Party Profits
Home-party sales have moved way beyond Tupperware. And now some big guns want in on this global business
Since the days of Tupperware, women seeking income and time to care for their families have dominated the industry, working social connections and sometimes discovering their inner moguls. "The fact that the home-party plan still exists is [evidence that] a lot of women's conditions have not changed since the 1950s," says Alison Clarke, author of Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America and professor of design history and theory at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.
Rina Valan Hudson, founder of Fantasia Home Parties, a Kresgeville, Pa., company that sells lingerie, lotions, and other romance and marital aids, says she started her own business after working in a grocery store from 4:30 p.m. to midnight for three months at minimum wage while caring for a new infant. "I wanted to stay home and be the best mother I could be," says Hudson. "But at the same time I had to contribute to the household income."
But who attends all these parties? Bonnie McLeod, a 37-year-old Washington, D.C., attorney, is one such person, but it wasn't always that way. When she was first asked to a Pampered Chef party two years ago, "I thought, `Oh God, this is a Tupperware party,' " says McLeod. She was invited twice before she went but adds, "I was really impressed, and I ended up buying quite a bit and agreeing to have my own party."
Despite the commercial focus, most home parties do not feel like hard sells. There are usually snacks, drinks, a period of socializing, and then a lively presentation. If the host is a close friend or family member, there's even more inducement to spend. McLeod hosted a party in September where many of the guests turned up to see her new baby for the first time. "We went from going to bars on Friday night to going to these parties," says Kathy Schuster, 36, a mother of two young children. "It's socially acceptable." The focus on a product also removes social pressure for guests who don't know each other well. Molly Foti, 33, of Lorton, Va., credits home parties with creating community in her new development. "We've all gotten to know each other a lot better through the parties," says Foti. "Once the person is done with the presentation, it always turns into more than a product party."
And it's not just women who find the need to socialize while conducting a little business. "My wife was attending the 43rd Pampered Chef party in as many weeks, and I was at home with the kids and thinking there was really nothing out there like this for guys," says Greg Qualizza, founder of the ProShop@Home, a Chicago golfing accessories business. Though sales are going well, Qualizza says it's usually wives who persuade reluctant husbands to host or attend a party. However, after a few hours with cocktails and backyard putting contests, the men are won over, he says. Who knows? Maybe men will one day drop out of corporate America to get on the home-party fast track.
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