OBTAINER-Interview with Achim Hickmann, Proprietor and CEO of ...

OBTAINER-Interview with
Achim Hickmann,
Proprietor and CEO of the networking companies Evora and 24nexx
When they hear the name Achim
Hickmann many distributors
in the networking industry immediately
think even today of
the Ahlen-based company “LR
International,” which he set up
together with Helmut Spikker in
1985. But meanwhile, since the
end of the two-year restraint on
trade that initially prevented
him from taking up other activities
after the sale of his shares in
LR, the manager and sales professional
has been organizing
the business of the networking
companies Evora (cosmetics)
and 24nexx (made-to:measure
fashion). OBTAINER met Achim
Hickmann in his newly-adopted
place of residence, Dubai, and is
very pleased to be able to present
this exclusive interview to
you.
OBTAINER WORLDWIDE: Mr
Hickmann, the fashion industry
in direct sales is quaking at the
moment! Above all in the last 8
months many partners have tur-
ned their backs on the one-time
top dog FE.N and initiated a regu-
lar wave of new company found-
ations in the field of fashion and
direct sales: Carat Design Jeans,
La Soé, Infinity, La Esperanza –
to name just the most important.
What do you think? How many
fashion networks can the market
absorb?
Achim Hickmann: Also in network mar-
keting the market will purge itself of its
own accord and ultimately there will be
one to three jeans or fashion networks
left, which will divide up over 80% of
the turnover among themselves. At the
moment too many laypeople who have
no idea of network marketing, people
who don‘t live and understand our busi-
ness, are trying it out in our industry.
The causes are frequently remuneration
plans that don‘t work, false distribution
concepts, insufficient commercial skills
or lack of capital. But there will always
be a couple of companies that survive as
long as they remain on a small scale.
A few weeks ago FE.N and the
former No. 1 of this company, na-
mely Patrick Temmermann, par-
ted company. Already before the
termination Temmermann met
with the managers of various
companies, one of them was you
in your capacity of co-proprietor
and CEO of 24nexx. In the end the
negotiations with Temmermann
failed. What exactly was the
background to this rejection.
In the final analysis it failed because of
our different conceptions about distri-
bution procedures. At all costs he wan-
ted the depot concept, which is risky for
consultants, but I strictly reject it since
in the long term it can‘t work. He is ext-
remely industrious and certainly a good
salesman but he still has to learn net-
work marketing.
The company 24nexx has already
been involved in the market for a
bit more than 2 years. However,
except for a short wave of hype
from former Ziami consultants it
has received hardly any greater
attention on the Internet. What
do you think are the reasons for
this?
This whole hype on the Internet was
really more of a hindrance than a help
for us. For about a year we‘ve been
building up our distribution step by
step with completely new consultants.
Meanwhile we have many highlights
to offer and our consultants appreciate
that. In addition, it‘s the case that on the
Internet and in the forums you mostly
find the consultants who as a rule are
less successful. If the invested this com-
mitment and this expenditure of time in
sponsoring and selling, they would earn
a few thousand euros more. 24nexx is
concentrating its training on the part of
our industry that brings money, lifestyle
and freedom.
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There are considerable differen-
ces between 24nexx‘s concept and
the concepts that have been usual
on the market so far. In particu-
lar 24nexx does without the esta-
blishment of goods depots at the
cost of the distribution partners,
which, for example, was called the
depot concept at FE.N. What are
your alternatives to this concept
and why are you such an energe-
tic opponent of these concepts?
This depot concept isn‘t suitable for
networking or only to a limited extent.
Every good networker knows after all
that network marketing only works if,
firstly, the products end up with the
customer and don‘t go moldy in goods
depots and, secondly, that the mode of
operation has to be duplicable for the
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mass of consultants. Precisely that isn‘t
the case with the depot concept. The
philosophy in network marketing is to
offer an opportunity without great risks
and thus create equality of opportuni-
ty. It can‘t be that the person with the
thickest wallet rises into the the leading
circle while the really industrious people
receive less recognition.Independently
of that, I consider this concept to be
questionable morally if not also legally.
For a company it‘s certainly nice if you
can shift the financial risk to consul-
tants or depot partners. The company
immediately earns a quick buck without
the products having arrived at the con-
sumers – and the depot partners can
only stand and watch while they try to
get rid of the jeans.
What opportunities does some-
body who‘s interested have with
24nexx to achieve a sustainable
and stable income in the field of
selling but also in building up dis-
tribution and what is a realistic
period for doing so?
Through our homestore concept we
make a jeans and bag collection availab-
le to our consultants. Only a person who
has goods can also make a turnover.
