Seven Castles

Mary Kay

                                      

April 16, 2008

 

Mary Kay is a brand of skincare and color cosmetics sold by Mary Kay Inc. founded by Mary Kay Ash (1916-2001) who parlayed her early training in direct sales into a multi-million-dollar, Dallas-based cosmetics firm. Richard Rogers, her son, is Chairman and CEO.

 

After a lengthy and successful career in direct sales, she retired in 1963, just for a month. During those four weeks, she decided to write a book to help women thrive in the male-dominated business world. Sitting at her kitchen table, she made two lists: one contained the good things she had seen in companies she had worked for, the other featured things she thought could be improved. When she reviewed the lists, she realized that she had inadvertently created a marketing plan for a successful "dream company". With her life savings of $5,000 and the help of her 20-year-old son Richard Rogers, she launched Mary Kay Cosmetics on September 13, 1963.

 

Although her choice of a cosmetics career was not unique, she proved incomparable at combining the skills she had acquired selling books door-to-door with her understanding of marketing to women. Successful beauty product entrepreneurs before her had proved this a lucrative field for women. A few had "invented" a specialized product line and established highly effective sales networks. It was her reliance on women as in-home salespersons, her use of a signature color (pink) as part of the corporate identity, and her shrewd incorporation of premiums and incentives into company sales plans that brought her such astonishing financial success.

 

She was widely respected for her unconventional approach to business. She considered the Golden Rule the founding principle of the company, and the company's marketing plan was designed to allow women to advance by helping others to succeed. Unfailingly supportive and enthusiastic, she advocated "praising people to success" and her slogan "God first, family second, career third" expressed her insistence that the women in her company keep their lives in balance.

 

In 1968, the company went public, being traded on the over the counter market. By 1976 it was large enough to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1985, Ash took the company private through a leveraged buyout.

 

The company's history was portrayed in the Shirley MacLaine movie "Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay".

 

For 45 years, Mary Kay has helped women all over the world look great, feel great and achieve their dreams. From super-effective skincare that includes products for a fair, even complexion to on-trend makeup to body care that pampers and protects, women get customized beauty routines that fit their needs. The company now employs 800,000 Independent Beauty Consultants in 37 countries throughout the world.

 

Mary Kay entered China in 1995 with the goal of transferring its culture to a land where many older women, after years of restrictions, do not wear makeup. Even though a 1998 ban on direct sales threatened to ruin the venture, China is expected to be its largest market in the next ten years, beating out the USA for the top spot. To better its position in the Chinese market, the company revamped some of the products to meet local cultural demands. Mary Kay (China) Cosmetics is in Shanghai. As any skincare or cosmetics products sold in China must be made in the country, to adhere to the laws of China, the company opened a plant in Hangzhou to manufacture and package products.

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2008年04月16日 星期三 06:15】【注册】【打印】