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QNET
QNet
Company typewholly owned subsidiary
IndustryConsumer goods
FoundedHong Kong, 1998
FounderVijay Eswaran
Websitewww.qnet.net

QNet ltd, formerly known as QuestNet, GoldQuest, and QI Limited, is a Hong Kong based direct selling company owned by the QI Group. The company sells a variety of products including energy, weight management, nutrition, personal care, home care, luxury goods, and fashion accessories. QNet was founded in Hong Kong by Vijay Eswaran in 1998.

The company's marketing strategy follows a multi-level marketing model, depending on independent representatives to refer its products to consumers and receive compensation based on the sales volume of their referrals and the sales volume of other independent representatives in their teams who are arranged in a binary fashion.

QNet is a member in the Direct Selling Association of Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. It has offices in some Asian countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam and franchise companies in India and Turkey and it also operates or has operated in other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire and Rwanda.

Egypt, India, Iran, Indonesia, Nepal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey accused and sued QNet for allegedly operating a product-based pyramid scheme. The company denies any wrongdoing, and some court cases against it were dismissed.

History

QNet is the main subsidiary of the QI Group and was founded in Hong Kong by Vijay Eswaran in 1998. The company was first known as GoldQuest and made custom-commissioned numismatic coins. It first diversified in 2002, into travel and vacations, with a partnership with QVI Club brand holidays. In 2005, QI Group acquired QI Comm, a British telecommunications company In 2006, it began marketing energy, health, and nutritional products, and also the Bernhard H. Mayer brand of watches. That same year, QI Group acquired Prana Resorts and Spa, a vegetarian holiday resort in Koh Samui. In 2007, the QI Group acquired Down To Earth (DTE), a vegetarian organic health store chain in Hawaii.

Between 2007 and 2012, QI Group direct sales increased by 70%.

In 2013, Qnet announced its intention to shift its manufacturing operations to India and to open an office in Russia.

Business model

A typical MLM binary tree structure. The blue individual will receive compensation from the sales of the downline red members.

The company's marketing strategy is based on a multi-level marketing model which depends on a group of independent representatives who refer its products to consumers and receive compensation based on the sales volume of their referrals and the sales volume of other independent representatives in their teams who are arranged in a binary fashion.

Many governmental entities have described QNet's business model as a simple pyramid scheme: early entrants earn money, and as the number of Independent Representatives (IRs) increases, finding more IRs to join becomes difficult or impossible; IRs that join late do not earn enough to cover their first outlay and the model collapses. QNet's Public Relations manager said that QNet offers a business opportunity that doesn't have high start-up costs. When an IR recommends the product the customer makes a purchase through QNet's system and the IR receives a commission.

The compensation plan operates by the recruitment of customers by existing IRs. An IR is provided an ID that gives access to a 'Tracking Centre' (TC) in its system that tracks sales. A TC has a left and right customer group. A 'direct' transaction (a customer's personal reference or sale) is counted as one transaction. An 'indirect transaction (someone in the customer's TC buys/refers/sells) is also counted as 1 transaction. the company pays $250 each time 3 product sales on an IR's left customer group are matched by 3 product sales on the right.

QNet is a member of the direct selling association of Malaysia, the direct selling association of Singapore, the Hong Kong Health Food Association, and the Health Supplements Industry Association of Singapore.

Products

Under the names GoldQuest and QuestNet the company primarily sold gold collectible coins as an investment item.

Currently, QNet mainly markets products made by other subsidiary companies of QI Group. The products are in travel packages, nutrition, personal care, home care, collectibles, fashion accessories and education.

The Amezcua Bio Disc (also spelled BioDisc and BioDisk) is one of the company's products. QNet claims that the Bio Disc can "redefine and harmonise the energy of water, greatly maximising its positive affect on the human body". These and other claims relating to the product have been denounced as fraudulent by various scientists, media commentators and watchdogs. Critics have noted that the claims are based on pseudoscientific concepts such as hexagonal water and that they have never been validated by peer-review.

See also

References

  1. "All Products". QNet. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  2. "Direct Selling Association of the Philippines - Directory". Direct Selling Association of the Philippines. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  3. ^ "Members List". Direct Selling Association of Malaysia. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  4. ^ "List Of All Members". Dsas.org.sg. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  5. "Worldwide Offices". Qnet. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  6. Times Reporter (6 Oct 2013). ""e-Commerce platform opens in Rwanda"". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 29 Oct 2013.
  7. Ted Nuyten (28 Aug 2013). "QNET Expands Into Vietnam". Business For Home. Retrieved 29 Oct 2013.
  8. ^ "GoldQuest". Quest International Holding. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "Organic Health Food Supermarket Chain". QI. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  10. ^ "Organic and Natural". Down to Earth. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "Direct selling - How does it work". Qnet. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  12. "Kewaspadaan terhadap Bahaya Money Game Meningkat". Asosiasi Penjualan Langsung Indonesia. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  13. ^ Rabie, Passant (10 August 2011). "Caught in a Pyramid Scheme". Business Today Egypt. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  14. Gahamanyi, John (3 August 2009). "Rwanda: QuestNet Banned". AllAfrica. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  15. "SriLanka banned Gold Quest long time ago". Muthamil.com. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  16. ^ "Frauds and Scams Introduction - Crimes of Persuasion – A Resource for Investigators". Retrieved 2011-11-12.. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. Ahmed Feteha (5 Jan 2012). "QNet: Not all pyramids make money for Egypt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 7 Oct 2013.
  18. ^ Donald Frazier (5 Nov 2013). "Selling a Better Life". Forbes Asia. Retrieved 4 Oct 2013.
  19. ^ "QNet Timeline". QNet. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
  20. "QI's Prana Resorts & Spa rebrands and expands". QI Group. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 6 Oct 2013.
  21. Mihir Mishra (13 May 2013). "QNet plans to set up production base in India". The Indian Express. Retrieved 6 Oct 2013.
  22. "QNET Will open a representative office in Russia". Sostav. 25 Oct 2013. Retrieved 29 Oct 2013.
  23. Faso, Brukina (04-05-2010). "QuestNet pyramid scheme drops anchor in Africa". France 24. Retrieved 20 December 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. "Members". Hong Kong Health Food Association. Retrieved 1 Nov 2013.
  25. "HSIAS Current Members". Health Supplements Industry Association of Singapore. Retrieved 1 Nov 2013.
  26. Sucheta Dalal; Yogesh Sapkale (15 November 2012). "QNet, the MLM has resurfaced in India; will people be duped again?". MoneyLife. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  27. "Products for Life". QNet. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  28. "Bio Disc 2 (product description)". QNet. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  29. "BIO DISC SUMMARY" (PDF). Africa Center for Apologetics Research. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  30. Fulcher, Ben (April 2008). "Feature Article: Scalar Energy" (PDF). Jeremy (newsletter of the University of Sydney Physics Society). Retrieved 11 November 2011.
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