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• Thank you for exposing the truth here! Unfortunately, I am one of the many that invested in and believed what I was told about MODE. Turned out to be all wrong!

• Wow- Nailed it! So nice to see an article that tells the truth instead of building her up as some kind of small business champion.

• In my opinion, there is something sinister about a person who chooses to sell a franchise "opportunity" to individuals with full knowledge that most of her franchise stores are struggling. Ciara Stockeland will tell you that she is all about empowering women. She will tell you that she owns a "successful" franchise business. She will tell you that she has a "successful" business model. She won't tell you that once she convinces you to invest your life savings or put your home on the line, she'll blame you when your store fails, then threaten you with lawsuits, sue you and bully you through her attorney. She won't tell you that she pays herself and her corporate staff with the savings of store owners who supplement their stores and make nothing for all of their hard work. She won't tell you who she really is, and by the time you find out, the emotional and financial price you've paid will be more than to had to give.

  • Very well said, and completely true!

• Her success stories also fail to mention she has had 100%+ corporate staff turnover in less than a year!

• Hahaha - sounds like these two ladies and "anonymous" couldn't make it in business. Must be some desperate housewives out there who wanted to own something and never work - or their husbands needed them to get a hobby so bought them something. Not to point out the obvious, but looks like you all bought something and weren't smart enough to make it work. Sob stories! Nobody makes you buy a business, but when it "fails" seems it's easier to blame someone else. This site is sick!

  • "Toby":

    Thanks for sharing your opinion.

    Despite your intentionally demeaning tone, you are probably right on several counts.

    MODE franchise owners were probably not highly experienced retail professionals. That would hold true for most similar franchises. People who acknowledge their inexperience are the ones who seek the training and guidance of a franchise company. Those who already have industry experience would balk at a $30,000 franchise fee. In turn, franchisors often encourage those with little to no experience, ostensibly because they have "no bad habits to unlearn." Sometimes, though, it turns out that they prefer inexperienced franchisees because those with industry experience might see through their BS right off. Not saying that's necessarily true in this case - just in general.

    You are also correct that blaming others for a business failure not uncommon. If we were talking about one or two failures in an otherwise robust system, your claim might make sense. But when more stores are failing than succeeding, a logical person like yourself should conclude that there is something wrong with the system.

    If there's not something wrong with the system or the model itself, then it would be logical to conclude that there is a problem with the franchisor's initial screening process, and/or quality control and compliance process.

    Or that they grew faster than they were able to manage.

    Or that the inexperienced franchisor foolishly (or greedily) opened franchises in remote, untested markets instead of growing concentrically closer to home, where she could support franchisees more efficiently and could build name recognition and co-op advertising between stores.

    Either way, when half or more of the stores fail, the buck stops with the franchisor. They either are peddling a flawed business model, selecting the wrong franchisees, not monitoring performance and addressing problems, or all of the above.

    I don't mean to pick on Ciara, but to see her applying for the IFA Bonnie Levine award and doling out advice on how to franchise when she hasn't really accomplished anything of note is disturbing and even a little embarrassing.

    For fun, let's tweak your statement and direct it to Ciara Stockedale: "Not to point out the obvious, but looks like you [built] something and weren’t smart enough to make it work. Sob stories! Nobody makes you [franchise] a business, but when it 'fails' seems it’s easier to blame someone else."

    As for your statement "This site is sick!"... thanks!

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• Toby,
  You are clearly a friend of Jim Stockeland and Ciara Stockeland. I'm sorry you are so misinformed. I know many of the former MODE owners, and I doubt your education would stack up to theirs. Business experience? There was plenty of it! Not a single MODE franchise store has been successful. Shocking information when you see the excessive self promotion of the Stockelands. Still want to stand behind your friends model? There are plenty of stores willing to sell to you. Post your contact info and put your money behind your misguided belief in the Stockelands!

• Seems quite obvious that Toby is a friend or family member of Jim and Ciara Stockeland. The demeaning tone is familiar! Do tell, what actual knowledge do you have on this topic? There isn't a single uneducated housewife running a store. Your comments about the educated and hard working women supporting the Stockelands business is shameful. The Stockelands have a failing business on their hands. I hope you are being equally critical of them.

• Yes, Toby, I am a desperate housewife.

• Ciara is a liar, actor and salesperson. She will charm you with empty promises spoken in soft tones and puppy dog expressions. She says she wants intelligent, motivated and hard working women. Then she signs them, takes their money and tells them to shut up when they challenge her failing system, telling them "the franchise agreement promises [them] nothing".

  She hides the truth about exorbitant fees and then justifies it saying that someone has to pay her bills because she barely breaks even each month, not mentioning that she is paying herself a salary that affords her a Cadillac, an upscale home and first-class plane tickets. This is all while the same women who are paying the fees are working 60+ hours a week and borrowing from retirement accounts, savings and college accounts so Ciara can live a comfortable lifestyle and parade around like a mascot.

  Her franchisees are hard working women who are brow beaten into following a "system" that is never proven and is not successful. The franchisees are told they are not following the system and then blamed when they don't meet minimums. Well, none of the franchises have met minimums because this DOESNT WORK!

  Ciara sues franchisees that are already deeply in debt, and then continues to take money from them. She makes money from sales minimum guarantees, settlements from failed stores, and undisclosed fees instead of making money from the success of existing stores. Her business model is backwards. She profits from failure instead of success.

  I hope that anyone who is considering the MODE designer fashions closeout prices franchise finds this and then runs in the other direction. Ciara Stockeland is a con woman. Do NOT buy-in to her lies.

• The Stockeland's are toxic, greedy, prideful and the karma is finally circling back around. MODE and Mama Mia are finally lying to rest in the bed they made. The most unfortunate part is that they are leaving a trail of tears paved by failure and forged by those that believed in them the most.
  It was all a lie. It is disappointing.

  They have ruined lives.
  I don't know how they look in the mirror each morning much less kneel on Sundays.