industry wellness personal care multi level marketing founded 1956 founder forrest c. shaklee headquarters pleasanton california key people roger barnett chairman & ceo products nutrition weight management beauty household revenue us 148.7 million 2007 . 1 website www.shaklee.com shaklee corporation is an american manufacturer and distributor of natural nutrition supplements weight management products beauty products and household products . the company is based in pleasanton california with global operations in canada japan malaysia mexico taiwan china and indonesia . contents 1 history 1.1 founding 1.2 expansion divestiture changes of ownership 2 ftc complaint 3 controversy 4 cycling team 5 customers 5.1 nasa 6 notes and references 7 external links history edit founding edit forrest c. shaklee created shaklee s vitalized minerals in 1915 . in 1956 shaklee founded the shaklee corporation with his two sons to manufacture nutritional supplements . 2 shaklee chose the multi level marketing business model to market their product . 3 starting in 1960 shaklee began marketing organic biodegradable cleaning products . he continually emphasized natural and environmentally friendly in his marketing messages . expansion divestiture changes of ownership edit shaklee headquarters in pleasanton shaklee corporation was a publicly traded company in the late 1970s and was listed on the new york stock exchange . the corporation began to diversify in november 1986 when it purchased the bear creek corporation a direct marketing company best known for its harry and david fruit of the month club operation from rjr nabisco for 123 million . 4 in february 1989 shaklee sold its 78 percent interest in shaklee japan to the yamanouchi pharmaceutical company for 350 million while maintaining its licensing agreement and continuing to collect royalty payments from the japanese operations . 5 then in march 1989 shaklee corporation received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from a group led by irwin l. jacobs the minneapolis financier known also by his nickname irv the liquidator . analysts placed the leveraged buyout value of shaklee at 35 a share . the jacobs group had been aggressively accumulating shaklee shares and disclosed it currently held a 14.98 percent stake in the san francisco based company . shaklee immediately declared a special dividend of 20 a share seen as a poison pill a way to discourage takeover interest in shaklee though the company disputed that view . shaklee s anti takeover provisions came into play when an investor reached 15 percent . 6 after a few tense weeks during which time jacobs increased his stake in shaklee 7 shaklee corporation announced it was being acquired by yamanouchi pharmaceutical for 28 a share in cash or about 395 million . yamanouchi s partnership with shaklee in japan helped make the transaction possible and cast yamanouchi as a white knight in helping shaklee fend off the hostile takeover bid by jacobs . 8 jacobs announced he would not challenge the yamanouchi bid 9 and the deal with yamanouchi was quickly finalized . 10 shaklee became a privately held company . in april 2004 yamanouchi sold shaklee corporation to american billionaire roger barnett managing partner of activated holdings llc for 310 million . bear creek and the harry and david line was sold to wasserstein perella & co. for 260 million . 11 12 shaklee promotes itself as a company committed to being green . 13 14 15 16 17 18 ftc complaint edit in 1974 shaklee fell under scrutiny of the federal trade commission and was ordered to cease its marketing its product instant protein to infants and to cease misrepresentation of the amount of protein in instant protein . 19 shaklee was further sanctioned by the ftc in 1976 for requiring coercing threatening or otherwise exerting pressure on its distributors to maintain or advertise suggested retail prices . 20 non primary source needed controversy edit new england distributor john jack william cranney is accused of using his 45 year affiliation with shaklee to solicit investments from other shaklee associates his family and his friends beginning in 2002 . 21 22 in july 2012 the massachusetts securities division charged cranney of implementing a ponzi scheme to defraud 36 victims in multiple states of about 10.4 million and for using the funds for personal gain . 23 in the summer of 2012 shaklee suspended distributor payments to cranney estimated at 45 000 per month . 24 several victims sued cranney to recover damages and he sought federal bankruptcy protection for his home valued at 3 million . 23 25 cranney lost the battle for his home and the proceeds from the sale were used to satisfy the claims of some of his alleged victims . 26 in september 2014 the fbi arrested cranney in el paso texas and charged him with four counts of wire fraud 16 counts of mail fraud and three counts of money laundering . 27 iowa distributor elizabeth dopf publicly raised specific concerns about shaklee in december 2013 . the publication of her experience online 28 compelled 96 former shaklee distributors to come forward prompting regional media coverage in the us . 29 dopf was recruited into the pinnacle group led by controversial former amway promoter bo short . 30 according to the former distributor inventory loading was encouraged by upline supervisors who allegedly convinced the participant to join shaklee by offering a lucrative income opportunity to sell high quality products . after paying the initial start up cost dopf was told to order monthly minimum product inventory shipments from shaklee in order to qualify for commissions which would form the residual income she sought . according to her first hand experience published on a prominent shaklee distributor website 28 dopf s upline superiors placed virtually all emphasis and time on motivational phone calls to promote the unlimited recruitment of friends and family members into shaklee by using the suggestion of a lucrative business opportunity selling products . when elizabeth complained that none of her product inventory had been sold her specific supervisors whose names are published on the shaklee distributor website told dopf that it was essential to keep purchasing inventory even if it wasn t selling . the allegation is consistent with two of the federal trade commission s hallmark traits of an illegal pyramid scheme called chain recruiting and inventory loading . 