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**Trademark of Avon Products, Inc.
Avon Products, Inc.
Copyright Jeffrey Babener www.mlmlegal.com
Editor's Note:
Welcome to MLMLegal.Com Company Profiles at www.mlmlegal.com. Here you will find brief summaries of pertinent information about hundreds of MLM, Direct Selling, Direct Sales, Network Marketing and Party Plan Companies. As a general matter, the summary information is derived from Company published information, generally posted at Company websites, public information releases or posts at industry trade sites .*
Founding Story
In 1896, David H. McConnell started the California Perfume Company when he was 28 years old. The company began in New York City as a manufacturing and shipping office in a room that was approximately 20ft by 25ft. McConnell's first General Agent was P.E. Albee who is still remembered as the model for Avon representatives worldwide.
In 1897, McConnell built a 3,000 square foot facility that stretched three stories high that later (1971) expanded to 323,000 square feet. By 1906, Avon had 10,000 representatives and Depot Managers that were selling 117 different articles in 600 different styles and packaging sizes. At this time they began to have advertisements in Good Housekeeping and during this same year the first color brochure was published. In 1914, the company expanded internationally to Montreal.
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During WWI, millions of products were selling a year in North America alone. As the war came to a close (1928), the company doubled its annual profits to 2 million a year. At this time, California Perfume Company had 25,000 representatives across the nation, a facility in Manhattan, and began selling products under the name Avon. In 1937, David H. McConnell dies and his son, David Jr. takes his position as president of the company that has now relocated to Rockefeller Plaza. Many of the products at this time have a guarantee and a seal of approval from Good Housekeeping.
The company sales were still doubling and in 1939 the (www.mlmlegal.com) company officially changes its name to Avon Products, Inc. By 1944, the company's annual sales reach a staggering $16 million a year despite the war. New facilities are opening across the nation in places like California, New York, and Chicago. J.A. Ewald now replaces David Jr. (after his death) as the president of the company. In 1946, he introduces mechanized billing and takes the company public, with shares offered over the counter. In 1954, Avon has expanded to Atlanta, Newark, and Canada. At this time it has 3,700 employees (more than two-thirds of them being women), offers approximately 500 products, and makes about $55 million annually. A new television advertising campaign launches and for the first time, moves overseas.
In 1956, Avon opens for business in Cuba. In 1963, after expanding worldwide to places like Germany, Venezuela, Brazil, and the UK, the Company reports an increase in profits of 59%, approximately $33 million dollars. Domestic sales are roughly $350 million.
Avon is listed on the New York Stock exchange in 1964. In the 1970s, US sales are at $750 million and international sales continue to grow at an average of 25%. The Company is now one of Wall Street's favorites. Avon sells roughly 800 products now and the Asian Avon business opens in Japan, and Italy, France, Spain, and Ireland opens up for Avon's business.
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In 1997, Avon reaches $5 billion dollars in sales and accounts for 2.6 million independent representatives who take home a whopping two billion in commissions. The company fills up to over 650 million orders in 135 countries.
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Impact on the Industry
Avon is the world's largest direct selling company. Avon sells a majority of their products through door-to-door sales and in catalogs, but in places like China, where door-to-door selling is banned; most of their products are sold through retail outlets.
Avon has recently expanded into two new markets. "Mark" is geared toward younger, college age women and "M" is a men's catalogue. The men's catalogue has proved to be the most successful as it has reached an entire new group of male customers between the ages of 18-25.
The media has also taken recognition of the company's success. In the 1983 film, Strange Invaders, an alien appeared as an Avon lady. Avon is also mentioned in Tim Burton's film, Edward Scissorhands, as an ongoing parody of the film.
Discussion of Products
Avon sells such famous products as Avon Color, Avon Skincare, Avon Bath & Body, Avon Hair Care, Avon Wellness, Anew and Solutions, Skin-So-Soft, naturals, and more.
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Discussion of Opportunity
There are two ways to earn income with the company, including:
As an Avon Representative: by selling products or - through the Sales Leadership program - by selling products while recruiting others. The higher your campaign (selling cycle) sales are, the greater the percentage you'll earn on those sales.
Sales Leaders, Representatives who both sell and recruit, earn money based on their personal sales plus their recruits' sales, with a similar progressive earnings structure applied.
Avon Products, Inc. states the following benefits for joining the company:
- You are your own boss.
- You have your own business.
- You can work independently or with a team.
- You set your own hours.
- You can work from home.
- You determine your family/work/lifestyle balance.
- You have a means to earn money no matter what the economic (www.mlmlegal.com) climate.
The company considers itself an innovator in direct selling, boasting the following:
- Customized social media environments for Representatives to reach customers and other Representatives.
- A personalized eBrochure widget to ensure that customers are never more than a few clicks away from ordering, sharing the eBrochure with friends and creating a viral sensation.
- Online training and sales tools.
- A new application for Sales Leadership Representatives to more effectively monitor their Representatives’ orders.
- “Intelligent ordering,” which makes it easier for Representatives to place their orders with Avon and ensures that they receive special product offers that are relevant to them.
- A widget which lets Representatives embed the latest Avon TV advertisements and videos into their own social media platforms.
Avon offers the following compensation plan:
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For additional information, one must contact the company.
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Discussion of Distributor Base and Sales Volume in U.S.
Today, Avon sales have reached billions of dollars in products annually. Avon holds millions independent sales representatives worldwide. Avon Products, Inc. has a presence in over (www.mlmlegal.com) 100 countries.
Company Website: www.avon.com
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Jeffrey A. Babener, principal attorney in the Portland, Oregon, law firm Babener & Associates, represents many of the leading direct selling companies in the United States and abroad.
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