Petra Fashions Review and Profile

Petra Fashions no longer appears to be active as a direct sales company.

Petra Fashions is no longer active. Former company leader Linda Tardiff stated in a 2012 profile that Petra had suffered from mismanagement, was sold by its owner to an investment banking firm, and subsequently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Other former consultant accounts place the company’s shutdown around 2004. The homelingerieparties.com domain no longer operates as a company website, catalog, or consultant portal, and no successor Petra sales organization was identified.

Original Npros business profile for Petra Fashions, preserved below for archival purposes:

Petra Fashions was a Massachusetts-based lingerie and sleepwear direct-selling company founded in 1979 by Jonathan and Ingrid Petra. Headquartered in the Danvers and Peabody area, the company marketed affordable intimate apparel through home parties held by independent consultants. Petra promoted itself during the early 2000s as one of the fastest-growing party-plan companies in the United States.

The company sold lingerie, nightgowns, robes, sleepwear, teddies, camisoles, novelty apparel, and related clothing for women, men, and children. Its catalog offered sizes from extra small through 5X without an additional charge for plus sizes, and older promotional materials emphasized that most or all products were priced below $40.

Petra Fashions operated through a home-party direct-selling and multilevel management model. Consultants demonstrated products at social gatherings, collected orders, booked future parties, recruited new consultants, and earned commissions from their own sales. Sales directors also received overrides on the sales of consultants they recruited. A 2004 profile described one regional director managing 74 consultants, earning approximately $200 from an $800 party, and qualifying for a monthly car allowance of up to $350. Recruiting materials promoted free sample kits valued at approximately $500 to $600 and flexible part-time or full-time work.