therefore , there can be timing differences between the product orders for which net sales are recognized and for which volume points are recognized within a given period . however , historically these timing differences generally have been immaterial in the context of using changes in volume points as a proxy to explain volume-driven changes in net sales . management is evaluating our current approach to assigning and maintaining volume point values for certain products or markets . any changes to this approach may have an impact on the use of volume points as a proxy for sales trends in future periods . currently , the specific number of volume points assigned to a product , and generally consistent across all markets , is based on a volume point to suggested retail price ratio for similar products . if a product is available in different quantities , the various sizes will have different volume point values . in general , once assigned , a volume point value is consistent in each region and country and does not change from year to year . the reason volume points are used in the manner described above is that we use volume points for member qualification and recognition purposes and therefore we attempt to keep volume points for a similar or like product consistent on a global basis . however , because volume points are a function of value rather than product type or size , they are not a reliable measure for product mix . as an example , an increase in volume points in a specific country or region could mean a significant increase in sales of less expensive products or a marginal increase in sales of more expensive products . replace_table_token_8_th volume points decreased 3.6 % for 2017 after having increased 4.6 % for 2016. most significantly , after volume point growth for 2016 , the north america region decreased , reflecting what we believe to be a transitionary impact of member focus on the consent order implementation actions , including training on new tools and methods for documenting sales and time spent to then train their sales organizations . the mexico region also saw a volume point decline after a previous year increase , attributable in part to a difficult economic environment . the emea and china regions saw lower rates of volume point increase for 2017 versus 2016 due to region and country-specific reasons , which are discussed below . the south & central america region saw a continuing , though lesser , decline in volume points for 2017 , generally as markets in the region continue to transition to sustainable , customer-oriented business practices . the asia pacific ( excluding china ) region continued to see mixed results across its markets . results are discussed further below in the applicable sections of sales by geographic region . presentation “ retail value ” represents the suggested retail price of products we sell to our members and is the gross sales amount reflected on our invoices . retail value is a non-gaap measure which may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies . this is not the price paid to us by our members . our members purchase product from us at a discount from the suggested retail price . we refer to these discounts as “ distributor allowance , ” and we refer to retail value less distributor allowances as “ product sales . ” 45 total distributor allowances for 2017 , 2016 , and 2015 were 40.5 % , 40.4 % , and 40.1 % of retail value , respectively . distributor allowances and marketing plan payouts genera lly utilize 90 % to 95 % of suggested retail price , depending on the product and market , to which we apply discounts of up to 50 % for distributor allowances and payout rates of up to 15 % for royalty overrides , up to 7 % for production bonuses , and approximate ly 1 % for the mark hughes bonus . distributor allowances as a percentage of retail value may vary by country depending upon regulatory restrictions that limit or otherwise restrict distributor allowances . we also offer reduced distributor allowances with re spect to certain products worldwide . each member 's level of discount is determined by qualification based on volume of purchases . in cases where a member has qualified for less than the maximum discount , the remaining discount , which we also refer to as a wholesale commission , is received by their sponsoring members . therefore , product sales are recognized net of product returns and distributor allowances . “ net sales ” equal product sales plus “ shipping and handling revenues ” , and generally represents what we collect . we do not have visibility into all of the sales from our members to their customers , but such a figure would differ from our reported “ retail value ” by factors including ( a ) the amount of product purchased by our members for their own personal consumption and ( b ) prices charged by our members to their customers other than our suggested retail prices . we discuss retail value because of its fundamental role in our systems , internal controls and operations , and its correlation to member discounts and royalty overrides . in addition , retail value is a component of the financial reports we use to analyze our financial results because , among other things , it can provide additional detail and visibility into our net sales results on a company-wide and a geographic region and product category basis . story_separator_special_tag see below for discussions of net sales and contribution margin by our reporting segments . net sales by reporting segment the primary reporting segment reported net sales of $ 3,541.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales for the primary reporting segment decreased $ 77.8 million , or 2.1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales decreased 2.4 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016 for the primary reporting segment . the decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a decrease in volume points , and an unfavorable change in country sales mix , which reduced net sales by 4.3 % and 1.5 % , respectively , partially offset by the impact of price increases , which increased net sales by approximately 3.0 % . for a discussion of china 's net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , see the china section of the sales by geographic region below . 