Trouble first started for Longaberger as changing decor style along with an economic recession entered along with the new century.
In 2013, Tami and Rachel Longaberger sold controlling shares of the company to Dallas-based CVSL Inc., later renamed JRJR33. In May 2015, Tami Longaberger, who had led the company since her father died in 1999, resigned as chief executive officer and director of the company. In February 2016, in an attempt to keep the company solvent, it was announced they would sell the 'Big Basket' Building in Newark, OH and move its employees back to Longaberger's manufacturing facilities in Frazeysburg, Ohio. The basket-shaped headquarters was vacated in July 2016. On May 4, 2018, a note was sent out from a sales force supervisor that the company had aburptly ceased operations. In June 2018, JRJR33 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which was later to converted to Chapter 7 bankruptcy later that in year, in October 2018.
In 2019, the Longaberger brand was revived through Xcel Brands, led by its founder and CEO Robert D’Loren. Xcel Brands acquired the Longaberger brand and launched the new brand on Longaberger.com and a QVC debut on November 13, 2019. Xcel continues the brand’s legacy of made-in-America handcrafted baskets out of Dresden, Ohio, commissioning baskets through the locally started Dresden & Co company. Along with the hand-made baskets, Longaberger also started to offer a range of home décor, kitchen, and lifestyle products made in America and abroad.
