Avon Products (Case Study)

Avon Products (Case Study)

In 1939 a company called Avon was created with the first “Avon Lady” Mrs. Albee of New Hampshire in the US. She was a door-to-door saleswoman who visited housewives in their homes with samples of cosmetics and home products. Within 12 years, Mrs. Albee had recruited and trained nearly 5,000 female sales representatives who were working within 48 states. For many decades the “Avon Lady” was the only way housewives could buy their cosmetics and home products, especially in rural areas. They looked forward to seeing her once a month and she became popular and everyone knew who the “Avon Lady” was for their area.

By 1954 Avon began to enter overseas markets in Latin America and then entered the UK. The slogan that Avon became famous for was “Ding Dong, Avon calling” and it was first televised in that year. This slogan was associated with Avon for many decades until the company stopped door-to-door direct sales. Avon’s formula for success was rather simple. Using door-to-door sales technique to sell good quality products to women in lower – to middle - income ranges.

Avon’s General Manager in Latin America described how the company operated there. “Because Avon was so focused on its North American operations there was almost no centralized control. Each country office was allowed to have its own strategy, its own policies, its own culture and its own products.” He stated that “Rarely was I asked to come to New York more than one or two times a year.” Each country manager ran their local operations as they wanted to fit in with their local environments. Because of their freedom, the country general managers saw themselves as both part of Avon and part of their own individual entrepreneurial effort and they were encouraged to think this way by corporate headquarters.

Like almost all large companies, Avon had always been dominated by males. There was the annual hunting trip, membership to the Gun Club and season tickets to...