LuLaRoe

LuLaRoe started with a skirt. DeAnne Brady, a mother of seven, had already sold clothes to friends and family for years when her daughter Nicole asked her to make a maxi skirt. Nicole shared it online and orders poured in. The company says DeAnne sold 20,000 skirts at in-home parties within six months, and in 2013 she and her husband, Mark Stidham, turned that into LuLaRoe. The name comes from their first three granddaughters.

Boom, backlash and a reset

Growth was explosive. By 2017 the company had roughly 80,000 sellers and an estimated $2.3 billion in sales. It was also drawing complaints about quality, overstocked sellers and a changing buyback policy. Washington State's attorney general sued in 2019, alleging an unlawful pyramid scheme; LuLaRoe denied wrongdoing and settled in February 2021. That September, the Amazon docuseries LuLaRich put the story in front of millions.

The company kept going. It cut its startup cost by about 90% in 2022 and still operates from Corona, California. Co-founder Mark Stidham died on September 26, 2025; the company remembered him as "our husband, father, co-founder, and beloved leader."

From the very beginning, we wanted a business that would help others to succeed.

DeAnne Brady, co-founder — LuLaRoe opportunity site (join.lularoe.com), 2026

What LuLaRoe sells today

The core is still soft, printed knitwear: leggings, swing and tiered dresses, maxi skirts and easy tops. Newer additions include denim, sets, jumpsuits, a men's line and a kids' collection, plus limited capsules that drop for holidays and seasons. The company's mission is "to create freedom, serve others, and strengthen families through fashion." For fit, the brand's older sizing chart runs XXS (size 00–0) to 3XL (24–26), with leggings in one size and tall-and-curvy.

LuLaRoe has no small sample kit. To start, a Retailer buys an opening inventory of clothing at wholesale, which becomes the stock for pop-up boutiques, Facebook live sales and online shops. Customers take items home the same day or get them shipped straight from the Retailer, with no waiting on a factory order.

The cost has changed a lot. In the boom years, opening packages ran from about $4,925 to $9,000, and sellers were encouraged to carry far more. In 2022 the company said it had cut the startup cost by about 90%. It does not publish a current figure on its website, so ask a sponsor for the exact package and what it contains before you commit. Budget too for racks, hangers, storage bins, shipping supplies and advertising, which the company's own income disclosure lists as typical expenses.

Inventory is a real risk as well as an advantage. Prints sell unevenly, and any stock you cannot move is money tied up. Start small, track what sells and reorder carefully. If you would rather compare, browse other direct sales clothing companies that use a catalog and order model.

LuLaRoe pays mainly through retail profit. A Retailer buys at wholesale and sells at retail, and the gap is the margin. There is no commission check on that part; you keep the difference after your costs. LuLaRoe also runs a separate Leadership Compensation Plan that pays bonuses on the sales of Retailers you sponsor and train. The percentages and rank rules change over time, so check the company's current compensation plan.

What the numbers say

LuLaRoe's 2025 income disclosure statement reports:

• Average gross profit for all Retailers: $10,197.68.
• Median gross profit for all Retailers: $389.35.
• Share of Retailers in the Leadership Compensation Plan: 9.54%.
• Median leadership pay for those who earned it: $665.02.

Gross profit there means sales minus the cost of the inventory bought, before expenses such as shipping, racks and advertising. The gap between the average and the median shows that a small group earns most of the money. The company itself states that it does not guarantee any income as a Retailer.

PROS

• A famous brand with loyal fans of its leggings, dresses and maxi skirts.
• In-stock inventory means customers get their clothes right away.
• Startup cost is far lower than in the 2016–2017 boom years.
• Sizes run from XXS to 3XL, with men's and kids' lines to widen the market.
• The company publishes a yearly income disclosure statement.

CONS

• You buy and store inventory up front, and unsold stock is your loss.
• The brand still carries baggage from lawsuits and the LuLaRich documentary.
• The median Retailer made $389.35 in gross profit in 2025, before expenses.
• The company does not post the current startup price publicly.
• Prints are limited, so customers cannot always find their size or favorite style.