What we expect in return for making
the collection available consists of tur-
nover, of course. But this is very mode-
rate and is easy to achieve. By means of
sales activities it‘s possible to earn seve-
ral hundred or even over 1,000 euros a
month. These homestores make it pos-
sible to achieve quick and stable growth
in building up your organization since
the personal sales volumes are higher
and the fluctuation lower. Nevertheless,
success is dependent on personal com-
mitment. Again and again there will be
consultants who very quickly get to more
than 1,000 euros commission income on
a part-time basis. With the right mode of
operation you can build up a a full-time
business, up to and including financial
independence, in 3 to 5 years.
What in your opinion are the
strengths of 24nexx?
First of all, integrity. We are network
marketing through and through and
have high aspirations as far as values
and standards go. If for some companies
ethics and morality aren‘t so important
and success justifies tainted practices,
we prefer to forego this turnover and
grow somewhat more slowly, but for that
reason in a more stable manner. With us
there are no loopholes and the terms of
business apply equally to all.
The second point is security. We offer
our partners security for their futures,
the inheritability of the business, a “pen-
sioner status” that isn‘t dependent on
age and a non-termination clause. The
third point is experience and knowhow.
The fact that the people with responsi-
bility in our company have sufficient
experience in network marketing is
something that I don‘t really need to
explain further here. And also not the
fact that it‘s based on economic power
and functioning logistics. Point 4 is the
remuneration plan. Our remuneration
plan is oriented on the best there are in
Germany and worldwide. It takes into
consideration not only the interests of
the top-level consultants but also the
interests of those distributors who do
the most important job: selling the pro-
ducts. But also the middle-level leader-
ship stratum doesn‘t miss out. The re-
muneration plan is tried and tested in
practice and functions in all situations.
The fifth point is cooperation. At the
moment the cooperation concept we
have with EVORA is unique worldwide.
Through it our consultants have com-
plete access to the perfumes, cosmetics
aloe vera and food supplements with
full sales commission. Our concept is so
good that already from May of this year
it‘s being copied by other companies.
Further points that speak for us are
products and loyalty. As far as products
are concerned we have
what many other networking compa-
nies also have – but far more besides!
For example, many jeans networks
have inexpensive no-name jeans. We
have them too – but in addition we also
have brand-name jeans from Bogner,
Hilfiger, Seven, Rosner, Jack & Jones…
and these for sensational prices. Made-
to-measure shirt networks mostly deli-
ver their goods after 3 to 4 weeks. We‘ve
already produced the made-to measure
shirt in advance and can supply a busi-
ness shirt in over 80 different variations
(collar size, arm length, waist) within 3
days. In addition we have well-known
brand names in our range and now and
again also on occasion unknown insider
tips that satisfy because of their good
quality or outstanding design.
Companies always expect loyalty from
their consultants. But what about the
loyalty of the companies towards their
consultants? The companies have to
protect the consultants from mani-
pulation (for example, by artificial
purchases), restructuring, poaching etc.
The success of the consultants has to
be a clear company goal and decisions
mustn‘t be taken that are detrimental to
the interests of the consultants.
What plans do you have for the
near future? What can we expect
from 24nexx in 2010?
We‘ll be producing our own-brand
products with sensational value for
money. Shortly our jeans products will
arrive and I‘m already looking forward
to the resonance among our consul-
tants. Admittedly we wanted to focus
on Germany and Austria this year but
the pressure from other countries has
been getting greater and greater so
that yet more countries will probably
be added during 2010.
In discussion with many fashion
networkers you get the feeling
that after the short-term hype
sparked off by FE.N the momen-
tum is now gone. In fact there are
very many disappointed part-
ners who are ending their acti-
vity and are either turning their
backs completely on network
marketing or are discovering
other fields such as e-commerce
or food supplements. Why in
your opinion is that the case and
do you think that fashion can re-
ally establish itself in direct dis-
tribution in the longterm?
Yes, quite simply because they are
products that can be sold. If you keep
to the rules and regularities of direct
distribution none of that is a problem.
The products have to be sold to the end
customers. For this reason the pro-
duct quality has to be right in order to
achieve customer satisfaction.
Just one last question if we may.
You were co-founder of the com-
pany LR and built up its dis-
tribution. Recently very many
negative reports about LR have
appeared – particularly in the
specialist media. Now hardly
any other person would be in a
position to know the company
better than you personally. How
do you see the whole situation
with LR and what‘s you personal
opinion on this topic.
The current negative statements are I
believe rather exaggerated. Still many
of your readers can imagine why LR is
being criticized so fiercely. But those
responsible at LR have made a num-
ber of serious errors in distribution
in recent years and for that LR has
been rightly penalized by the courts
and in the press. Let‘s just assume
that they‘ve learned from this. I still
have many friends among the LR ma-
nagement who are loyally sticking to
the company and I‘m convinced that
they‘ll also continue to increase their
114 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 03/2010 03/2010 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 115
turnover.
Mr Hickmann, thank you very
much for this interview.
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