Vector Marketing Review and Profile

Vector Marketing Corporation was founded in 1981 as an independent seller of Cutco cutlery. Alcas Corporation acquired Vector in 1985 and made it the primary direct-sales organization for Cutco products in the United States. Alcas later changed its corporate name to Cutco Corporation in 2009. Cutco has manufactured knives in Olean, New York, since 1949, while Vector manages the company's representative recruiting, training and customer-sales operations.

Vector sells Cutco kitchen knives, flatware, kitchen accessories and sporting knives through one-on-one product demonstrations. Representatives conduct appointments in customers' homes or through virtual presentations, take orders and obtain additional prospects through personal contacts and customer referrals. Vector states that new representatives pay no startup fee. Active in-person representatives are loaned a demonstration kit with a stated retail value of $482, which must be returned when they stop representing the company. Initial training generally lasts two or three days and is unpaid.