Let us all discuss the news and great doings issuing from Montecito

[Uricon2]

WTF Ghana? Just why?

"Limited me to things manufactured and grown in this area" is telling I think.

It will be interesting when people start tracking the provenance of what she sells and they will. The Cesta Collective thing isn't the marvellous exemplar of ethical production it was sold as and this enterprise is on a much bigger scale.

Positioning yourself as a "humanitarian" and "philanthropist" will always mean a great level of scrutiny of your business enterprises.

I think "do as I say" rather than "do as I do" is wearing.

That image up thread where we first saw As Ever, is taken from her ARO promo video.

I really hope she has someone doing due diligence on the sources of every product. Otherwise she is gifting the tabloids with endless articles about slave labour. We all remember the avocado article, this would be far worse.

I think the people who suggested that she is lining up the children to shift products are, sadly, correct. They need to choose, monetise the children or leave them out of the commercial ventures all together. Long distance or soft focus photos are trying to do both at once. I think in California you can take photos of children if their parents give them a public profile.

I think the 'is it recording' was ridiculous - so 'oh silly me' and fake. I did think she looks beautiful - very simple and natural.
I don't like the name 'as ever' - it's quite bland and easy to get mixed up. This is massively saturated market - I think a lot will depend on how well received her netflix show is.

Confirming that ARO was a terrible name and she couldn’t get a trademark. That the launch was an embarrassment and is now abandoned. Which everybody said it would be.

Confirming this is yet another terrible launch because someone on Reddit found the myshopify account and trademark application, so Meghan had to scramble to get something out. Again, an embarrassment. She doesn’t have a TM for this either.

Using her kids to sell products, which Harry seems more than happy about. But selling his family to make money is their USP.

Looking manic on that insta post.

There were a few posters on here who were adamant ARO would never see the light of day and they have been proven correct.

What is quite funny and not a good start for any launch is the name is so bizarre people believed it was a spoof account, the memes and poking fun at the name already started before the launch was officially announced.

More weirdness from the Sussex Camp.

I also do not like the photo of her with her daughter far away.. leave the kids out. It's like almost teasing the public with little snippets of the kids. If the products are good they'll sell without help from the kids
I think it's very unfair for them to talk about security (eg Oprah interview) but then show these little bits of the kids. It's generating media interest in the kids.

I know nothing about George Clooneys kids or plenty of other famous people's kids. And don't need to know. But showing little bits of the kids then starts conversations about them which is unfair on them.

I think she looks tired and drawn in that video. Not that it matters at all how she looks but it didn’t sit well with the simpering delivery.

I believe the business has a good chance of initial success, Harry has millions to pour into it and he will. There are plenty of vacuous idiots out there with more money than sense who will buy her stuff just for the label. There will be a flurry of interest which might be enough to get it launched.

Growing and sustaining it is something else. That’s where good judgment comes in, and we have seen precious little of that.

Prime drinks is a good example @Ohpleeeease they do however have a massive following, plus their target demographic has the all important pester power. But they can't keep it up, sales down 50% in 2024 and continuing to fall because the product is crap.

Is the trademark still pending, twitter seems to think so, and that it was only applied for in 2024 not 2022 as said by M on Insta.

I don't think she looks all that well personally.

I can’t see this getting off the ground. It all seems to be cart before horse, just like ARO 🤷‍♀️

Yes, she doesn’t look great on the video and the camera angle/hair style makes her look like she has a huge forehead. She needs to learn what camera angles work for her.

Shes hastily put out this video at 9pm on a Monday night….this is going to be yet another dodgy launch.

Her problem is, whatever products she launches- even if they sell out, will be bombarded with negative reviews. There’s not enough love out there for her to succeed. Everything will be scrutinised.

Just like ARO. Most business couldget away with name changes etc- but this is an embarrassment for her because she has so many eyeballs on her.

This is why is going to be so hard. There’s too many people that will review and complain and the press will pick up on it, amplifying the negativity.

Unless there is top quality products and service, consistently (which I think would be pretty impossible for a start up) then it’s going to struggle. She can’t afford teething troubles but that’s inevitable with any business. But that’s what will very quickly get her business in trouble.

Dcould somebody please link to the new ad/ launch video please

Victoria Beckham has talent but her business has been propped up by her husband for years , I think Meghan will have some initial success but it will tail off
Clever PR to release this straight after the Invictus high profile push and just far enough away from the fires
She seems very excitable so kudos to someone who can keep faking it until they make it

Harry makes me nauseous with his Invictus basking he is lapping up every second of attention- he will probably have a panic attack once the dopamine hit wears off - no wonder he’s had to book his next “I’m still special and royal “ tour

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14406793/meghan-markle-rebrand-american-riviera-orchard.html

@Mightymoog

And here lies the problem as discussed before. This will lead to revenue for the DM not Meghan. They can make money for other people but struggle to do so themselves.

This 'As Ever' nonsense just shows what a terrible businesswoman MM is. She fired off that 'teaser' video about ARO before she had a trademark or any products. She hadn't even filed the bloody paperwork at that point! She jumps from idea to idea, never sticking with anything and seemingly relying on other people to make things happen. God knows what possessed Netflix to go into business with her selling fucking jam and tea towels, but good luck to them! I fully expect that this will be yet another all fur coat and no knickers extravaganza.

Look at Blake Livelys haircare launch and business.

Her products were negatively reviewed(which she claims is because of the JB stuff) as people have just never liked her or her products. There were videos saying Target had lots of returned products etc. We also know that her sales are down …I think 90%… since the launch.

BL also had a lifestyle business called Preserve. That lasted a year before it was closed down.

Meghan gives the same vibes as Blake. This isn’t going to go well.

Yeah, the ditzy shtick is just about okay when you're 25, it looks and sounds absurd when coming from a 43-year-old woman.

Just woken up to the Sidley Twins covering it, and showing Meghan's explanation video. I enjoyed watching them laughing their socks off. They are the sort of monied, industry contemporaries of Meghan, who are very invested in popular/celebrity culture, that her brand is aimed at. She needs to convince their kind.

WRT to getting her best angles mentioned by @Atlusvue , not for the first time, I amreminded her dad was an Emmy winner in the field of making people look good on screen. Not that I have time for that odious family, but it's a little ironic.

The Beckham parallel is exactly what I was thinking, @Lockupyourbiscuits . VB is a hard worker and she had a fair amount of her own money to put in but it still took years and David’s squillions to get her very focused brand established.

Oh my God, it was real 🤦🏼‍♀️

What is wrong with her? I’ve never known someone to self sabotage as much as she does. I wonder if she has ADHD or something. She seems incapable of creating one idea, sticking to it and following it through to the end.

Yeah, it's an interesting parallel, because VB was not that liked or admired post Spice Girls. In fact, a lot of people hated her for marrying David Beckham and thought she was utterly talentless.

She launched her fashion line in 2008 and it took years for it to be taken seriously and David poured millions into it to keep it afloat. So that's 17 years of grafting to result in the well-respected fashion and beauty business that VB now has. MM doesn't have that kind of sticking power. No way.

gosh that's one awful video