“LuLaRoe shame on you. You are pulling the rug out from under many small family businesses.”
Embattled leggings retailer LuLaRoe is getting a deluge of criticism on social media by women who say the company's much-hyped "Noir" launch hurt their businesses.
The complaints come as several class-actions lawsuits have been filed against Lularoe in recent months — with one alleging their leggings "rip like wet toilet paper" and another accusing the company of bringing their sellers into a "pyramid scheme."
One recurring complaint from LuLaRoe direct retail sellers, called "consultants," is that their small markets have become saturated with competitors who also signed up to see Lularoe — which hurt everyone's bottom line.
Many LuLaRoe fans have said online they have been wanting to find solid or black colored staple leggings, which they say have become more and more rare as the company expanded into colorful prints.
The consultants are unable to pick what patterns or colors clothing they receive from the company, leaving many to complain they have been sent undesirable patterns they have been unable to sell.
So LuLaRoe announced last week it was introducing a "Noir" collection, which would feature many of their classic pieces in all black.
The announcement was met with excitement — since the "Noir" collection promised to be all black, consultants will then be able to order it and know exactly what color product they were getting.
Many eagerly hyped the sale for the week before the launch on their Facebook pages — and on Tuesday, consultants across the country waited online for their chance to place an order.
One consultant, Patricia Rigsbee of North Carolina, told BuzzFeed News she was given a number, and told when her number came up in an online queue she would be able to order.
But Rigsbee, and several other consultants, said they were left enraged when they were unable to place the order after hours of waiting.
"We tried all night and got nothing," Rigsbee told BuzzFeed News. (LulaRose said in a statement that it took an "equitable approach" to distributing the collection.)
Rigsbee is not alone. Hundreds of consultants are blowing up LuLaRoe's social media saying they were told to hype a launch that very few retailers actually got their hands on.
"I'm one of the little gals who desperately needed this capsule to boost my business, pay my mortgage and support the holidays..I quit my five year job at 30 some weeks pregnant to start this business and I feel pooped on today," said Stephanie Cappiello.
Instagram: @theraladybosslularoe
They say they waited hours for nothing.
Many said the move showed the company did not care what happened to the retailers' "small businesses."
Both customers and consultants accused the company of letting only a small number get the new items.
"Lularoe shame on you," one woman, Erica Vernon, wrote. "You are pulling the rug out from under many small family businesses. I don't buy from your mega consultants. I buy from the lady with a son with Downs Syndrome. I buy from the single mom. These ladies work their butts off to provide for their families and you gave them nothing. You are so mean."
Some LuLaRoe fans and consultants have even started a petition demanding the company "redo" the launch. As of this writing, more than 5,500 people have signed.
The petition claims only "500-700" consultants were able to buy the collection, while more than "30,000" got none.
The petition is calling for the consultants who did get the collection to be refunded, and the launch done again.
"This has been a huge disappointment to all of us, to our customers, even to our most optimistic mentors who also got zero items - it's been a sad sad day for LuLaRoe business owners," the petition says.
In response to the criticism, LuLaRoe said that "several thousands" consultants were able to purchase the items, at an average of 100 items each.
"LuLaRoe celebrates every Independent Fashion Retailer’s business model and our purchasing system provides an equitable approach to launch all our collections," the company said. "It has been in place for several of our most recent capsule launches."
The company added, "Specifically, our inventory purchasing system features a randomized selection tool that ensures that Independent Fashion Retailers with businesses of all sizes are represented in the queue and anyone can be among the first to purchase new collections. We are eager to hear how Retailer Pop-Up Boutiques and online sales of the collection perform with their consumers."
Rigsbee said she has only been with the company for six months, but is not sure if she is going to keep adding to her inventory.
"I think this is why many are selling out," she said.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2iZvTZ7
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