49 contribution margin by reporting segment as discussed above under “ presentation , ” contribution margin consists of net sales less cost of sales and royalty overrides . the primary reporting segment reported contribution margin of $ 1,534.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. contribution margin for the primary reporting segment decreased $ 37.7 million , or 2.4 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. the 2.4 % decrease for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of volume decreases , as indicated by a decrease in volume points , and unfavorable country sales mix , which reduced contribution margin by 4.0 % and 4.4 % , respectively ; partially offset by the favorable impact of price increases and cost savings through strategic sourcing and self-manufacturing , which increased contribution margin by approximately 4.6 % and 1.0 % , respectively . china reported contribution margin of $ 790.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. contribution margin for china was relatively flat compared to the same period in 2016 and was primarily the result of price increases , which increased contribution margin by approximately 3.6 % , partially offset by the unfavorable impact of fluctuations in foreign currency rates , which reduced contribution margin by approximately 2.9 % . sales by geographic region the following chart reconciles retail value to net sales by geographic region : replace_table_token_10_th ( 1 ) retail value is a non-gaap measure which may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies . see “ presentation ” above for a discussion of how we calculate retail value and why we believe the measure is useful to investors . north america the north america region reported net sales of $ 840.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales decreased $ 115.5 million , or 12.1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales decreased by the same 12.1 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. the decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , was a result of a net sales decrease in the u.s. of $ 116.7 million , or 12.5 % . the 12.1 % decrease in net sales for the north america region was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a 12.0 % decrease in volume points . as part of the consent order , we have implemented certain new procedures and enhanced certain existing procedures in the united states . we believe north america 's volume point decreases for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , versus an increase for 2016 , reflect the transitionary impact of member focus on consent order implementation actions including training on new tools and methods for documenting sales and time spent to then train their sales organizations . similar to the transitionary impact that occurred as a result of marketing plan changes made in 2014 , we do not expect the consent order to have a long-term material adverse impact on our net sales in the north america region or on our member base . however , we believe net sales comparisons for the region to the prior year could continue to be negatively impacted during the first half of 2018 as we and our members continue to spend time educating and training , and as our members implement and adjust to the changes . north america has implemented programs to encourage sponsorship and increase distributor , preferred member , and customer activity and has continued to extend the product line , including the introduction of trial packs and snack sizes for popular products . 50 mexico the mexico region reported net sales of $ 442.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 decreased $ 3.9 million , or 0.9 % , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 increased 0.5 % , as compared to the same period in 2016. the 0.9 % decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a 4.8 % decrease in volume points , and the effect of the strong u.s. dollar and the resulting

liquidity and capital resources . these increases were partially offset by higher interest income resulting from higher cash balances mainly due to the proceeds of the new term loan b. other ( income ) expense , net the $ 0.4 million of other income for the year ended december 31 , 2017 relates to the gain on the revaluation of the cvr provided to the participants of the modified dutch auction tender offer that closed in october 2017 ( see note 8 , shareholders ' ( deficit ) equity , to the consolidated financial statements ) . income taxes income taxes were $ 257.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to $ 104.7 million for the same period in 2016. as a percentage of pre-tax income , the effective income tax rate was 54.6 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to 28.7 % for the same period in 2016. the increase to the effective tax rate for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , is primarily due to the establishment of a valuation allowance against u.s. foreign tax credits . see note 12 , income taxes , to the consolidated financial statements for additional discussion . financial results for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were relatively flat at $ 4,488.4 million compared to $ 4,469.0 million in 2015. in local currency , net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 increased 6.3 % as compared to the same period in 2015. the slight increase in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was primarily the result of an increase in sales volume , as indicated by an increase in volume points , and the impact of price increases which increased net sales by approximately 4.6 % and 2.2 % , respectively . these increases were partially offset by the effect of the strong u.s. dollar and the resulting fluctuation in foreign currency rates which reduced net sales by approximately 5.8 % .