1. What resources and capabilities do you think it would take to become the top direct seller of cosmetics and beauty-related items? Does Avon Products seem to have any of those? What would it take to make its capabilities distinctive? I think due to Avon’s extensive history that they unquestionably have the capabilities to become a top seller, however I think only focusing on direct selling is hurting the organization. I think direct selling should still be Avon’s strong point, however Avon needs to seek different business opportunities. I also feel that Avon is managing their resources ineffectively. “The company manufactures and packages almost all of its beauty products.” (Coulter, 2013, p. 92) The issue is Avon purchases their raw materials …show more content…
The case study points out that in many countries, the opportunities and choices for women are very limited. Due to the fact that representatives order the products to sell from Avon directly, this allows Avon the strength to be in places that their competition cannot. The other strength of Avon is offering individuals business opportunities to essential work for themselves and be able to work from home. In today’s economy, Avon’s employment opportunities allow more people to improve the middle class’s financial …show more content…
The value chain analysis would allow me to assess the organization; functionality, resources, customers, marketing, purchasing, research and development, and human resources. (Coulter, 2013, p. 99-100) The internal audit would analyze the organization’s resources and capabilities. (Coulter, 2013, p. 101) This would allow me to see if we could expose the strengths and weaknesses of the production, marketing, research and development, financials, management, technology, board of directors, organizations structure and the culture. (Coulter, 2013, p. 102-104) Based on the case study I think I would find areas in the management, technology, and the structure of Avon that would need improvements. I think being able to understand what is going on internally should be the focus. I do think you can tackle external issues until you have your house in order. I do not think lay offs are a solution. I think an organization should exhaust all other tactics before going that
Internal- What is Danis capable of? (analyze the strengths and weaknesses) By looking at the company’s strong points and weak points Danis will be able to determine the company’s capabilities. According to Knol, marketing strategies, “All factors that are internal to the organization are known as the ‘internal environment’. They are generally audited by applying the ‘Five Ms’ which are Men, Money, Machinery, Materials and Markets. The internal environment is as important for managing change as the external.” (Knol, marketing strategy p 3)
As early as the nineteen fifties women were identified and targeted as a market. In a consumer culture the most important things are consumers. Advertisers convinced homemakers that in order to be a “good” wife and mother you must have their products and appliances to keep a clean and perfect home. The irony of this ploy is that consumers must have money to buy, and so trying to improve their quality as homemakers, off into the workforce women went. This paradox left women ...
Based on the case, Lawson Cosmetics has an unresolved issue. They cannot decide on whether they should take the new branding initiative global, which is brought up by Gupta. Lawson is obviously a multinational company. In my opinion, they should develop major elements to market locally, and regionally and globally at the same time with a consistent brand image, but they need to adapt its brand to different markets by different ways carefully.
Barsh, Joanna and Yee, Lareina. Unlocking the Full Potential of Women in the US Economy. McKinsey & Company. Accessed April 4, 2014.
Early in the process of mass market consumers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers realize significance of using their advertising to target women. Ads were designed and published to speak primarily for women. In the years preceding World War I, marketing techniques targeting women consumers became increasingly effective. Throughout history, women have always struggled for a recognized place in society. Despite the activities of the Suffragettes, support of the Labor Party and some members of the Liberal Party, women still had very few rights in 1900 and certainly no political rights. During the 1900’s women were still trapped in the “cult of domesticity” (Srivastava). A good illustration of the life of women early during those days can be seen in the advertisement O-cedar print ad year 1900 (fig. 1 below). This print ad speaks to house wives, saying that they have a wide variety of products to choose from. Ranging from a polish to protect her floor wood and furniture, dusting pads and mops that, according to their ad “reduce cleaning, dusting and polishing to almost nothing”. It is obvious that this advertisement reflects the stereotypical depictions of women as a “Happy Homemaker”, apron-clad and committed mothers portrayed in self promotional ads.
Lets start at the beginning Makeup Art Cosmetics or MAC was created in 1984 by two men, Frank Tosken a seasoned makeup artist and photographer and Frank Angelo a successful business owner of a chain of salons in Toronto. They found that cosmetic products that were readily available were not performing well under the intense environment of studio lights & perspiration, had little color payoff, and were constantly having to be touched up. So, they created cosmetic formulas and colors that met these specific needs. By using them backstage on models and performers news traveled fast about how wonderful these products were. At first MAC was only available to the professional makeup artist. Then by word of mouth news spread to the general population and was maid available to the public and in 1994 was purchased by the Estee Lauder who owns many of the world's favorite cosmetic brands. MAC continues to be a testimonial brand of cosmetics, meaning that there is no paid advertising for MAC to promote their traditional product. They rely solely on testimonials and word of mouth advertisement. However you may find that MAC does advertise only one product and that is Viva Glam Lipstick. This is their charity lipstick and it comes in five different shades.
