JR Ridinger was known to many as the Founder, President, and CEO of Market America.
The 63-year-old passed away suddenly on August 31, 2022.
Who was JR Ridinger?
Businessman, JR Ridinger, started his company in the early 1990s when computers and technology were just coming into public focus.
At the time, Ridinger felt that almost everything was operating in an outdated fashion and decided the time was right to take advantage of advancing technology.
The marketing market was overly saturated and would often cost thousands of dollars for an entrepreneur to successfully market themselves.
It was then that Ridinger started thinking about restructuring the way we perceive marketing to substantially cut back on costs.
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“I realized early on that the grind was really in place to enrich the company you worked for rather than yourself,” Ridinger told PrimeView.
“For most companies, people are just numbers, mere data to be managed and manipulated. I wanted no part of that and sought to develop a business opportunity of my own that turned the industry upside down. "
He continued: "By the late ’80s/early ’90s, I had grown disillusioned with the state of mass marketing and spent a great deal of time and effort analyzing and identifying problems and solutions, which ultimately led to the creation of Market America Worldwide and the UnFranchise Business.”
Market America's website, Shop.com, connects buyers with people in real time, allowing them to direct buyers to the products they would want.
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"As serial entrepreneurs, Loren and I operate a little differently than your average 9-to-5 couple,” said Ridinger.
"We stay up late because we have so many ideas, hopes, and dreams we want to accomplish, and we get up early to make them happen."
What is Market America?
Ridinger founded Market America in 1992 which was created as a means to empower entrepreneurs in their endeavors.
Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, Market America supplements entrepreneurs' income, and its website boasts of helping 300million people become millionaires worldwide.
The company creates a shop.com website for each entrepreneur for individuals to purchase their items.
Shop.com operates in eight countries and its sales top at $1billion annually.
Market America has numerous accolades since its inception over 30 years ago.
Its consumer website ranked 19th in Newsweek's 2021 Best Online Shops, No. 79 in Digital Commerce 360s, and No. 11 in the 2021 Digital Commerce 360 Primary Merchandise Category Top 500, amongst others.
Market America has also won the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics twice and received the No. 15 ranking in The Business North Carolina Top 125 Private Companies for 2021.
Despite the company's global success, Ridinger told PrimeView it was the recognition from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that he is most proud of.
“We’ve always believed in their mission because it mirrors our approach to business,” Ridinger said.
“We’ve recently become national partners with the BBB, which is without question one of the greatest honors in our company’s history.
"It’s our way of demonstrating our continued commitment to an accountable, transparent, and fair online shopping experience for both UnFranchise Owners and consumers."
What was JR Ridinger's cause of death?
News of Ridinger's passing was announced via Instagram by his company: "Shop.com has lost a great visionary, and the world has lost a passionate human being who believed in other people even more than they believed in themselves.
"Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with JR have lost a friend, partner, and mentor.
"JR's passion, leadership, and energy were the sources of an enterprise that enables people to live a more fulfilled life and a life on their own terms."
Ridinger is survived by his wife, Loren Ridinger, his two daughters, Amanda Ridinger and Amber Ridinger-McLaughlin, and his three grandchildren, Ayden, Ayva, and Aydrien.
Always the family man, Ridinger told PrimeView earlier in 2022, "Any free time I have is spent with my family and our three amazing grandchildren, who have me wrapped around their fingers.
"As important as business is to me, nothing is more important than family.”
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Ridinger's funeral service was held on October 8 in Miami, Florida, over a month after his death.
The somber event was attended by A-list celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and her husband Ben Affleck, as well as Alicia Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz, as per the Daily Mail.
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