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and capital resources . these increases were partially offset by higher interest income resulting from higher cash balances mainly due to the proceeds of the new term loan b. other ( income ) expense , net the $ 0.4 million of other income for the year ended december 31 , 2017 relates to the gain on the revaluation of the cvr provided to the participants of the modified dutch auction tender offer that closed in october 2017 ( see note 8 , shareholders ' ( deficit ) equity , to the consolidated financial statements ) . income taxes income taxes were $ 257.3 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to $ 104.7 million for the same period in 2016. as a percentage of pre-tax income , the effective income tax rate was 54.6 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to 28.7 % for the same period in 2016. the increase to the effective tax rate for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , is primarily due to the establishment of a valuation allowance against u.s. foreign tax credits . see note 12 , income taxes , to the consolidated financial statements for additional discussion . financial results for the year ended december 31 , 2016 compared to the year ended december 31 , 2015 net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 were relatively flat at $ 4,488.4 million compared to $ 4,469.0 million in 2015. in local currency , net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 increased 6.3 % as compared to the same period in 2015. the slight increase in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2016 was primarily the result of an increase in sales volume , as indicated by an increase in volume points , and the impact of price increases which increased net sales by approximately 4.6 % and 2.2 % , respectively . these increases were partially offset by the effect of the strong u.s. dollar and the resulting fluctuation in foreign currency rates which reduced net sales by approximately 5.8 % .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : therefore , there can be timing differences between the product orders for which net sales are recognized and for which volume points are recognized within a given period . however , historically these timing differences generally have been immaterial in the context of using changes in volume points as a proxy to explain volume-driven changes in net sales . management is evaluating our current approach to assigning and maintaining volume point values for certain products or markets . any changes to this approach may have an impact on the use of volume points as a proxy for sales trends in future periods . currently , the specific number of volume points assigned to a product , and generally consistent across all markets , is based on a volume point to suggested retail price ratio for similar products . if a product is available in different quantities , the various sizes will have different volume point values . in general , once assigned , a volume point value is consistent in each region and country and does not change from year to year . the reason volume points are used in the manner described above is that we use volume points for member qualification and recognition purposes and therefore we attempt to keep volume points for a similar or like product consistent on a global basis . however , because volume points are a function of value rather than product type or size , they are not a reliable measure for product mix . as an example , an increase in volume points in a specific country or region could mean a significant increase in sales of less expensive products or a marginal increase in sales of more expensive products . replace_table_token_8_th volume points decreased 3.6 % for 2017 after having increased 4.6 % for 2016. most significantly , after volume point growth for 2016 , the north america region decreased , reflecting what we believe to be a transitionary impact of member focus on the consent order implementation actions , including training on new tools and methods for documenting sales and time spent to then train their sales organizations . the mexico region also saw a volume point decline after a previous year increase , attributable in part to a difficult economic environment . the emea and china regions saw lower rates of volume point increase for 2017 versus 2016 due to region and country-specific reasons , which are discussed below . the south & central america region saw a continuing , though lesser , decline in volume points for 2017 , generally as markets in the region continue to transition to sustainable , customer-oriented business practices . the asia pacific ( excluding china ) region continued to see mixed results across its markets . results are discussed further below in the applicable sections of sales by geographic region . presentation “ retail value ” represents the suggested retail price of products we sell to our members and is the gross sales amount reflected on our invoices . retail value is a non-gaap measure which may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies . this is not the price paid to us by our members . our members purchase product from us at a discount from the suggested retail price . we refer to these discounts as “ distributor allowance , ” and we refer to retail value less distributor allowances as “ product sales . ” 45 total distributor allowances for 2017 , 2016 , and 2015 were 40.5 % , 40.4 % , and 40.1 % of retail value , respectively . distributor allowances and marketing plan payouts genera lly utilize 90 % to 95 % of suggested retail price , depending on the product and market , to which we apply discounts of up to 50 % for distributor allowances and payout rates of up to 15 % for royalty overrides , up to 7 % for production bonuses , and approximate ly 1 % for the mark hughes bonus . distributor allowances as a percentage of retail value may vary by country depending upon regulatory restrictions that limit or otherwise restrict distributor allowances . we also offer reduced distributor allowances with re spect to certain products worldwide . each member 's level of discount is determined by qualification based on volume of purchases . in cases where a member has qualified for less than the maximum discount , the remaining discount , which we also refer to as a wholesale commission , is received by their sponsoring members . therefore , product sales are recognized net of product returns and distributor allowances . “ net sales ” equal product sales plus “ shipping and handling revenues ” , and generally represents what we collect . we do not have visibility into all of the sales from our members to their customers , but such a figure would differ from our reported “ retail value ” by factors including ( a ) the amount of product purchased by our members for their own personal consumption and ( b ) prices charged by our members to their customers other than our suggested retail prices . we discuss retail value because of its fundamental role in our systems , internal controls and operations , and its correlation to member discounts and royalty overrides . in addition , retail value is a component of the financial reports we use to analyze our financial results because , among other things , it can provide additional detail and visibility into our net sales results on a company-wide and a geographic region and product category basis . story_separator_special_tag see below for discussions of net sales and contribution margin by our reporting segments . net sales by reporting segment the primary reporting segment reported net sales of $ 3,541.8 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales for the primary reporting segment decreased $ 77.8 million , or 2.1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales decreased 2.4 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016 for the primary reporting segment . the decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a decrease in volume points , and an unfavorable change in country sales mix , which reduced net sales by 4.3 % and 1.5 % , respectively , partially offset by the impact of price increases , which increased net sales by approximately 3.0 % . for a discussion of china 's net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , see the china section of the sales by geographic region below . 49 contribution margin by reporting segment as discussed above under “ presentation , ” contribution margin consists of net sales less cost of sales and royalty overrides . the primary reporting segment reported contribution margin of $ 1,534.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. contribution margin for the primary reporting segment decreased $ 37.7 million , or 2.4 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. the 2.4 % decrease for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of volume decreases , as indicated by a decrease in volume points , and unfavorable country sales mix , which reduced contribution margin by 4.0 % and 4.4 % , respectively ; partially offset by the favorable impact of price increases and cost savings through strategic sourcing and self-manufacturing , which increased contribution margin by approximately 4.6 % and 1.0 % , respectively . china reported contribution margin of $ 790.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. contribution margin for china was relatively flat compared to the same period in 2016 and was primarily the result of price increases , which increased contribution margin by approximately 3.6 % , partially offset by the unfavorable impact of fluctuations in foreign currency rates , which reduced contribution margin by approximately 2.9 % . sales by geographic region the following chart reconciles retail value to net sales by geographic region : replace_table_token_10_th ( 1 ) retail value is a non-gaap measure which may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies . see “ presentation ” above for a discussion of how we calculate retail value and why we believe the measure is useful to investors . north america the north america region reported net sales of $ 840.2 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales decreased $ 115.5 million , or 12.1 % , for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales decreased by the same 12.1 % for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016. the decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , as compared to the same period in 2016 , was a result of a net sales decrease in the u.s. of $ 116.7 million , or 12.5 % . the 12.1 % decrease in net sales for the north america region was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a 12.0 % decrease in volume points . as part of the consent order , we have implemented certain new procedures and enhanced certain existing procedures in the united states . we believe north america 's volume point decreases for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , versus an increase for 2016 , reflect the transitionary impact of member focus on consent order implementation actions including training on new tools and methods for documenting sales and time spent to then train their sales organizations . similar to the transitionary impact that occurred as a result of marketing plan changes made in 2014 , we do not expect the consent order to have a long-term material adverse impact on our net sales in the north america region or on our member base . however , we believe net sales comparisons for the region to the prior year could continue to be negatively impacted during the first half of 2018 as we and our members continue to spend time educating and training , and as our members implement and adjust to the changes . north america has implemented programs to encourage sponsorship and increase distributor , preferred member , and customer activity and has continued to extend the product line , including the introduction of trial packs and snack sizes for popular products . 50 mexico the mexico region reported net sales of $ 442.7 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017. net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 decreased $ 3.9 million , or 0.9 % , as compared to the same period in 2016. in local currency , net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 increased 0.5 % , as compared to the same period in 2016. the 0.9 % decrease in net sales for the year ended december 31 , 2017 was primarily the result of a decrease in sales volume , as indicated by a 4.8 % decrease in volume points , and the effect of the strong u.s. dollar and the resulting

