This may be old news to some, but one of the stories I wanted to cover was the bankruptcy of the scrapbook company Creative Memories. This is old news by now (the news hit in November 2008), but the fallout continues.
Disclaimer: one of the companies I used to be a Home Party Consultant for was Creative Memories. I didn't have the best experience with them towards the end of my time with them. I'm fully aware that this will cloud my articles about this company. You've been warned!
This November 2008 article from Minnesota Public Radio gives an overview from the company's point of view. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
This November 2008 article from the Scrapbook Update blog (a great blog about scrapbooking news) talks about "Key Points" of the bankruptcy. At the end of the article, there is a list of several other articles about the bankruptcy.
Now read this January 2010 article from the Yellow Springs News. There is much more to this story. A group of former employees has filed a lawsuit against Creative Memories company leaders. The article is long, but worth reading if you really want to know more. The group claims that actions by company leaders caused the bankruptcy, which led to the loss of employee retirement funds, to the tune of over $20 million.
Yikes!
Creative Memories was one of those companies that people (Home Office employees and Home Party Consultants alike), felt good working for. I wasn't the only one who felt "good" trying to help people to preserve their memories in scrapbooks. Increased competition from online and brick-and-mortar stores, a move away from my large group of core customers, and company decisions made post-2007 led to my exit. I am less than impressed by this bankruptcy and the news about the employee lawsuit. I'm disgusted that so many employees lost retirement funds.
What does this mean for the future of Creative Memories? Who knows. Some of you may not have even heard about the bankruptcy at all. The company keeps plugging along here in 2010. You can still buy their scrapbook products from a local Consultant, although their Consultant base is shrinking. I will post updates when something else comes up; I'm betting there will be more to come.
Has anyone dealt with Creative Memories, either as a Consultant, a Home Office employee, or a customer? What do you think of the bankruptcy?
3 comments:
I am a past employee of the company and I can tell you that they have now let go the last of the Morgan fmaily Asha Morgan Moran. It was a joke having her run the business- She would cry more than she spoke. Not a leader at all. Too bad it happened too late for a turn around.
Thanks for the comment. On April 20th, I posted an article about Asha stepping down. I agree that it's probably too late. The more news articles I read about this company, the less I think they can actually turn it around.
I've been a CM leader for 17 years and this month I'm losing my title. It's no surprise, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. It's sad though. Most of the consultants that I know are just hanging on. I don't see how they can pull out of this.
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