MemoryWorks To Cease Direct Sales Operations
MemoryWorks, the direct sales company that gave birth to wholesaler Simple Stories, has announced that it will be ceasing operations effective December 31st.
The company was founded in 2002 by Kevin and Amber Crowell, and carried a range of products from My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants, Echo Park, BoBunny, Teresa Collins, American Crafts, Bella Blvd, and a host of other companies. The 2009 release to MemoryWorks customers of an exclusive in-house pocket scrapbooking collection, the same year that Project 365 and Project Life also grabbed the imagination of scrapbook consumers with pocket scrapbooking, catapulted the company in a whole new direction. "Life Documented by Simple Stories" was a massive success and lead the company to launch the Simple Stories wholesale line in 2010. Since then, MemoryWorks has increasingly lived in the shadow of the explosive success of Simple Stories, which quickly became one of the industry's juggernauts, riding the wave of consumer passion for pocket scrapbooking.
Kevin Crowell, President, explained the decision, saying, “We are very grateful for the devoted MemoryWorks consultants that we have worked with over the years. While the decision to cease operations has been difficult, it enables us to focus our resources fully on the continued growth and expansion of Simple Stories”.
The MemoryWorks retail store in Ogden, Utah will remain open at this time. MemoryWorks employees will be absorbed into the Simple Stories organization.
The company's closure leaves a couple of thousand consultants (the company's website boasts of 3,000 consultants) looking for a new home. With the recent changes at Creative Memories leading many consultants there to depart as well, that leaves a large pool of potential consultants for remaining direct sales companies - notably Close To My Heart and Stampin' Up! - to compete to attract, at a time when modern lifestyles and a poor economy has made the direct sales party business model more challenging.
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