A scathing statement from clothing company LuLaRoe

LuLaRich did the impossible: make the leggings uncomfortable, at least on screen. The fascinating documentary series juxtaposes snapshots of flashy pants and other colorful clothing with the dark story of the increasingly malicious actions of DeAnne and Mark Stidham, co-founders of clothing company LuLaRoe. Their products are popular for their shameless vivid designs, but the most sought after items are leggings with colorful prints and “buttery soft fabric”. The clothes might be shiny and comfortable, but LuLaRoe’s success is marred by lawsuits, heartaches and breathtaking levels of emotional manipulation. LuLaRich traces the company’s disturbing practices that turned the lives of its middle-class retailers upside down. Trying to match its topic, the docuseries are sometimes flashier than necessary, but they are effective in capturing Stidhams’ horrific leadership and the financial ruin it has caused their employees.

Founded in 2012, LuLaRoe cannot simply be categorized as a women’s clothing company. It thrived on multilevel marketing (or MLM), but former employees don’t hesitate to call it a true pyramid scheme. Roberta Blevins, a former LuLaRoe retailer, calls it outright a cult in LuLaRich. The introductory episode introduces the history of LuLaRoe and how pyramid schemes work, eventually integrating the concept into the company’s methods of doing business. Of the society the target was mainly low-income women and struggling mothers, recruited as salespersons or “fashion consultants” who had to pay between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 to participate and buy inventory and then sell at a profit. The more they signed up as retailers in the future, the more money they would earn in bonus checks. In 2016, the company achieved sales of over $ 1 billion.

The idea was touted as the American Dream: a lucrative home business; affordable and eye-catching clothing; and be part of a national community. For many, it was too good to miss. Within five years, LuLaRoe had 80,000 independent distributors and consultants in the United States. But over time the Stidhams allegedly defrauded billions of dollars from employees and partners, including manufacturing company Providence Industries, and allegedly faces multiple lawsuits. LuLaRich explores these allegations through increasingly disturbing interviews with people who have worked or still are with the company, as well as the Stidhams, some of their 14 children and other family members.

Even if you’ve never heard of LuLaRoe, this four episodes docuseries is a worthwhile frenzy. It’s wild and surprising, but also insightful into how such a business works. The Stidhams still claim they are not at the top of a pyramid scheme, but those interviewed from LuLaRich Say the opposite. Co-directors Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason aptly include footage of DeAnne and Mark’s court depositions in 2019 in tandem with their documentary interviews, making it clear that the couple knew exactly what they were doing, even though they were do not admit it. While talking to the cameras, Mark and DeAnne exhibit an airy and confident forehead. The pretext breaks in clips of them officially interviewed, or even in their Zoom group calls with employees. Their larger-than-life egos shine through as former employees remember how Mark compared himself to Mormon leader Joseph Smith.

The Stidhams formed a team of thousands of retailers on behalf of the community, but fostered a culture of false deference, sacking anyone who questioned their tactics or brought up faulty products – clothes left in the sun and growing mold, that most retailers describe. as smelly worse than dead rats. Mark is heard sternly lecturing them on a phone call: “Do you think our inventory is out of date?” No, you’re stale. They asked the women (who made up most of their employee base) to do whatever it takes to pay for the stocks, including selling their breast milk to neonatal intensive care units in hospitals or opening more and more. no more credit cards. LuLaRich exposes what is essentially an abusive and toxic relationship.

The ingenious and hard-working women who appear in LuLaRich Vulnerably describe being pressured into giving up savings for a company they say betrayed them in return. Most of them spent all their money or took out loans to invest in inventory, while top sellers were rewarded with perks like luxury cruises and Katy Perry concerts to attract more retailers. But they all remember the high-pressure, clique-like work environment of LuLaRoe.

Courtney Harwood from North Carolina, who has three children, joined the company in 2015. She talks about getting along with DeAnne and feeling like part of a tribe. But a few years later, she started to feel the pressure. In episode three, “Blow Up,” she reveals that her breaking point was that DeAnne was encouraging her to come to Tijuana. for weight loss surgery. Her refusal led her to be cut off from her co-workers. Women were advised to maintain a certain figure and lifestyle, and attribute it all to the business, positioning LuLaRoe as a sort of saving miracle. Even their social media hashtag was #BecauseOfLuLaRoe.

Furst and Nason, who also directed the Hulu movie Fraud to guys, to fill LuLaRich with the same visual brightness of LuLaRoe’s clothing. They provide a safe space for women like Blevins and Harwood to talk about their losses, deal with internal trauma, and publicly share their grievances. LuLaRich is a revealing look at how the Stidhams took advantage of sensitive people. There is a clear pattern of discrimination, including hiring women of a particular height and then holding them under their control. One of the few black employees is LaShae Kimbrough, the former LuLaRoe home office worker. She talks about skipping luxury cruises because she didn’t want to be trapped with rich white women on a ship.

The abundance of docu-series, including crime shows such as King tiger and investigative work such as Coaching Britney Spears– only allows a few days in the digital limelight before the public moves on to the next offer. Furst and Nason’s new series is bound to be a hotbed for memes, but while LuLaRich is entertaining and incisive, it will hopefully move the conversation forward on improving the economic and legal system to better support middle-class workers in cases like this. The women here had to band together via an online group to discuss and expose the wrongdoing, much like the Showtime topics. Fraud in love. They were tricked into believing they could opt out whenever they wanted and return the inventory they had paid thousands of dollars to secure. But the company was more concerned with booking Kelly Clarkson for a conference than paying back hundreds of thousands of dollars to retailers who wanted to cut ties after realizing how toxic the corporate environment was.

Despite the lawsuits (several of which have been settled), today it’s business as usual for LuLaRoe. DeAnne and Mark even celebrated their birthdays on private jets and threw masquerade parties.. The Stidhams still refuse to recognize any serious error. “I wish there hadn’t been any negativity,” DeAnne says near the end of the docuseries. But that’s just one part of these captivating docuseries; LuLaRich begins with a focus on the sense of hope that LuLaRoe sold to its retailers, which is now in tatters.