The Truth About LuLaRoe Conventions

If you had a friend trying to sell you a pair of bright-colored leggings with bold prints on them in 2014 via a Facebook Live sale, you are not alone. LuLaRoe was the almost cult-like brand of leggings, skirts, and dresses being peddled by individual sellers (per The Guardian). The company worked by recruiting sellers and building a business based both on how many pairs of leggings you could sell, and how many people you could convince to join the company and sell underneath you.

While several people got rich, many lost everything. The concept of working from home and building a legging empire sounded too good to be true, and it mostly was. Amazon recently released a docuseries called "LuLaRich" which told the story of how the multi-million dollar company fell to pieces (via UpRoxx).

Before the company was exposed for its pyramid scheme business model, it was a force to be reckoned with on social media. You probably knew someone who was selling for the company, or maybe even tried to do so yourself. There were a ton of incentives to keep sellers working hard for the company, and one of those was the infamous conventions sellers got to attend.

If you watched "LuLaRich," you were probably shocked by the lavish conventions that were held every year for the company's sellers. The brand didn't hold back when it came to entertainment, booking singers Kelly Clarkson and Katy Perry during the company's height (via Showbiz Cheat Sheet). It seemed like a good time and a reward for the hard-working sellers who were making the company rich by doing the dirty work. However, that wasn't the truth.

According to Yahoo! News, the conventions took place annually. If you thought the sellers got to attend this convention for free due to their hard work day in and day out for the company, you're wrong! The bill to attend one of these conventions came in at $400. So, on top of buying your own inventory to sell, LuLaRoe consultants were fitting the bill for this pep rally-style celebration for their hard work with the founders of the company, Mark and DeAnne Stidham, giving inspirational talks along the way.

The conventions were not all sunshine and unicorn printed leggings. There was drama along the way. According to Roberta Blevins, one of the company's top sellers at one point, things got ugly behind the scenes each year. She took to TikTok to tell the story of how sellers were physically fighting over leggings at one of the conventions. There was a "swag shop" at each convention that sold limited-edition leggings, hats, shirts, and keychains with the LuLaRoe logo on them. Since there was only one of these merchandise stands, things got heated. Sellers were fighting over a pair of branded leggings. People had been waiting hours and since the stock was limited, once they got to purchase and there wasn't enough to go around, things got ugly. Eventually, the cops showed up.

Blevins also shared another TikTok where she told her viewers how food was hard to come by at these conventions. Two years in a row, there was a beach party put on by the convention. Both years, the party ran out of food. Thankfully, LuLaRoe did provide the people who were unable to get food with some snacks. The snack was simply a popsicle and a warm coconut flavored drink.