In the wide, wide world of MLMs, you can choose from businesses that sell everything from jewelry to food to clothing to financial services. Membership rules and compensation plans vary widely with MLMs, so it pays to do your research and find the one with the biggest benefits, best merchandise and lowest risks.
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One of those MLMs might in fact be India Hicks.
Who and what is India Hicks?
India Hicks is a direct sales MLM that was started by the former fashion model India Hicks in 2015. This MLM markets higher-end bags, beauty products and accessories, akin to those that would be reputably be found at stores like Bergdorf Goodman. The prices for India Hicks products range from $16-$480, although, according to the site, at least 75% of the items cost under $100.
You can purchase India Hicks products directly from the website; however, the site’s message strongly encourages that people join its ranks as “Ambassadors,” and then sell the company’s merchandise through events called “Get Togethers.” These Get Togethers entail hosting parties at one’s home or inviting people out to an event at a restaurant, bar, park, etc.
How do you join India Hicks?
To join this direct sales MLM, you must first purchase a starter kit from the company. There are three starter kit sizes: The Baby, which costs $99, The Booty, which costs $449, and Big Kahuna, which costs $749. These kits contain different amounts of product plus business items such as order forms, brochures, catalogs and fabric samples.
In addition to the kit costs, Ambassadors pay a monthly fee of $12.95 for a website that can be populated with India Hicks products. This website also contains training modules, product images, etc.
The India Hicks compensation plan
India Hicks Ambassadors are rewarded with 25% commissions on sold merchandise. They also earn 6-10% commissions on the sales of their recruits.
So, is the India Hicks MLM the right business opportunity for you? Here are the pros and cons of this business and the selling model it’s set up on:
The good:
No sales pressure: India Hicks ambassadors are not pressured to sell a given volume of merchandise or have their memberships deactivated.
Training: India Hicks ambassadors are provided with online and live training courses, as well as course materials including documents, videos and graphics. They are also in contact with their sponsor and other ambassadors.
Generous opt-out policy: If an ambassador decided that the program is not for her, she can return all her purchased merchandise and the company will credit it at 90% or higher of its original net cost for up to a year after its purchase.
The not-so-good:
Expensive goods: While 75% of India Hicks items are advertised as costing $100 or less, that still doesn’t put them in impulse purchase territory. Ambassadors who really want to push product will need to target wealthier consumers who can afford to splurge on an expensive purse or set of body lotions.
Lack of originality: India Hicks products appear to be of higher-end quality and fabrication, but they do not appear unique enough to generate universal appeal. Here is a sampling of items that the company produces and sells:
Frankly, with sites like Gilt Groupe, Fab and HauteLook, it will be difficult to convince anyone but diehard India Hicks fans that these pieces are fashion musts and/or incredibly original products.
Get Togethers: India Hicks emphasizes that ambassadors host Get Togethers, which are essentially home parties, to showcase merchandise and motivate people to buy. Unless you enjoy bringing strangers into your home every week, you’ll soon find yourself tiring of constant houseguests. Furthermore, it’s not free to host a party, yet those costs aren’t detailed on the India Hicks website, nor are they compensated.
Lower than average commissions: By receiving just 25% in commissions, you won’t find it easy to periodically discount your merchandise or have promotions. This will make it harder to garner in those impulse purchase consumers. Alternately, you’ll find yourself chasing after your friends and family members in order to enrol
Your market is small: India Hicks merchandise is marketed to women only. So, you’re cutting out 49% of your available worldwide market right from the start. Furthermore, while the site says that any woman, whether 18 or 80, could use the India Hicks merchandise, speaking from an economy and name recognition standpoint, your market will consist mainly of women from 45-60 years of age.
Is India Hicks a worthwhile direct sales MLM?
As noted from the start of this post, there are many MLMs one can choose to work with, each offering different benefits and risks. India Hicks appears to be at the higher end of the MLM scale, which may be useful if your typical crowd has more disposable income or is really into British fashions and designers. Otherwise, you will be hard put to sell expensive women’s accessories to a population that may not even know who this person is, and may not even care. Overall, when it comes to enrolling in any MLM, you’re better off finding a different business opportunity.
India Hicks shuttered on June 30th. The shutdown was/is a mess. Ambassador and client orders were very slow in shipping, some items over taxed and generally a huge mess with the shipping/mail house. There was a huge sale at the end and free shipping but the numbers of orders overwhelmed the remaining staff. It is a poor reflection of India Hicks and other higher ups to leave the company in this huge mess after so many ambassadors supported this brand through their hard work. India just disappeared and seems to have washed her hands of the entire affair. It is very disappointing to many women who worked so hard to further this brand. So much for MLM’s. This one seemed to lack some basic skills. The two women in back office were left holding the bag for India. Having to manage huge emails regarding tracking of packages was obviously overwhelming to them. It is a sad ending for this company that started out so promising. I personally lost all respect for Mrs. Hicks on how she handled the closing of her “eponymous” company!
