Azaya Blue Review: Fashion accessories & handbags
Azaya Blue launched in early 2011 and is headed up by co-founder Katalin Kekedi (also credited as Kata Kekedi).
Neither the Azaya Blue website, Facebook profile or website domain registration lists a location for Azaya Blue’s business operations.
Kekedi’s LinkedIn profile location is listed as Washington in the US, which I assume is where Azaya Blue are based.
Kekedi’s LinkedIn profile also lists her as a co-founder of Azaya Blue, with the other founders not disclosed or mentioned on the Azaya Blue website.
As per Kekedi’s Azaya Blue corporate bio;
As a new mom and designer working in the fashion industry, I quickly realized the confines of the corporate structure would not fit my lifestyle.
Instead I pursued my dream of creating lavish, must have womens’ accessories, and began making prototypes on the family dining room table.
The Azaya Blue collection was born and named after my daughter Aziza Maya.
My first Azaya Blue collection landed nationwide on Nordstrom store shelves. Production quickly moved from the kitchen table to overseas.
Since then, my designs have been a presence at Nordstrom. They have sold at Henry Bendel, Fred Meyer and other retail chains, as well as at small boutiques from Arizona to Australia, from California to Qatar.
It was during this period, in the midst of doing pop up boutiques at Henry Bendel and Nordstrom, that several friends asked about opportunities to do private Home Boutiques.
So the story goes, this prompted the founding of Azaya Blue.
Azaya Blue itself is Kekedi’s first venture into MLM, with previous experience seeing her work ‘as a fashion and product designer in Hungary, Holland and the United States.‘
Read on for a full review of the Azaya Blue MLM business opportunity.
The Azaya Blue Product Line
Azaya Blue is a statement collection of high-end fashion accessories and handbags balancing sophisticated style with a sensual edge.
The distinctive designs incorporate exotic and precious materials as well as innovative production techniques, from washed metallic leather finishes to signature laser-cut patterns on leather handbags and jewelry.
Featured on the Azaya Blue website are a collection of jewelry, handbags and scarves, which are presumably updated from season to season.
Current prices on Azaya Blue jewelry ranges from $29 for a “Cha-Cha” (a ‘leather chain fringe necklace with snap closure at back‘), to $108 for an “Estelle” (a ‘gold tone metal necklace with laser cut cracked gold metallic leather insert at center‘).
Azaya Blue’s handbags (of which there are six), range in price from $98 to $118. Scarves come in at $29 for a “Coco Jade” or “Coco Cream” (‘cotton scarf with removable beaded pearl center embellishment‘), to $108 for a “Lola” (‘rectangle scarf with metal chain fringe and metal studs‘).
The Azaya Blue Compensation Plan
The Azaya Blue compensation plan pays affiliates to market the company’s product lines to retail customers.
Residual commissions are paid out via a unilevel compensation structure, with Azaya Blue affiliates also paid to recruit new affiliates.
Azaya Blue Affiliate Ranks
There are eight affiliate ranks within the Azaya Blue compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Associate Stylist – pay $198 to $698 for Azaya Blue affiliate membership (no MLM commissions)
- Gold Stylist – generate at least $500 a month in sales, recruit at least one affiliate who makes at least $250 a month in sales, and have a monthly downline sales volume of at least $1000
- Platinum Stylist – maintain at least $500 a month in sales, recruit at least three affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each, and have a monthly downline sales volume of at least $2500
- Platinum Lead Stylist – maintain at least $500 a month in sales, recruit at least six affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each, and have a monthly downline sales volume of at least $5000
- Group Leader – maintain at least $600 a month in sales, recruit at least nine affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each, and have a monthly downline sales volume of at least $10,000
- Platinum Group Leader – maintain at least $600 a month in sales, recruit at least twelve affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each (one must be Group Leader or higher), have a total monthly downline sales volume of at least $12,000 and monthly Group Leader or higher sales volume of at least $25,000
- Executive Director – maintain at least $750 a month in sales, recruit at least fifteen affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each (two must be Group Leader or higher), have a total monthly downline sales volume of at least $15,000 and monthly Group Leader or higher sales volume of at least $50,000
- Platinum Director – maintain at least $750 a month in sales, recruit at least twenty affiliates who make at least $250 a month in sales each (three must be Group Leader or higher and one a Platinum Group Leader or higher), have a total monthly downline sales volume of at least $20,000 and monthly Group Leader or higher sales volume of at least $100,000
Retail Commissions
Retail commissions in Azaya Blue start at 25%, with an additional 10% available subject to the following criteria:
- over $1250 in monthly personal sales = bonus 5%
- over $3000 in monthly personal sales = bonus 5% (total 10% bonus)
Recruitment Commissions
When a new Azaya Blue affiliate signs up, they must purchase a “boutique kit”.
A commission is paid on this boutique kit to the recruiting affiliate, based on how much is spent by the new affiliate:
- Mini kit ($198) – $30 commission
- Signature kit ($498) – $60 commission
- Signature Plus ($698) – $100 commission
Residual Commissions
Residual commissions in Azaya Blue are paid out via a unilevel compensation plan.
