides or rebates on inventory
purchases made by those whom the General has recruited, recruits
of recruits, and so forth. As noted, General Distributors receive
a monthly payment equal to 10 percent of the retail list price
value of products purchased by Master Distributors whom they had
recruited or who were assigned to them, or who had been recruited
by Organizers or Holiday Girls to whom they sold. When a General's
Master becomes a General, the first General no longer receives
the 10 percent override on the exMaster's purchases, but
does continue to receive a 1 percent override on all purchases
made by the new General and the new General's recruits.
FN6a The same chain mechanism was implicit in the representation
made to every wouldbe General that he or she could recoup
the release fee by recruiting another General, and offering that
General the same inducement for signing up.
FN7 For reasons noted in detail in our decision in GerRoMar,
Inc., et al., supra (pp. 1721) [pp. 153155, herein],
we believe that an adequate evaluation of the lottery charge (Count
II) is not possible on the record before us, and we shall, therefore,
vacate those portions of the initial decision and proposed order
dealing therewith. It does not appear in any event that the provisions
of the law judges proposed event that the provisions of the law
judge's proposed recurrence of the wrongdoing here.
FN8 'Stipulation and Order Modifying Consent Judgment with Corporate
Defendants'
The amended order of the Court enjoins respondents to: * * * conduct
their operations in conformity with the marketing plan most recently
submitted to the Commission [SEC] and currently in effect, except
to the extent that it may be hereafter determined that such marketing
plan may conflict with antitrust laws and/or other laws administered
by the Federal Trade Commission, in which event the corporate
defendants, with the approval of Special Counsel, will make whatever
modifications are necessary in order to comply with said laws.
We do not believe that the Court intended by this provision to
require that the Federal Trade Commission hold new adjudicative
hearings to adjudge the legality of the new marketing plan, just
as it has previously held hearings stretching over 15 months and
10,708 pages of transcript to evaluate the legality of the past
marketing plan. We believe that the intention of the amended paragraph
was to require that Holiday Magic conform its operations to the
order of the F.T.C. based on the fully litigated record, and designed
to prevent future violations of law. The determination to which
the District Court's order refers may be made by counsel for Holiday
Magic and the Special Counsel, in consultation with the compliance
staff of the Commission. If problems arise with respect to the
meaning of our order that cannot be resolved with compliance staff,
the Commission will, as always, be prepared to render advice.
These observations refer as well to the order provisions pertaining
to restraints of trade, discussed in subsequent sections of this
opinion.
FN9 We have added a recordkeeping provision [Par. III(1)]
requiring that respondents maintain substantiating material for
any earnings claims they may choose to make. This housekeeping
provision is necessary in order for the Commission to enforce
effectively prohibitions on earnings misrepresentations. If respondents
cannot obtain and maintain substantiating material for earnings
claims, as they seem to suggest in objecting to the ALJ's disclosure
requirements, they should not make representations which suggest
to prospective distributors that they do know how much participants
in their program are earning.
FN10 Par. II(7) of the ALJ's order, to which respondents have
not objected, and which we shall incorporate in our order [Par.II(3)]
forbids respondents to require any participant to purchase product
or pay other consideration (except for purchase of reasonably
necessary sales aids) to participate in the marketing program.
This will limit though not eliminate the financial risk to participants.
FN11 The Commission is fully aware of the decision by the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals declaring that it may not order restitution
of retained monies obtained as a result of violations of the F.T.C.
Act occurring prior to the entry of a ceaseanddesist
order. (Heater v. Federal Trade Commission, No. 73 1750
[503 F.2d 321], Sept. 11, 1974.) With all due respect for the
court, the Commission believes that the court's decision in this
matter is incorrect, and the Commission will seek to obtain review
of this decision by the Supreme Court.
FN12 Witness Ben Gay, a past president of Holiday Magic testifying
as to the reaction of William Penn Patrick to the F.T.C. investigation,
in Dec. 1969 or Jan. 1970, spoke as follows:
The subject of compromise had come up and that was the theme of
his talk. He stood up. He was sitting at the end of the board
table. He began shouting and screaming and pounding on the table
saying that the next person who so much as uttered the word 'compromise'
would be fired and that there would be no compromise with the
Federal Trade Commission or any other regulatory agency * * *.
Mr. Patrick and myself were sitting in my office. I was sitting
in my office after everyone else had left and when the door shut
I looked at him and said, 'compromise,' because he had just said
the first person who uttered the word would be fired. Then he
laughed and he said, 'What do you mean?' and I said, 'The changes
that were suggested are reasonable and valid and they don't make
any difference to our business anyway. If the Federal Trade Commission
would be happy with them, I say let them have them.' I said, 'I
am trying to build a company that will be here 20 years from now,'
and he said, 'Let's get something straight. I can steal more money
in the next two years than you can make building an organization.
It is going to take the Federal Trade Commission at least two
years to get us and we are going to proceed on that line,' and
he left my office. [Tr. 984144; witness adhered to these
words on cross examination, Tr. 10073.]
FN13 Complaint counsel state that the Patrick Trust, which has
settled, was the recipient of substantial transfers from respondent
Patrick subsequent to institution of the Commission's suit. It
is obviously for the California probate court to determine whether
or not these funds were transferred to the trust to avoid a judgment
against the in dividual. If so, they may properly belong to the
estate. Our concern is with the estate and not with funds lawfully
donated to the Trust, for a purpose other than evading a Commission
order.
