ACN
From MLM Wiki
| ACN Inc. | |
| Founded: | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters: | Concord, North Carolina, USA |
| Company Type: | Private |
| Market Cap. | |
| Revenues: | $500+ Billion |
| Agents: | unknown |
| Employees: | 1,000+ |
| Countries: | |
| Product Categories: | Telecommunications |
| Compensation Plan: | |
| Website: | http://www.acninc.com |
| Notes: | |
ACN, Inc. is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company that provides communication products and services [1] Based in Concord, North Carolina, USA, ACN ACN began operations in the U.S in 1993 as American Communications Network (latterly ACN). It extended operations to Europe in 1999 and to Asia-Pacific in 2004, and now operates in 20 countries.[1] ACN is a member of the Direct Selling Associations in North America [1][1] and Europe.[1] In the United States, ACN is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau.[1].
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Services / market
ACN offers telephone (including digital phone/video phone), internet, television, wireless, and home security related services to consumers and small businesses. The company also sells training, product and sales materials to its salespeople.
Company structure
ACN is a privately held corporation, and little information on company ownership and earnings has been made public. Headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, ACN offices are also located in Montreal, Canada; Amsterdam|Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Sydney, Australia; Åmål|Åmål, Sweden and Wrocław|Wrocław, Poland.
The company relies on independent representatives working on commission to undertake the marketing of its products and to recruit more salespeople.
History
In 1992, Robert Stevanovski, Greg Provenzano, and twin brothers Tony and Mike Cupisz, founded the American Communications Network, Inc. ACN opened for business in January, 1993 with twenty initial "independent representatives". In its first year it achieved revenues of two million dollars. ACN's initial business was as a marketing arm for a long-distance reseller called LCI Communications. This relationship lasted for five years until LCI was acquired by Qwest Communications.[1] By 1998, ACN was listed in Inc. Magazine's Inc. 500 list as No. 22 in this annual list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America,[1] with an annual revenue of $98.1 million.
Formerly ACN, through the subsidiaries ACN Energy and ACN Utility Services, operated as a gas and electricity retailer. ACN's energy assets were acquired by Commerce Energy Group in 2006.[1]
In 2008, ACN moved its headquarters from Farmington Hills, Michigan] to Concord, North Carolina.[1][1]
On December 13, 2008, ACN committed to purchase in excess of $50 million dollars worth of videophone equipment from WorldGate Communications (stock symbol WGAT). As part of the agreement, ACN, through its investment proxy WGI Investors, purchased all outstanding debentures of WorldGate's senior secured creditor, YA Global Investments, LP (f/k/a Cornell Capital Partners, LP) and has acquired a controlling interest (63% of its common stock) in WorldGate. Under terms of the action ACN named four of the seven members of WorldGates's board of directors.[1][1][1]
Products and Services
ACN initially offered long distance phone service in the United States, and later as part of deregulation of the telephone industry, the company added local phone service in many areas of the country. ACN is a reseller of whatever telephone carrier is the incumbent in a community, bundling it with its own long distance plan.
ACN began providing dialup internet service in the US within its first five years in business[1]. Partnering with Verizon to resell DSL broadband and offering a dial-up internet service through out most of the United States.Template:Cite In addition they provide Voice over IP and videophone services, with their new Iris 3000 Videophone.
Starting in 2007 ACN began offering wireless phone plans as a reseller of major carriers such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS, AT&T, Nextel, Alltel, and T-Mobile.
In 2008 the company began reselling satellite TV service in the United States. It began by selling DirecTV and later expanded its offering to include Dish Network.
Also in 2008, ACN began reselling ADT Home Security in the United States.[1]
Compensation Plan
ACN uses a variant of the Stairstep breakaway plan to compensate its representatives. The plan compensates for both business building, using "customer acquisition bonuses", and customer retention, with residual commissions on personal customers and overriding residual commissions on customers of sponsored representatives. Originally ACN did not pay bonuses, but residuals were the sole form of income, requiring representatives to build relatively large sponsored representative organizations before any significant incomes could be achieved. However, as the company grew it became able to give incentive bonuses for rapid organization growth. This made it possible for new representatives who applied themselves to be able to replace their non-ACN incomes much quicker than in the earlier days.
