Silpada Gets Silly Celebrating Success

The Kansas City Star:

A year after being bought by Avon for $650 million, Silpada Designs is still led by its local founders. Just as planned.

But the Lenexa-based direct sales company specializing in sterling silver jewelry has turned to its 125-year-old owner for advice as it rolls out online ordering to complement its home party selling.

“Silpada Designs is the fastest growing sterling silver jewelry company in the world,” said Bonnie Kelly, who founded the company in 1997 with best friend Teresa Walsh. “We’re launching our new catalog, with all our fabulous jewelry, so many … colors and great sassy earrings. You name it, we got it.”

The jewelry is now sold by more than 33,000 representatives across the country, as well as in the United Kingdom and Canada. To expand the brand name, the company recently launched online ordering — but it has turned over those orders to local representatives who will get a 30 percent cut of sales, just as if they sold it at a home party. An average home party nets the representative about $300.

“We can touch customers we haven’t touched before. But we never compete with our representatives,” said Jerry Kelly, Silpada’s president and chief executive officer, and husband of Bonnie.

Screenshot from Silpada

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