FN14 There is some question as to whether the change in the manual
regarding retail price maintenance was initiated before or after
the company had knowledge of the Commission's investigation. The
administrative law judge found that the company had knowledge
of the investigation no later than July 1967 (I.D. 1), and that
the change in the manual regarding retail price maintenance was
published in Oct. 1967. (I.D. 179) However, respondents contended
in their proposed findings before the administrative law judge
that the change was authorized and steps taken to effectuate it
prior to the company's having knowledge of the investigation (Respondents'
Proposed Findings 15254). Whether or not initiation of the
alleged discontinuance occurred before, or as a result of, the
Commission's investigation is not material in view of other factors
recited in the text of the initial decision.
FN15 Corporate recognition of the illegality of fixing resale
prices to distributors, combined with corporate desire to continue
fixing such prices results in such schizophrenic corporate prose
as the following, taken from a postcomplaint company manual
introduced by respondents:
'That same day, Joe [a master] must pay Mary [an upandcoming
holiday girl] a bonus amounting to a suggested 25 percent on all
the products she purchased directly from him that month. ($3500
times 25 percent equals $875.) This means that Mary really only
had to invest $1,049.65 in product to become a Master now that
she has a 55 percent discount.' (RX 132D, Par. 3, emphasis
added)
The company president contended on crossexamination that
under the rule as he construed it, Joe would not have had to pay
Mary the suggested 25 percent. (Tr. 9609) We doubt if that was
clear to Maryor Joe under the plan, even as amended
after the complaint in this matter.
FN16 See for example In the Matter of Lenox, Inc., Docket No.
8718 (1968) [73 F.T.C. 578], aff'd 417 F.2d 126 (2d Cir. 1969);
In the Matter of Adolph Coors Company, Docket No. 8845 (1973)
[83 F.T.C. 32], aff'd No. 7311567 10th Cir. 1974).
FN17 It is also curious to note that in defending against allegations
of illegal price discrimination respondents argue that these customer
restrictions were enforced. (RB 39)
FN18 It is not clear from the record whether the restriction was
intended to limit the ability of a departed partner to sell off
accumulated inventory acquired as a result of a partnership dissolution.
FN19 It is not clear from the record whether the restriction was
intended to limit the ability of a departed partner to sell off
accumulated inventory acquired as a result of a partnership dissolution.
FN20 With more evidence regarding the effects of these restrictions,
our conclusion might be different as to certain of them. Given
the enormous proportions of the record, complaint counsel are
hardly to be faulted for giving least attention to these most
peripheral elements of the case. We do not believe, moreover,
that at this point a remand for further evidence would serve any
useful purpose.
FN21 Respondents argue that even assuming competition between
Generals and Masters, a General could not be considered to be
favored until such time as he or she had recouped the release
fee. We doubt the validity of the release fee argument, since
the General received in return for the release fee an additional
valuable consideration denied the Masterthe right
to recruit other Generals. Thus, at best, only a fraction of the
release fee can be considered as mitigating or redressing the
discrimination. The General who recruited one other would more
than erase any disadvantage.
FN22 Respondents, while objecting to the findings on deception,
might as easily argue that they were prejudged on the issue of
pricefixing, since the Commission freely acknowledges that
it had concluded long before reviewing the record in this case
and in proceedings to which respondents were not privy, that entry
into agreements to fix prices is illegal. Respondents seem to
be objecting to the principle of stare decisis and the objection
cannot be well taken.
FN* Paragraph V reported as modified by Commission order issued
Jan. 21, 1975, 85 F.T.C. 89.
FN** By order the Commission dated Nov. 19, 1974, the word 'gold'
was changed to 'bold.'
FTC
84 F.T.C. 748
Copr. (C) West 1996 No claim to orig. U.S. govt. work
77 F.T.C. 1700
February 4, 1970
File No. 703 7057
Advisory Opinion Digest
No. 404. Franchise Sales Promotion Plan With Pyramiding Franchises
and 'Functional Override' Commission Implications.
In a previous advisory opinion the Commission advised that a violation
of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act would result
from the adoption of the following proposed franchise sales promotion
plan.
The plan centers around the sale of a fruit juice drink through
franchise independent businessmen who will assist in the franchisor's
growth by training additional franchisees. For such performance
an original franchisee will be paid a 'Functional Override,' or
commission, of 1 percent of the gross sales of those they recruit
and train (direct franchisees) and onehalf of 1 percent
of the gross sales of those recruited and trained by direct franchisees
(indirect franchisees). In addition, original franchisees will
be granted loan credits and cash bonuses for persons proposed
and accepted as franchisees.
Although the plan was not intended to have 'pyramid sales'
implications and the 'Functional Override' was to stop with the
indirect franchisees insofar as an original franchisee is concerned,
a direct franchisee may become an original franchisee and indirect
franchisees may become direct, and subsequently original, franchisees
by sponsoring other persons as franchisees. This being so the
'Functional Override' continues throughout the chain down to the
last indirect franchisee recruited who would be unable to derive
any benefits from the plan for the reason that the continually
expanding pyramid of franchisees would prevent the later
franchisees from successfully recruiting still other participants.
A tabulation distributed through an operations manual to potential
franchise purchasers indicates that an original franchisee may,
in theory, benefit from the effort of at least twenty (20) other
franchisees. This in the Commission's judgment is somewhat beyond
the realm of possibility since an original franchise purchaser
does not know the number of prior franchise purchasers nor the
degree to which an available market has been saturated with franchises.
The return to any given franchise participant will unquestionably
be a great dal less than the theoretically achievable amount set
forth. No single franchise participant can be certain what his
return will be, if any, beyond perhaps that from his first few
direct franchisees. Any further amount he might receive would
accrue to him sheerly through chance.
FTC
77 F.T.C. 1700
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