Everyone’s comments on the last post were thoughtful and interesting to read. I’ve had trouble articulating my feelings but many of you did it for me. I am incredibly sad about the closure, curious about what is going to happen next, and angry on behalf of the families affected by the job losses. Bonne Bell has always been an accessible company which is why this feels so personal.
It’s always easy to say we saw it coming after the fact, but I truly thought the opposite was happening. In the last few years finding a new release locally was like finding gold–the last time that happened for me was with the Girl Scouts party pack–and so the the opening of the webstore was a welcome remedy. I figured BB was slowly transitioning to internet only, and why not? Global fans, nostalgic brand backing… as someone without any business background it made sense to me. Such a unique company, and now going internet only? I dig it.
OK, maybe that’s a little dreamy, but my point is I thought the smacker line was scaling down, not up. I was wrong. Last year had a ton of amazing collections, and then Disney was ramped up over the holidays. That was crazy but then it got really out there: let’s just say I am sitting here with an order of 20+ different Easter smackers. From this year. Over 20! Unheard of.
I suppose we’ll never know if the sheer quantity of smackers (& Disney stuff) is Markwins doing or the direction BB independently decided to go down. My best guess is a mix of both, and it’s clear that BB wanted to please their fans before saying goodbye; Cinnamon Sugar, the novelties, the retro collections. And yes, even the swarovski biggies.
Some things point to the company evolving into something I don’t agree with, but maybe that’s okay. Or maybe Markwins will shock us all, who knows. Whatever happens, it doesn’t erase what BB pulled off. There aren’t many products that successfully carry over from childhood to adulthood (over multiple generations nonetheless), and BB did. It’s a huge testament to their quality.
