Matilda Jane Review and History
Information on the Matilda Jane discontinued direct selling program.
Matilda Jane Overview
Matilda Jane Clothing is no longer active as a network marketing company, although the Matilda Jane brand remains active under new ownership.
Original Npros business profile for Matilda Jane, preserved below for archival purposes:
Matilda Jane Clothing is no longer active as a network marketing company, although the Matilda Jane brand remains active under new ownership. Matilda Jane Clothing was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2005 by designer Denise DeMarchis. DeMarchis initially sold her colorful children's clothing at art fairs throughout the Midwest before developing a home-based direct-sales model built around independent representatives known as Trunk Keepers. The company became known for brightly patterned girls' clothing, layered designs and coordinated collections for children and women.
Matilda Jane generally introduced two major seasonal collections each year, supplemented by limited-edition releases. Its product line included dresses, leggings, tops, skirts, pants, sweaters, infant clothing and women's apparel, along with accessories, bags, bedding and other lifestyle products. Some limited-edition pieces were manufactured at the company's Fort Wayne operation. DeMarchis also founded the Mighty Acorn Foundation, which focused much of its charitable work on children and families in the Kipsongo slum community in Kitale, Kenya. DeMarchis died on June 23, 2015, at age 41, but Matilda Jane continued operating after her death.
The company underwent a significant ownership change in 2012, when CID Capital Opportunity Fund and management acquired Matilda Jane, LLC. The transaction became effective July 16, 2012, with First Merchants Bank providing senior financing and Centerfield Capital Partners and CapitalSouth Partners providing mezzanine financing. At the time, Matilda Jane was already selling its clothing throughout major U.S. markets using its Trunk Show model.
Matilda Jane operated as a multilevel direct-selling company. Trunk Keepers purchased seasonal clothing samples and other sales materials and conducted in-home trunk shows, personal appointments and, increasingly, online and social-media sales. They could earn income from their own clothing sales while also building organizations by recruiting additional Trunk Keepers. Federal court records from litigation involving the company describe Matilda Jane's business model as multilevel marketing and state that the company had thousands of salespeople nationwide by 2018.
In 2019, former Trunk Keeper Amy Williams sued MJC Acquisition, LLC, alleging that Matilda Jane exercised sufficient control over its representatives that they should be treated as employees rather than independent contractors and that she was owed wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and West Virginia law. The federal court did not rule that Matilda Jane was operating an unlawful MLM; the early published decisions concerned where the lawsuit should be heard. The case was transferred to the Northern District of Indiana because the Trunk Keeper agreement contained an enforceable Indiana forum-selection provision.
Matilda Jane's original direct-selling operation came to an abrupt end in December 2022. The company informed its Trunk Keepers that it was experiencing financial difficulties and was winding down operations. Management had been negotiating a sale of substantially all company assets in an effort to preserve the business and jobs, but the proposed transaction did not close. Matilda Jane terminated its relationships with its independent Trunk Keepers as part of the shutdown.
Looking for an active alternative to Matilda Jane? Check out our list of Clothing companies here and their current Npros business rankings.
Matilda Jane Owners, Executives and Executive Consultants
Denise DeMarchis, Founder and Chief Designer
Doug Williams, Chief Executive Officer
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