News of mass layoffs like US skin care brand Rodan + Fields letting go of 100 employees can become a moment of collective mourning among victims of unexpected job cuts.
However, this workforce slash is part of a broader plan by the company, which sells dermatology-inspired products, to move away from a multi-level marketing (MLM) model to a new affiliate programme on 1 September.
But when you factor in Rodan + Fields’ business structure, it feels like there is much less sympathy for the organisation ‘going through it’ for the simple fact that it is an MLM.
But why might this be? Let’s consider Rodan + Fields’ consumer experience for a moment.
Has a close one ever tried to sell you their products? It has happened to me and unfortunately the exchanges were awkward and simultaneously insulting to say the least.
My ex-boyfriend’s aunt tried to sell me Rodan + Fields acne treatments and chose to approach the sale by criticising the state of my skin, which has been an ongoing personal struggle since I was a teenager.
The irony is obvious. The hate for MLM’s peer-to-peer practices seems to be set aside morally when it comes to TikTok Shop creators
A few months later, she messaged me on Facebook trying to recruit me as a representative to sell the exact same products – that I did not purchase – to others. I was not interested.
The greatest challenge for Rodan + Fields moving forward with this fresh affiliate programme will be repairing the damage that has been done to the brand’s reputation by some rogue representatives like my ex-boyfriend’s aunt.
Having come of age during the huge success of acne treatment brand Proactiv (which rebranded as Alchemee in 2021), Rodan + Fields co-founders Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields are dermatologists with a clear gift for treatment-driven product development.
Unfortunately, their namesake brand may suffer from ongoing associations around the perceived untrustworthiness of MLM models, which may
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