A unilevel compensation plan places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):
If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates of their own, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
Azaya Blue cap payable unilevel levels at five, with commissions paid out as a percentage of the wholesale volume of sales made within the unilevel team:
- Associate Stylist – no unilevel commissions
- Gold Stylist – 4% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates)
- Platinum Stylist – 6% on level 1 and 4% on level 2
- Platinum Lead Stylist – 8% on level 1, 4% on level 2 and 2% on level 3
- Group Leader – 10% on level 1, 6% on level 2, 4% on level 3, 2% on level 4
- Platinum Group Leader – 12% on level 1, 6% on level 2, 4% on level 3 and 2% on levels 4 and 5
- Executive Director – 14% on level 1, 8% on level 2, 6% on level 3 and 4% on levels 4 and 5
- Platinum Director – 16% on level 1, 8% on level 2, 6% on level 3 and 4% on levels 4 and 5
Generation Bonus
The Generation Bonus extends payable unilevel levels beyond the residual five, with the bonus tracked through four generations.
A generation in Azaya Blue is defined when a Group Leader ranked affiliate is found in any given unilevel leg.
This affiliate caps off the first generation, with the second generation capped when another Group Leader or higher ranked affiliate is found in the same unilevel leg.
If no Group Leader is found, the second generation extends the full length of the leg (irrespective of how many levels deep it is).
Using this generation model, the following bonus percentages are available on top of regular unilevel commissions:
- Group Leader – 4% on the first generation
- Platinum Group Leader – 4% on the first generation and 3% on the second
- Executive Director – 4% on the first generation, 3% on the second and 2% on the third
- Platinum Director- 4% on the first generation, 3% on the second and 2% on the third and fourth
Rank Achievement Bonus
Azaya Blue affiliates are paid a Rank Achievement Bonus when they qualify at the following ranks:
- Platinum Stylist – $100
- Platinum Lead Stylist – $200
- Group Leader – $300
- Platinum Group Leader – $500
- Executive Director – $1000
- Platinum Director – $2000
Joining Azaya Blue
Affiliate membership with Azaya Blue requires the purchase of a “boutique kit”:
- Mini – $198
- Signature – $498
- Signature Plus – $698
The primary difference between the above kits is included Azaya Blue products.
Conclusion
Fashion is pretty subjective, so in that sense it’s hard for me personally to evaluate Azaya Blue’s product line.
Price wise the lines seem reasonable, with there being nothing to out there cost wise.
One thing I touched on but am not entirely sure about is how often Azaya Blue’s lines are updated.
A year on year update might be asking too much for an MLM company, but marketing static lines in a fashion orientated niche is going to be a challenge.
On the compensation side of things the weakest link is the recruitment commissions.
Products are included with boutique kits but only affiliates are going to be purchasing the kits, meaning a commission paid out open the door to chain recruitment.
That said the potential is rather limited (there’s no autoship here), with it being far more profitable to focus on retail engagement.
On that front it’s great to see Azaya Blue affiliates rewarded financially for generating higher retail sales volume.
Sustaining sales volume over the long-term however will require constant monitoring, as there’s only so many clothing and accessories your customers are going to buy.
If Azaya Blue’s lines are updated, that gives you something new to pitch your existing customers, otherwise you’re looking at some heavy marketing efforts to constantly source new customers.
Azaya Blue’s favored method of marketing appears to be home parties, with product credit awarded to affiliates who organize a set number of parties within their first three months.
Inevitably I imagine most new Azaya Blue affiliates are going to invite friends and family to these parties, with the real challenge kicking in once these warm markets are exhausted.
Come up with some ideas of how you’re going to organize parties (if you go down that marketing route) before you’ve run out of family and friends to invite.
If that adds up and you see yourself able to pitch fashion products, the initial outlay isn’t too deep and Azaya Blue might just be the MLM opportunity for you.
Good luck!
There’s also the question of why MLM if her stuff was in retail such as Nordstrom, which is considered a high-end retailer (ala Saks Fifth Avenue).
Or is this MLM line a separate thing as not to compete with her retail stuff, which her retailers would not enjoy at all? Or is there a “no discount” policy as not to incur wrath of retailers?
As far as I can tell Azaya Blue is still available through Nordstrom (at least on their website). There’s also a bunch of stuff on eBay.
Not sure if the corporate retail arm directly competes with the MLM affiliate base.
the FB page of azaya blue has several announcements for ‘new’ collections of bags, scarves etc so existing customers could well be repeat buyers.
the products are very good and not priced way over the top. the focus, even on the FB page appears to rest solidly on the product.
why has azaya blue muddied the waters with recruitment commissions?
they should just have a non commissionable sign up kit for new affiliates under 50$ or something. assuming that mostly women will sign up as affiliates, it will be hard to resist purchasing the products at 25% off for self use. affiliates are going to purchase the product even without compulsory ’boutique kits’.
when it is possible to keep the compensation plan clean and clearly hinged on product value, azaya blue really has no requirement for ‘joining [boutique] kits’ and recruitment commissions.