Amy's Resignation
Sometime in the last several months, LuLaRoe has begun to provide canned responses to resignations. Many retailers that are submitting resignations are concerned that the feedback they provide in their resignation letters is not being read or noted by the company. When Amy sent her letter to me, she also expressed that she felt they wouldn't read it, and her effort to explain her position would be wasted. I think it's important to share unedited letters that are being submitted to LuLaRoe- not only to ensure this company at some level- is actually reading them, but to help continue to give these women a voice and a platform to have their feedback heard by the company as well as other retailers past and present. It is preposterous to go on camera, or take to social media and proclaim that all is well in this company when people are having and reporting the experiences that show otherwise. Many of the still "successful" participants are belittling lawsuits, denying the existence of issues, defending a company that has a history of NOT protecting them, and I feel that the sadness of this is simply that they are trying to preserve their paychecks (which is understandable) but will end in their own feet being firmly inserted down their own throats. Mentors leaving speaks volumes. Earners that bring in $50k- several hundred thousands of dollars a month choosing to exit can not be argued that they "failed", didn't work their businesses properly, or anything more. They are the tippy-top of the pyramid that CHOSE to exit based on what they witnessed. Mentor or consultant, reps are exiting en masse and it simply can NOT be written off any longer. Amy wasn't a mentor. She was qualified to operate this "business", is intelligent, and educated in fashion. Her letter outlines that there simply is more to the success in the business than knowing what to do. She did, and still chose to exit the drama, stage left. Chew on that for a moment. The naysayers of the complaints and negative publicity are quick to dismiss even me as a disgruntled, failed former consultant. They believe there is power in the word "fail", but I was making money. I QUIT. I didn't fail, I elected to not align with what I saw and remove the risk from my financial future. The pushback you are seeing from current retailers and the cruelty with which some of them speak by calling their former "sisterhood" failures is simply fear itself speaking. And here is where the power is held. I would rather fail because I tried, or be called a failure for having morals and ethics that are above this joke of a brand than live every day IN FEAR of what a mommy blogger can say, a former retailer will publish, or another lawsuit coming to light. 18 lawsuits now... and they still deny the issue- calling it "targeting" because of LuLaRoe's "success". So many current consultants will speak up and out without actually knowing whom they are speaking about- people with doctorates have done- and left this brand in the dust. People successful in business, even their own business ownership have done this MLM and left because the risk v. reward is simply not smart. Those that are calling former retailers such as Amy or even me failures, and citing poor money management, lack of business knowledge, and the like don't have an intimate understanding of how a true 'entrepreneur' weighs out an opportunity or risk. It isn't JUST about income, it never is. And that assumption speaks to exactly how many underqualified call themselves entrepreneurs and "business owners". This "opportunity" along with MLM and DS in general is a way to earn extra income. There is NO formula to safely ascertain what will be earned because there are simply too many other outside factors to consider. Timing is important, and if you can not control production, cost, design, volume, saturation, branding, marketing, and financial decisions- you simply are selling a product. What YOU do with your earnings is up to you, but all you control is yourself- and that means absolutely nothing to LuLaRoe outside of taking your money and filling your orders. So before you dismiss Amy's short, yet well-worded resignation letter as "salty" and "failure", you better think about your post-LuLa-apocalypse plans. Because one day, this income will not be there, and you too will be writing letters. The only difference is- Amy chose to leave. You will be forced "out of business". If you can not control that, then it was never yours to begin with. Amy is just keeping the decision of when to leave her own. She is in control of her outcome.
Below: "To whom it may concern:
As of today 11/2/20I7 I wish to terminate my contract and all dealings with LulaRoe. This company is not anything like the company I onboarded with. It was basically buy at wholesale and sell at retail and no pressure to recruit.
Pretty simple. LulaRoe used to be something I was proud of but now I am ashamed to say I was ever a part of it. The consultants like myself who onboarded a year ago, before greed and and utter disregard for the people who put you on top took over...can no longer succeed in the completely over saturated and dog eat dog environment this has become.
70,000 consultants in less than a year since I onboarded is pretty ridiculous, considering you do not have a consumable product...but since that is actually how you make your money...it makes sense.
I worked hard as a consultant and lost precious time with my husband and two small children because I foolishly believed this company was not a MLM scheme. I worked FULL time on this business and saw little to no profit because “buy more, sell more” right? Now...I have some apologizing and making up to do to my family, and my unbelievably supportive parents who gave me the money to start this “business.” Unfortunately at this point my parents will not see that money come back to them because I in no way intend to send my inventory back to you.
I attended fashion school at FIT in NYC and have an education in Fashion Merchandising and Management so I can comfortably tell you...the way this company is run is a joke. The front loading of inventory, knee jerk decision making, stolen artwork, greed, poor quality (currently sitting in Leggings I just discovered have about 10 pinholes in the rear end after I wore them in public this morning) and BLATANT arrogance of leadership screams “RUN!” I did not join to “get rich quick” as I also run a successful salon business that I have put almost a decade into nurturing. I know what it takes to run a business and I am not afraid of the work. It is MY hard work and many others that have made you what you are. Never forget that...oh wait...you already have. You won’t listen to this advice, but I am going to give it to you anyway. Hire people who know what they are doing, and know how to run a “billion dollar” business. Stop saying “part time work for full time pay.” It is a lie and it is insulting. Educate yourselves and your “leaders” on how to navigate social media and bad press. Seriously...you all are TERRIBLE at it. Be humble and grateful...you say the words...but your actions prove otherwise. Admit and own the mistakes you have made. Admit that the reason consultants can’t pick their inventory is because that takes control and money away from you, and would actually make this, the consultants' own business.
EVERY real retail store picks and chooses what they sell. They hire buyers to go out and pick inventory that they know consumers will purchase. Buyers can also forecast how much of an item will sell at full price and how much will end up being marked down. You see...markdowns are a very important part of retail. Before you disagree...read a book. The current merchandise HAS to sell or move into clearance before they bring in new merchandise, so they are not STUCK with items that WILL NEVER sell at full price. I believe I heard Patrick call these items “backstock.” That is not what backstock is. Backstock is items of clothing that sell well or continuously and therefore you keep extra on hand...OR...there is not enough space on the sales floor to fit all stock when it is rolled out. It is NOT ugly prints that no one wanted the first 10 times you tried to sell it...so hang on to it and just call it “vintage.”
The end goal in retail clothing sales is to SELL the clothing. Not every piece is going to be a hit so you mark down the “stinkers” and try to recoup SOME of the cost. If you don’t mark it down and move it out the door you lose money PERIOD. There are plenty more things I could educate LulaRoe on but I have spent enough time on this “stinker.”
Again...please educate yourselves on RETAIL and own your part in the failures of LulaRoe. Stop blaming consultants who couldn’t see that they were doomed from the start. We did not fail you...you failed us. Lastly...thank you for giving me the opportunity to never again make the mistake of “starting my own business” for someone else.
Also...I have a damage credit of $133.60 that I am sure I will not receive but you have my address if you choose to do the right thing.
Amy _____"
And that's it. And that reminds me: LuLaRoe, where is my $19.90 in damage credits? Do you plan on sending that to me as well? I know you have MY address.