New docuseries charts the spectacular rise and fall of multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe | CNN (2024)

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How did a leggings company that began in a family home ascend to billion-dollar growth, then burn out as fast as it started?

That’s the story a new Amazon docuseries, “LuLaRich,” tells about LuLaRoe, the multilevel marketing (MLM) company known for its “buttery-soft” printed leggings. LuLaRoe recruited tens of thousands of women, many of them moms, to proselytize their mission of “blessing lives” and market a “boss babe” lifestyle. It was founded by a married couple, DeAnne and Mark Stidham, in 2012.

“(LuLaRoe) was tailored to and sold to a lot of women who are stay-at-home mothers (which is) a very isolating experience in this country, unfortunately,” said Julia Willoughby Nason, who co-directed the series with Jenner Furst. “People are so attracted to joining the company because they get to have friends, they get to have a community, and at the same time, they can have autonomy and make an income.”

New docuseries charts the spectacular rise and fall of multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe | CNN (1)

LuLaRoe's prints were each a limited run and distributed to salespeople at random, causing a demand for rare and popular designs.

But after growing at an unfathomable pace – from $70 million in retail sales at the end of 2015 to $1.3 billion just over a year later – there was a well-publicized exodus of consultants. The company was dogged by reports of declining quality, smelly leggings and bizarre prints that were phallic or yonic in nature.

The MLM structure of LuLaRoe came under fire, as well – new recruits had to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 for their “start-up” package to sell leggings, and many had trouble selling them, while others ended up declaring bankruptcy, according to “LuLaRich.” Meanwhile, established consultants said they made hefty bonuses for bringing in newbies. (One of the top consultants made $51,000 off of recruitment in a single month, she said in the series.)

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A ‘seductive’ offering

Whether LuLaRoe employees primarily make money off of recruits or the retail products was central to the civil lawsuit that the state of Washington filed against the company in January 2019, alleging it was a pyramid scheme. (Pyramid schemes are illegal in the US, while MLM companies, such as Avon, Mary Kay, Amway and Tupperware, remain legal.) LuLaRoe settled the Washington case for $4.75 million this past February, but still has other lawsuits pending.

In addition to interviewing a number of former LuLaRoe employees, the directors sat down with the Stidhams, who were eager to share their side of the story. They spoke at length about their childhoods, their Mormon faith, and the entrepreneurial spirit they were raised with, highlighting DeAnne’s history flipping dresses from swap meets for thousands of dollars. During the series, the pair maintain that their business is not a pyramid scheme, that LuLaRoe consultants always made money primarily off of selling the products, and that there have never been significant issues with the quality of their products.

New docuseries charts the spectacular rise and fall of multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe | CNN (2)

Top LuLaRoe consultants said they made tens of thousands of dollars each month in recruitment bonuses.

“We did not have a huge problem with wet leggings. We didn’t have a huge problem with damaged leggings and products,” Mark said in “LuLaRich.” “We had a huge social media problem. And we had a lot of noise over very little actual issue(s).”

They also refute some of the more unsettling claims about the pressurized culture of the company – including that some women were selling their breast milk to pay for the start-up fee (“udderly ridiculous,” Mark said with a laugh) and others were encouraged to get gastric sleeve surgeries in Tijuana to lose weight. (DeAnne said she only offered the information when asked.)

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Ultimately, the series is a candid and often surreal look at what Willoughby Nason called the “seduction” of the company, the husband and wife who founded it, and the variables that made LuLaRoe a phenomenon of this particular decade, like the advent of new social media features such as Facebook Live.

“The cult of personality that’s fed through social media is so emblematic of how this company grew astronomically,” Willoughby Nason said.

Furst agreed, saying that social media and MLMs are “made for each other.”

“Prior to that, you know, these MLMs needed to go door to door and you had to have a human connection with either your Tupperware or your makeup or…Herbalife,” he explained. “I think that with social media, the doors are wide open all day.”

LuLaRich” is out now on Amazon Prime.

Add to Queue: MLM mania

Listen: The Dream” (2019-ongoing)

The first season of “The Dream” podcast explored the uneasy world of multilevel marketing companies, speaking with the people who participated about the vision they were sold and the reality that followed.

Watch:The Vow” (2020)

Last year’s HBO docuseries on NXIVM delved into the inner workings of a MLM company where the marketing of personal and professional development seminars belied the dangerous cult that formed in its innermost circle.

Read: When the Wolves Bite” (2018)

This book by Scott Wapner detailed the battles between Wall Street investors Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman and Herbalife, the MLM company at the center of their fight.

