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Owner of Zrii scorns failed takeover: Supplements ? No response to inquiry about company funds.(Salt Lake Tribune, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Feb. 10--Zrii LLC CEO and owner William F. Farley is expressing surprise, scorn, hurt and defiance over an attempted coup involving his Utah-based nutritional supplements company. The failed takeover last week led to the resignations of 35 company officials and the terminations of top distributors, events that sent the company into turmoil. One of the principal actors in the takeover attempt said Monday the group had moved on after the failure of the group's offer to buy the company from Farley. "We made an offer in 'good faith' and we believe it is what we needed to do to save Zrii, but the offer was rejected and we have subsequently moved onto other projects," Keith Fitzgerald said Monday in an e-mail. Left unanswered are allegations by those who either quit or were fired that Farley, a former CEO of Fruit of the Loom underwear company, has taken on unnecessary debt, used Zrii "as his personal piggy bank" and engaged in personal misconduct. Farley, through attorney David Griffin on Monday, again declined to comment on those allegations. But Farley detailed his side of events in a sometimes angry and emotional phone call on Friday to independent distributors, a recording of which was made available Monday on the company's Web site. Farley said that just after he flew into Salt Lake City on Feb. 2 he received a voice mail from top executive Kirby Zenger informing him that the executive team and leading distributors wanted to meet with him, and saying he should bring a lawyer. He arrived at the company's Draper offices to find no one at work except customer-service representatives, with other employees having been told to stay home. At some point, Farley also received a letter from senior executives that said, "We believe the only solution for the management team is to purchase your controlling interest in Zrii," "I want to tell you all, by the way, I own the whole company," Farley said in the phone call. "No one else had put any money in. It's all my funding." The company, which makes a juice touted for its nutritional qualities, had $45 million in sales in 2007, its first year of operation, he said. Farley also received an e-mail from the law firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, saying it had been retained by a company called Wellness Acquisition Group Inc., which was formed in Delaware by Fitzgerald, an investment banker and former Zrii independent executive, as a vehicle to purchase Zrii. Independent executives are top distributors who sit atop networks of other distributors recruited into the multilevel marketing company. Farley also received a second e-mail, this one signed by Jason Domingo and six other top distributors, demanding he resign as CEO, citing "your behavior both in personal and profession life." The letter said that if Farley refused to quit, "we will be forced to dismantle the entire field, leader-by-leader, and take our talents to another network marketing company." "Well folks," Farley said in the phone call to distributors, "I think they picked the wrong guy to send that letter to. They must have thought I would crawl up in a ball or something and get into negotiations with them. They couldn't have been more wrong." Farley accepted the resignations of the executives and others. "I had my attorney write to them and tell them Zrii is not for sale, under no circumstances. There is no price, there is no way." Last Thursday he sent out an e-mail saying the contracts of top distributors had been canceled. Farley also said he had received support from Chopra Center, an organization founded by Deepak Chopra, a medical doctor from India who has written and spoken extensively on the intersection of mind, body and spirituality. E-mails to the Chopra Center seeking confirmation of the endorsement were not answered. Farley said Friday he was in the process of interviewing to fill the vacant positions, which, given the economy, would not be difficult, he added. He sought to assure the distributors that operations were normal. Attorneys for Wellness Acquisition Group did not return phone calls or e-mails Monday, nor did other former company officials or distributors. [email protected] Who is William F. Farley? Zrii's Web site calls Farley a "business icon," winner of Horatio Alger Award for entrepreneurial excellence and it cites his help in creating "many significant brands," including BVD, Lucchese, Gitano and Fruit of the Loom. "Bill is a trusted friend and advisor to CEOs, celebrities, athletes, politicians and leaders around the world. He is a master of prosperity." In contrast, ex-Zrii top execs cite Farley's tenure at Fruit of the Loom, which ended in his forced resignation after leading the company into massive debt and making it an offshore entity to avoid taxes. A lawsuit in Chicago by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. alleges he "intended to enrich himself by diverting for his own use" assets of another company that included contributions to a pension fund. Hear what was said To listen to William F. Farley's conference call with Zrii distributors, go to: www.zrii.com/pages/media/mediaaud.xhtml To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Salt Lake Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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