I came across this article and found it quite objective and as an India Hicks Ambassador, I figure I would give my opinion. The article is dated May 2017. So obviously things have changed a bit since then. You are correct in everything you say about “The good”. I will say the cost to get into the business is and CAN be very small. If you are a customer and wear the brand, typically you will have someone ask about an item, be it a scarf, bracelet, handbag or piece of jewelry. So the Ambassadors are “billboards” for the brand. There is no hard sell. The items sell themselves. Yes, it is a higher price point. But the jewelry is 18K gold plated or sterling silver as opposed to a cheap tones that flake and change color. So when discussing women’s jewelry.. There is a quality spectrum that should be noted in addition to design elements. The training is fabulous. In fact, it is difficult to fail in this business if you do the “training camp” that is online to jump start your business. Everything (I mean everything) is there for you. Also, I will mention that this MLM is MUCH different from many others in the fact that the women involved in the “Tribe” as ambassadors DO regularly interact, DO become friends and DO have a lot of fun. So if you are looking for a business where you will also MEET and MAKE friends. (A social aspect) I highly recommend India Hicks. As for your “downside”… India has introduced a curated collection that she introduces for one season and then it is gone. This keeps the collection fresh, new and current. The commission plan I find is fair. You also get “product credit” based on sales so you can reinvest in samples without having to outright purchase. So it is all relative. The more you sell, the more commission you make and the more product credit you get. I do not find the market to be small. In fact, I have had no trouble marketing to men. Because guess what?… they have wives and girlfriends they need to buy gifts for. Most men experience a giant question mark when it comes to selecting gifts for women. I find men to be great customers and very appreciative. Actually women are the harder sell. They don’t like to spend money on themselves. Unless of course they have disposable income. So I don’t think you are correct in saying that we only market to women. Perhaps some ambassadors do. But in my experience, men make great repeat customers. I have been involved with several other MLM in my past. What I never liked about MLM was the fact that I felt like once I “signed up” I was all alone to try and build something. No real support. It certainly was never a “fun” business and I never felt like I was engaged with others it was always about “selling or signing up”… India Hicks is about relationship sales, engaging with our social circles and there is no sales pressure or quotas. Because it IS such a unique and fun business opportunity you want to bring others into the business. Your “Tribe” becomes your closest friends… we support each other. It is 100% legitimate. (India is British royalty… do you think for an instant she would be involved in something that was a scam or sold inferior goods?) We are not a get rich quick scheme… or internet scam business. If any of your readers have further questions, I would be happy to talk to them. I feel blessed I came across India Hicks and for the first time in MLM I actually LOVE what I do.
Thanks for the review steve. However, in the end all MLM tend to carry the some similar characteristic for reps to be success in and that tends to be have a wide social following for one. The other for me tends to be if you are good with people or not, can you present to a wide range of audience or how can you relate the products to real life. Speak of your experience hoping to captivate your audience for a sale or two and this is assuming you have decent products to promote but this isn’t always the case.
Having decent products to promote is key here. You have to believe in what you’re selling above all. Most sellers just getting their feet wet are going to be selling mainly to family and friends. You are going to have to sell a product that exceeds their expectations because you’re going to have to answer to them if they are unhappy.
Hi Steve
I don’t like MLM but if talking about India Hicks I like that there is no sales pressure. Reading about other MLM when people are spending huge sums of money to buy products they don’t need just to remain active in the MLM – I always felt really bad for those people. So if I ever decided to join MLM, I would probably consider India Hicks. Thank you for the thorough and detailed review.
That is my #1 gripe with MLMs these days. I see a lot of people have initial success and then they continue to buy more product thinking they are going to repeat successful party after successful party, only to dry up their social circle and be stuck with a ton of product that they can’t sell. Next thing they know, the next sales quota is due and they have to spend more of their own money just to remain active and now they are even further in the hole. It’s a rough loop to fall into as it can easily eat away a ton of your cash.
I can tell from my experience that MLM business model relies on dual cores. Success largely depends on personality and products. The more social you are, the better chances you have to influence your circle. Product range and commission structure also play vital part, infact it makes convincing a lot easier if you have good product range. Get two of them right and you are there succeeding.
Thanks for the comment Fred and good perspective on the need for dual cores. You’re absolutely right and having a wide social circle is going to be absolutely crucial to making money at the bottom level and necessary to even move up the ladder.
Thank you Steve for the review. Do you know if India Hicks is ok in Sweden? I have a friend looking around for an mlm or partner company for a possibility to sell jewelleries and accessories at get together. Will show her your review and see what she think about it.
Maybe you have some other good tip for optional companies too? :-)
I’m not sure. I looked around their website a bit and didn’t see anything about any country restrictions. Their contact form looks like they are primarily targeting US customers though. I have been covering MLMs pretty extensively lately. It might be worth taking a look through some of my older posts.
Hi Marika,
India Hicks currently is only available in the US.
I have been looking a MLM businesses for my wife. She loves them. She will get signed up with new company ever couple years. This one looks interesting to me and I will mention it to her.
This is what she does… she has been doing this for over fifteen years on the side, and she has a huge customer base. She will sign up with an MLM and work for a couple years through all her contacts. When it starts to dry up, which it can do after a while, she moves on and finds a new one and runs it through all her contacts of friends, family and people she has met over the fifteen years of working MLMs. She makes a good chunk of money the first year and milks out the the second year, then makes a switch to a new MLM.
I’ll have her take a look at India Hicks. She is due for a change later this year.
Thanks for the comment TD! I think your wife has the best approach here. Sell while the products are hot and the market is interested, and then get out before you sink too much money into the MLM aspect of these types of programs.
I’m a current India Hicks Ambassador and I’d be happy to answer any questions she may have about becoming an India Hicks Ambassador and being successful.