Pampered Chef

Pampered Chef, Ltd. is a global multi-level marketing company that offers a line of kitchen tools, food products, and cookbooks for preparing food in the home. They also offer some products to help transport some of their products and gardening tools. ^[1] It has a worldwide direct sales force of about 50,000 in addition to 750 corporate staff.^[2] The company is currently headquartered in Addison, Illinois and currently operates in four countries: USA, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada; though is winding down the United Kingdom business as of the end of 2015.

History

Founded in 1980 by Doris Christopher, the company began in the basement of Christopher's home. The company started to sell items to housewives on the party plan, a system in which a homemaker invited her friends over for a social event at which the products were demonstrated and sold, a concept first popularized by Tupperware. The company expanded to Canada in 1996, the UK in 1999, and Germany in 2000.

The company was acquired in 2002 by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway corporation.^[3] On October 30, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway appointed long time advisor Tracy Britt Cool to the position of CEO.^[4]

The company is closing its UK business, and winding down operations as of 31st December 2015.^[5]

References