31 cycling team edit from 1988 to 2000 shaklee was the title sponsor of an american based uci professional cycling team managed by frank scioscia . in its final year of existence 2000 team shaklee was the top ranked uci tier iii team in the world 32 and included united states olympic team members jamie carney jonas carney adam laurent and kent bostick . there is no information listed as to whether or not the team members actually used shaklee products . customers edit nasa edit beginning in 1993 and through the end of the nasa shuttle program shaklee provided nasa with a customized version of its rehydration beverage performance under the name astroade for use by shuttle astronauts . 33 34 35 36 37 notes and references edit yahoo finance industry center personal products shaklee corporation company profile . yahoo finance . retrieved june 21 2009 . dr. forrest shaklee ; founded corporation . the new york times . december 17 1985 . retrieved june 21 2009 . the history of mlm . first class mlm . november 11 2007 . retrieved june 21 2009 . shaklee to buy rjr nabisco unit . the new york times . november 4 1986 . retrieved june 21 2009 . shaklee to sell japanese stake . the new york times . february 3 1989 . retrieved june 21 2009 . fisher lawrence m. march 4 1989 . shaklee gets takeover offer from jacobs . the new york times . retrieved june 21 2009 . jacobs increases stake in shaklee . the new york times . february 25 1989 . retrieved june 21 2009 . fisher lawrence m. march 15 1989 . japan drug maker to buy shaklee . the new york times . retrieved june 21 2009 . jacobs cuts stake in shaklee to 10.5 % . the new york times . march 15 1989 . retrieved june 21 2009 . shaklee offer done . the new york times . april 18 1989 . retrieved june 21 2009 . japanese drug company to sell 4 units including shaklee . the new york times . april 3 2004 . retrieved june 21 2009 . wasserstein haunts harry & david in buyout doomed to bankruptcy . bloomberg markets magazine . october 11 2011 . shaklee u.s. leads the way on global climate change issue . shaklee inc. retrieved january 26 2012 . eco socialites make cleaning green a priority . shaklee inc. shaklee wins 2009 green power leadership award . shaklee inc. shaklee wins 2009 business environmental awards . shaklee inc. shaklee is on top 20 retail partner list with the us environmental protection agency s epa green power partnership . shaklee inc. shaklee wins 2008 stevie award . shaklee inc. federal trade commission . in the matter of shaklee corporation consent order etc. in regard to alleged violation of the federal trade commission act pdf . ftc.gov . ftc . retrieved january 11 2015 . federal trade commission . in the matter of shaklee corporation co sent order etc. in regard to alleged violation of the federal trade commission act pdf . ftc.gov . ftc . retrieved january 11 2015 . healy beth . friends fight to recover money from belmont businessman . boston globe . retrieved march 23 2015 . john william cranney notice of adjudicatory proceeding pdf . commonwealth of massachusetts . retrieved october 10 2015 . a b united states bankruptcy court district of massachusetts eastern division . motion of united states trustee to convert chapter 11 case to chapter 7 pdf . gpo.gov . government printing office . retrieved march 23 2015 . healy beth . belmont businessman pressed on funds in court jack cranney says fbi seized records of losses . boston globe . retrieved march 31 2015 . barrett stephan . prominent shaklee distributor accused of operating ponzi scheme . mlmwatch.org . the skeptical guide to multilevel marketing . retrieved march 23 2015 . healy beth . ex belmont businessman arrested on fraud charges . boston globe . retrieved march 31 2015 . department of justice u.s. attorney s office district of massachusetts . former belmont resident charged with 6 million investment fraud scheme . justice.gov . united states department of justice . retrieved march 31 2015 . cs1 maint multiple names authors list link a b moore janet . shaklee victims united . information on shaklee pyramid scheme and bo short . shaklee victims united . retrieved march 27 2015 . fredrickson paul . shaklee distributor coverage . distributors experienced shaklee as pyramid scheme . shaklee pyramid scheme victims united . archived from the original on march 30 2015 . retrieved march 27 2015 . jackson allen . understanding bo short . bo short american con artist . mr. allen jackson ii . retrieved march 27 2015 . us government authored federal trade commission . tell tale signs of a pyramid scheme . federal trade commission website . ftc.gov . retrieved march 27 2015 . shaklee achievements and milestones . shaklee inc. wong l. g. december 1994 . hypervolemia in men from drinking hyperhydration fluids at rest and during exercise pdf . nasa . retrieved december 28 2012 . whittam phd james h. april 3 1995 . hypervolemia from drinking hyperhydration solutions at rest and exercise pdf . nasa . retrieved december 28 2012 . fortney phd suzanne m. january 1994 . fluid loading solutions and plasma volume astro ade and salt tablets with water pdf . nasa . retrieved december 28 2012 . wong l. g. december 1994 . drink composition and cycleergometer endurance in men carbohydrate na osmolality pdf . nasa . retrieved december 28 2012 . shaklee milestones . shaklee inc. retrieved december 28 2012 . external links edit