Watch:Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Multilevel Marketing” (2016)

John Oliver takes on MLMs with his typical disarming style, examining companies including Mary Kay, Rodan + Fields and Nu Skin to ask whether “they seem a bit pyramid shaped.”

Watch:On Becoming a God in Central Florida” (2019)

Kirsten Dunst stars in this (sadly canceled) dark comedy about a woman, Krystal Stubbs, who leaves her job as a water park staffer in the 1990s to move up the ranks of the fictional MLM Founders American Merchandise.

Top image: DeAnne and Mark Stidham in “LuLaRich”

New docuseries charts the spectacular rise and fall of multilevel marketing company LuLaRoe | CNN (2024)

FAQs

What is the LuLaRoe documentary on Netflix? ›

LuLaRoe, the billion dollar clothing empire accused of misleading thousands of women with their multi-level marketing platform, is analyzed.

Is LuLaRich the same as the rise and fall of LuLaRoe? ›

“The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe” is essentially a documentary version of a 2020 investigative report by the BuzzFeed News writer Stephanie McNeal. Produced in association with BuzzFeed Studios, it's a redundant effort given Amazon's recent mini-series, “LulaRich,” though at least it's less of a time commitment.

What is the LuLaRoe scandal? ›

The lawsuit claimed that LuLaRoe was insolvent and had not paid its bills for seven months, and accused founders Mark and DeAnne Stidham of hiding assets in "shell" companies to fund their "lavish lifestyle" and to "hinder, delay, and defraud the creditors."

What happened to LuLaRoe after the documentary? ›

LuLaRoe settled with the state in February 2021 for 4.75 million dollars. Today, the company remains in business, although according to the docuseries, many “LuLa-famous” independent retailers have closed up shop.

Is LuLaRoe still successful? ›

IsLuLaRoe still in business today? Yes. They are still attempting to make their business work in a more positive light. As of May 2022, LuLaRoe has managed to get its rating up to a “C” by the BBB.

How many episodes of LuLaRoe documentary are there? ›

LuLaRich is a four-part docuseries that chronicles the unraveling of LuLaRoe.

Is LuLaRoe still an MLM? ›

LuLaRoe, which still exists today, offers incentives to its thousands of recruits, such as flashy events with musical guests like Katy Perry, trips to Cancun and potential “bonuses” for running virtual boutiques out of their homes and recruiting others to do the same.

Is lululemon related to LuLaRoe? ›

In addition, I've seen questions on Twitter about whether LulaRoe and Lululemon are the same thing. If you are here regularly, you know that they are not. However, there are some people who may not know that, so I'm writing this article to highlight some of the differences.

Who owns LuLaRoe company? ›

Mark and DeAnne Stidham founded LuLaRoe in 2013 with a dream to teach and share their entrepreneurial business success with families around the country. They wanted others to enjoy the freedom and flexibility they have found through business ownership.

How much do LuLaRoe consultants make? ›

The estimated total pay for a Lularoe Consultant is $111,474 per year, with an average salary of $79,792 per year. These numbers represent the median, which is the midpoint of the ranges from our proprietary Total Pay Estimate model and based on salaries collected from our users.

Is LuLaRoe religious? ›

Very early on we learn that LuLaRoe's founders, Mark and DeAnne Stidham, are LDS members. Although the company was secular, the founders' religious identity was also central to its operation.

How much has LuLaRoe paid in lawsuits? ›

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today that LuLaRoe will pay $4.75 million to resolve Ferguson's consumer protection lawsuit asserting that LuLaRoe, a California-based multi-level marketing business that sells leggings and other apparel to a network of independent retailers, was operating a pyramid ...

Who made the LuLaRoe documentary? ›

LuLaRich is an American documentary miniseries, directed and produced by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nason and executive produced by Blye Pagon Faust and Cori Shepherd Stern.

Is LuLaRich worth watching? ›

As a docuseries, LuLaRich is well paced and highly engaging. The filmmakers did an excellent job portraying why LuLaRoe was so attractive as well as the tragic human cost of entrepreneurial greed. I would definitely watch this series again. Content collapsed.

Where is the LuLaRoe documentary? ›

It follows LuLaRoe, a clothing empire accused of being a pyramid scheme. It consists of four episodes and premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 10, 2021.

What is the Lululemon documentary about? ›

Stretched is the first intimate look at the intense personal trials, heated corporate battles, and changing social landscape in which Chip and Summer Wilson revolutionized fashion, turned the technical apparel brand into a global icon, and spearheaded a multi-billion dollar athleisure industry.

Where can I watch the Lululemon documentary? ›

How to get new Lululemon leggings!

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