Known as “Willagirls,” the teens and tweens host Tupperware like get-togethers at home, school or just about anywhere eight- to 13-year-olds hang out. Invites typically are extended via text message, since “nobody uses email anymore,” Ms. Messner says. So far Willagirl, which doesn’t disclose annual sales, has recruited 42 sellers in New York, Miami, New Jersey, California, Colorado and Maryland, among other states.
For Willagirl’s young sales reps, the company offers 25% of total sales, for a potential monthly income of $320 to $3,500, according to a pamphlet sellers distribute at their parties. Party hosts also receive 15% of retail sales from the party in free products, plus one half-price item if party sales exceed $400.
“There are all these hidden costs that are tied to brick-and-mortar retailing,” says Willagirl founder and chief executive Christy Prunier, “and besides, tween girls aren’t going to malls anymore.” The company, based in Riverside, is currently building out software, which by September will allow the girls to host “virtual” parties online, she adds.
Willagirl is one of a handful of startups that in the past few years have turned to business models combining e-commerce and social media with the traditional direct-sales tactics pioneered by Tupperware, Mary Kay and