Building the World's Premier Company for Women
"For 119 years, Avon has empowered countless women with every lipstick, powder, and face cream sold. It's wonderful to read about a brand that has made the world a prettier place in so many ways."
-Kerry Diamond Harper's Bazaar Beauty Director and author of Kevyn Aucoin: A Beautiful Life
"By providing women with an unlimited opportunity for career success, Avon harnessed the power of a committed sales force to win customers and grow the business. The company's success story is testimony to the importance of focusing on your core business while recognizing the changes taking place with your customers and the environment. The heart of any successful business is its people and, as this book clearly demonstrates, reawakening its heritage and strength has truly propelled Avon into the future." ?
-Mary Sammons President and CEO, Rite Aid Corporation
"This book does more than just chronicle Avon's successful rediscovery and refocusing of its core competency. It tells the story of what makes the company tick. The book is an excellent primer on how to successfully make alternative forms of distribution work. It's also a lesson in circumnavigating the treacherous waters all companies eventually face when it seems their core concept has become passé."
-Allen Burke Director of Merchandising, QVC, Inc.
"What makes the Avon story so fascinating is that it has no denouement. The dramatic tale continues to evolve. The author's incisive revelations, in tracing the company's roller coaster ride, capture the extraordinary personalities and entrepreneurial strategies of one of America's most spellbinding success stories."
-Annette Green President Emeritus, The Fragrance Foundation
A colorful look at Avon's journey to the top
Avon is the world's largest direct sales company, with a record four million representatives in more than 140 countries worldwide. Its product line has expanded from cosmetics to vitamins, weight control products, clothing, and jewelry. In The Avon Story, author Laura Klepacki offers an in-depth look at how Avon grew from a small business selling books door-to-door to one of the world's leading cosmetics companies. Through exclusive interviews with company executives--both past and present--as well as analysts and other experts in the beauty and cosmetics industry, Klepacki reveals how Avon has built a global empire by addressing the needs and customs of women around the world as well as how it has managed to thrive in all economies even in tough times. Readers will also discover how this cosmetics powerhouse has maintained and increased its market share through new product introductions, the use of technology, appealing to different customers, including men and teens, rewarding its best performers, and giving back to society with financial support for such causes as domestic violence and breast cancer. The Avon Story also takes a look at the leadership principles that have allowed Avon to prosper over the years. Engaging and entertaining, The Avon Story offers readers a well-rounded account of one of America's most respected and successful companies.
Laura Klepacki (West Caldwell, NJ) is an experienced journalist who has covered beauty, marketing, and other consumer issues. She is the mass-market beauty editor for Women's Wear Daily, where she specializes in articles on the multibillion-dollar health and beauty care industry in the United States. She frequently travels to industry conferences to meet with senior executives and has close contacts with consultants and analysts in the cosmetics and fashion business.
Laura Klepacki
Business & Management Marketing Marketing & Sales Marketing u. Vertrieb Wirtschaft Wirtschaft u. Management