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ACN Inc.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ACN, Inc. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | Incorporated 1992 |
| Headquarters | Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA |
| Key people | Charles “Chip” Barker, CEO Robert Stevanovski Chairman Gregory (Greg) Provenzano, President Anthony (Tony) Cupisz, Vice President Michael (Mike) Cupisz, Vice President[1][2][3] |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | See complete products listing |
| Employees | 1,000+ (2006) |
| Slogan | one world, one vision |
| Website | www.acninc.com |
ACN, Inc., a communications reseller based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company.[4] ACN began operations in the U.S in January 1993, Europe in 1999, Asia-Pacific in 2004 and is now operating in 19 countries.[5]
ACN offers local calling, long distance, Internet, wireless and digital phone/video phone services, and wireless connection to consumers and small businesses in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific.
Contents |
Headquartered in Farmington Hills, ACN offices are also located in Marquette, Michigan; Charlotte, North Carolina; Irvine, California; Montreal, Canada; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Åmål, Sweden; Sydney, Australia and Wroclaw, Poland. ACN is a member of the Direct Selling Associations in North America and Europe.
In 1992, Robert Stevanovski, Greg Provenzano, and twin brothers Tony and Mike Cupisz, founded what was then called 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.[3]
ACN was listed in Inc. Magazine in 1998 as No. 22 in its annual list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America,[6] 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.[7]
On 15 November 2004, Australian Communications Network Pty Ltd (the Australian branch of ACN inc.) was investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for alleged breaches of the Trade Practices Act 1974 in regard to provisions in the act relating to pyramid schemes.[8] On 23 March 2005, ACN was found by Justice Selway to have participated in, promoted and induced or attempted to induce persons to take part in a pyramid selling scheme. A federal court appeal later reversed the earlier decision made by Justice Selway. The ruling indicated that the alleged "recruitment payments" did not fall under the definitions of the law. The ACCC was ordered to pay court costs.[8]
On 19 March 2007, ACN France was found guilty and fined €15,000 for its use of misleading advertising. Inspectors created a simulation which found that only representatives with a position of "Team Coordinator" or higher (less than 1% of total qualified independent representatives) could potentially earn a satisfactory income (defined as €1345 per month). The position below "Team Coordination", "Executive Team Trainers" (less that 8% of total qualified independent representatives) could only earn a meager income or possibly lose money. Qualified independent represents consist of the representatives that have reached the level of "Team Trainer" or higher.[9]
ACN has a satisfactory rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This means that the company has been in business for at least 12 months, has properly and promptly addressed matters referred to it by the BBB, and is free from an unusual volume or pattern of complaints and law enforcement action involving its marketplace conduct. In addition, the Bureau has a clear understanding of the company's business and no concerns about its industry. The Bureau processed a total of 225 complaints about ACN in the 36 months ending in December 2007. Of the total 225 complaints that were closed during that 36 month period, 96 were closed in the final 12 months. [10]
- ^ Krippel, Julie. ACN, Inc. information and related industry information from Hoover's. Hoover's. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
- ^ ACN, Inc.. Company Founders - A Winning Team. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
- ^ a b Seale, Barbara. Company Spotlight: ACN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
- ^ King, Charles W. (October 1996). Services: the new front in the MLM revolution. Success.
- ^ Hampshire, K. (December 2005) "Tapping the Network," Smart Business Detroit
- ^ Inc. Magazine. The Inc 500. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
- ^ Commerce Energy Group Inc (filing date February 10, 2005). Item 2.01. Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets, Form:8-K. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
- ^ a b Full Federal court upholds ACN's appeal against pyramid selling decision. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
- ^ SAS ACN Communications France v Paris [2007] TGIP 2 (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
- ^ url=http://detroit.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=80&bbb=0332&firm=0028000808 | access date=2007-12-18
- ACN Inc. information from Hoover's. Hoover's Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ACN Inc. website. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
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