Avon Calling

▪ 1999

      During the 1990s the untapped direct-sales markets in Russia and China provided a prime opportunity for Avon Products Inc. and Mary Kay Corp., two leading American cosmetic companies, to expand their businesses overseas. Women in those countries had long been employed in jobs for which they were overqualified and/or received low wages. When the companies attracted these women to their sales forces, the relationship became mutually beneficial—a significant increase in revenue for the firms and increased financial opportunity, job satisfaction, and self-esteem for the women.

      The Mary Kay vision, part of which was "to provide women with an unparalleled opportunity for financial independence, career, and personal fulfillment," found a ready reception in 1993 in Russia, where the company was greeted by a number of enthusiastic women eager to purchase and pitch its products door-to-door. Among the saleswomen's ranks were doctors and engineers who discarded their previous jobs for better pay, more satisfying work conditions, and a more reliable source of income—the late payment of salaries was a continuing problem. Mary Kay's "women-only" policy also offered them a financial opportunity not available to their husbands, and some men soon saw their wives become the major breadwinners. In addition, Mary Kay's sales representatives were rewarded financially for recruiting others, an incentive that aided in the proliferation of the sales force, which by 1998 had swelled to some 65,000. Although many Russian Mary Kay customers earned meagre salaries, a great number of them would spend as much as two-thirds of their incomes on beauty products.

      China also provided a welcome environment for direct selling after opening its doors in 1990 to a number of businesses, among them Avon. Just one year after Avon began operations there, some women reportedly had left their state jobs to sell full time for Avon and were earning several times their state salaries. In 1992 sales posted in China were $8 million; by 1997 that figure had skyrocketed to some $75 million. In April 1998, however, the large investment made by Avon was threatened by a State Council edict that made all direct selling illegal. At least 20 million Chinese were involved in some form of direct marketing, and thousands rioted in opposition to the ban. The crackdown was largely intended to eliminate a number of unscrupulous organizations involved in pyramid schemes, but there were also reports that the large and enthusiastic sales meetings held by some companies had a cultlike air that made Chinese officials nervous. In June Avon announced that the company had received permission to operate in China at wholesale and retail levels only, which meant that changes were in store for many who had enjoyed the independence that Avon's direct-selling structure had offered.

SANDRA LANGENECKERT

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