Carol's Daughter

Lisa Price, founder of Carol's Daughter, has long been one of my businesswomen idols.  I was introduced to her products back in the 90's when she was still making them in her kitchen.  A dear friend of mine who lived in New York was selling the products and shared them with me when he came in town.  It was instant love.  I couldn't get enough of them and I made sure he had a selection with him every time he visited.

The products have always been high quality.  I still have some oils that I purchased more than fifteen years ago, and they still smell good.  Believe me, that's saying a lot!  I have always loved different scents so I've acquired quite a collection of perfumes over the years; more than I'm able to use up with daily application.  You can definitely distinguish the good from the great after you've had them awhile.  The great ones still smell like they did originally, while the good, or worse, end up being thrown out when the smell breaks down and what remains is an overwhelming unpleasant alcohol smell.

I've followed Carol's Daughter over the years and was so proud to see the growth of the company.  To open retail stores was quite an impressive accomplishment.  I spent the better part of two years renting kiosks in local malls to sell my products, and it was hard work.  When I started out I thought I might want to move into my own store in the future, but by the end I wanted nothing to do with it.  It wore me out.

Today, I learned that Carol's Daughter companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has or will be closing most of its stores (Wall Street Journal Bankruptcy Beat).  According to the company's Chief Financial Officer, the stores have not been profitable since 2010.  When I read that it broke my heart!  Fortunately, though, the company is down but not out.  The products will continue to sell in other retail stores and online.  I'm sure this is just a minor setback for the company and that there will be some great things in store in their future.  As is often the case, sometimes you have to step back in order to move forward.  As a business owner myself I can appreciate her journey, and I can't wait to see what's next.