A Question About MLM

I am sure there are several people who may read my postings that have researched some of the history of MLM's. I had a discussion recently with someone that had been involved in the business and we were talking about the origins of the MLM concept and structure. A question came up in our conversation and I would like to ask for someone to help me answer it. The context of this question is in the claims made by various organizations regarding the stability and proven track record of their respective businesses versus other competing companies.

My first answer to this question was Avon. They are the oldest member of what is now the Direct Selling Association. Avon started as California Perfume Company and were one of the original 10 members of the Agents Credit Association started in 1910. Through a series of restructuring, the Agents Credit Association evolved into the DSA. The history of this organization is pretty interesting and you can read more about the development of this group at their web site if you are so inclined.

Returning to my question. The context of the question is what is the oldest MLM, in operation currently, where the compensation is derived by multiple level payouts. Since Avon is largely a party plan business, I am not including them in my query.