An iconic logo of picnic baskets that was once popular with suburban mothers will now be renewed.
For decades, a Longaberger basket was thought to be a symbol of prestige. The baskets, which sold for between $ 20 and more than $ 100, were homemade maple wood strips, and all were dated and signed through their manufacturer. of independent vendors bringing their stock of baskets to house halls or gatherings similar to Tupperware parties, where the host invited his friends and circle of family to buy them.
But the baskets still went out of style.The Longaberger Company, a family business in Dresden, Ohio, which created them, filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and was liquidated the following year.
Last November, monetary company Hilco Global partnered with customer goods marketing company Xcel Brands to purchase the Longaberger logo and revive it.
“For us, the Longaberger basket is never dead,” said Xcel Brands CEO Robert D’Loren, who served on Longaberger’s board from 2006 to 2008.
You just want to be updated and advertised differently,” he said.
Xcel Brands relaunched Longaberger baskets at QVC’s home sales channel in November and pursued an online sales strategy.Instead of distributors promoting baskets at home as they did before, D’Loren said they would now sell them (priced at $49 to $195) virtually.demonstrate cases.
Perhaps the biggest mistake the company has made in the afterlife has been to adapt to the way consumers turned to online shopping, D’Loren said.
D’Loren stated that he did not aim to get rid of the network of independent sellers of the brand, what is another now is that the sales procedure is online and is supported through videos and live content.
“The hardest way to sell is to demonstrate products through enthusiasts,” he said, adding that the logo has lately 3,500 vendors or “stylists” and plans to load them quickly.
The updated technique shows early success, D’Loren said.”To date, we have exhausted all new basket collections in the face of expected demand,” he said.
At its peak, The Longaberger Company, founded in 1973 through Dave Longaberger, achieved a turnover of $1 billion, according to D’Loren, had more than 8,000 workers and its baskets were sold through a network of tens of thousands of independent sellers., just like Avon or Tupperware.
Its main workplace is located in a giant picnic basket-shaped building, which still exists and is now a landmark and a popular tourist stop.
After Longaberger’s death in 1999, the company took a turn, D’Loren said.As the economy moved into a post-9/11 recession, expensive picnic baskets were a precedent for consumers suffering from keeping their jobs.
The company began to disintegrate for the next two years and dismissed many workers, D’Loren said.
In 2013, in its fortieth year of operations, The Longaberger Company acquired through a Dallas-based CVSL corporate holding company that later became JRJR Networks, and continued to produce homemade baskets.
But even the new owner, basket sales declined until Longaberger filed for bankruptcy.
This may have meant the finish of the logo if Xcel Brands, whose portfolio includes previously suffering retail logos, such as Isaac Mizrahi, Judith Ripka and C.Wonder, had intervened late last year.
Xcel is transforming Longaberger’s strategy.In addition to bringing back baskets, Longaberger now offers a variety of interior décor, kitchen and lifestyle products, such as crotchs and cushions, to attract a wider population.
Its portfolio of baskets includes vintage designs and new collections will offer limited edition collections and Christmas themes.”We’ll upload exclusive baskets for holidays like Easter and July 4,” D’Loren said.
There are early signs that time is running in favor of Longaberger’s resurgence.
Two Internet sites selling Longaberger baskets in the past mean that demand for picnic baskets in general has been higher in recent months, thanks to increased interest in picnics during the pandemic.
In Mercari, searches for picnic baskets soared 455% year-on-year, according to the company.$300 or more.
Sales of Longaberger baskets have increased by 96% in recent months in Poshmark compared to last year.
This may not be a better time for Longaberger’s renaissance, as consumers take a more outdoor lifestyle while staying close to home, said Marshal Cohen, industry-leading analyst and retail expert at NPD Group.
Still, he said it can be a challenge to get consumers who haven’t grown up with the logo to reach fans.
“The expansion of [activities] is taking the form of new consumers in the picnic world, and [Longaberger’s] legacy is not as strong in this market,” Cohen said.”It’s not as undeniable as opening the faucet.”
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