The Longaberger Company was an American manufacturer and distributor of handcrafted maple wood baskets and other home and lifestyle products. It was one of the primary employers in the area near Dresden, Ohio, with more than 8,200 employees and 1 billion dollars in sales. Started in Dresden, the company 's last location was in Newark, Ohio. A family -owned and operated business, the Longaberger Company was started by Dave Longaberger in 1973.
Longaberger used multi-level marketing to sell products. The company had approximately 45,000 independent distributors (called Home Consultants) in the United States who sold Longaberger products directly to customers.
A combination of a recession and changing tastes in home decor combined to send sales, which peaked in 2000 at $1 billion, to about $100 million in 2012.