Dollar Shave Club (DSC) is a subscription-based direct-to-consumer business that has been a distributor of razors and cosmetic shaving products since its launch in mid-2011. The company operates minimalistically by offering three primary subscriptions of razor blades, with the option to purchase add-ons, every month. The three different levels of membership operate on tiers of quality - a simple two blade $4 option The Humble Twin, a popular four blade $6 option The 4X, and the premium six blade $9 option The Executive. Each subscription includes a compatible handle and arrives in a small cardboard box at the member’s location on a monthly or bi-monthly basis ("Dollar Shave Club.").
Based on the information provided in the L’Oreal case, Yue Sai struggled to grow and capture additional sales in the high-end Chinese cosmetics sector. In the past, L’Oreal attempted to position Yue Sai in several different ways which can be viewed as detrimental to the company image, showing uncertainty as the company struggles to see which positioning strategy will stick. The most recent positioning presented in the case, which desires to “deliver Yue Sai’s longstanding brand promise that ‘Nobody knows Chinese skin better than Yue Sai’”, allows the highest probability of success for the company capitalizing on countless fresh trends in Chinese cosmetics (6). The positioning statement would reflect this new strategy: “For the modern Chinese woman Yue Sai offers a line of high-end cosmetics. Unlike other high-end cosmetics Yue Sai combines traditional Chinese medicine and sophisticated technology adapted to the unique skin type of Chinese women.” Yue Sai saw reasonable success and hope in the new Vital Essential line which utilized traditional Chinese medicine and, therefore, resulted in above average repeat purchases. Continuing to focus the strategy around traditional Chinese medicine should benefit Yue Sai considerably. Another suggested strategy would be to wholly reposition Yue Sai, however this is ill advised. As stated in the case, Yue Sai tried numerous different positioning strategies, which ultimately provided no clear path strategy. Repositioning would show uncertainty in the company, lowering brand value in the eyes of the consumer.
Mary Kay Cosmetics is a company known for providing women with exceptional opportunities for professional achievement and economic success and rewarding women for their success. Mary Kay Cosmetics uses several programs to motivate, recognize, and develop its beauty consultants, which include recognition in a monthly magazine, annual events, gifts and prizes and most importantly, financial incentives. At the heart of the financial incentives Mary Kay provides is the three car programs offered to beauty consultants at different stages of their career. The car programs have proven to be effective motivators; however the costs to the company have skyrocketed as the number of car winners as a percentage of beauty consultants has doubled, despite increases in program qualification requirements. The VIP car program is the main cause of concern for May Kay because of the large number of leased VIP cars, high interest rates and insurance premiums, and large losses on cars in service for short periods of time. Mary Kay's top management is now faced with finding a solution to rising program costs of their powerful incentive plan while maintaining sales force moral and motivation. The key issues that must be considered in finding a solution to the high costs of Mary Kay's Marketing Plan are how beauty consultants will respond to changes in the incentive plan and how implementing the necessary changes will affect the sales force.
1. How did L’Oreal become the world’s largest beauty company? What was the role of acquisitions in this growth?
The aim of the value chain structure is to maximize the value creation while minimizing costs. Value Chain Analysis is a useful tool for working out how you can create the greatest possible value for your customers. Value chain analysis relies on the rudimentary economic principle of competitive advantage -companies are best served by operating in divisions where they have a relative prolific benefit compared to their competitors. Concomitantly, companies should ask themselves where they can deliver the paramount value to their customer. To conduct a value chain analysis, the company begins by identifying each part of its production process and recognizing where steps can be purged or enhancements can be made. These improvements can result
Rite Aid Corporation which ranks as the third largest retail drugstore chain in the United states, control about 2,380 drugstores in 28 states across professionals pharmacy service, a full selection of health and personal care products, an assortment of general products in the nation and in the District of Columbia ( Rite Aid, 2007 ). Rite Aid has a great management team to help them with their success their team includes Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Special Advisor, Corporate Strategy ,Chief Operating Officer ,Chief Administrative Officer ,Executive Vice President – Pharmacy, Executive Vice President, Store Operations ,Executive Vice President and General Counsel( Rite Aid, 2007). Differentiate between management and leadership is very different for example, response to its huge losses, Rite Aid has said it expects to spend more than $94 million to reassess and restate its financial results for 1998 and 1999( ). Furthermore, that includes rerunning mainframe-based accounting systems and paying IT people overtime to work with internal and external accountants and auditors during the process. Still, Rite Aid does not plan to replace its combination homegrown Computer Corp. accounting system
They attempt to implement responsible sourcing within their supply chains, raise awareness of both water conservation and help to preserve natural capital. To do this they promote global transparency, and voice their engagement in climate policy. Nestlé’s labor practices consistently address human rights impacts in their operations and supply chains. Additionally, Nestle works towards enhancing the gender equality in the developed global offices. One example of Nestlé’s influence on their sourcing practices can be seen in Nigeria where infrastructure was few and far between and traditional delivery methods could not be achieved due to safety reasons to compensate nestle set their purchasing prices high as well as creating a multitude of small ware houses rather than the typical individual large ware house. They also adjusted their marketing scheme rather than posting to various forms of media as they would do in a developed country, they instead hired local singers and dancers to travel to different villages advertising the Nestle products in a way that would appeal to the different
competitors include Mary Kay Inc., and Revlon, Inc. The company’s top foreign direct selling companies of beauty products are L’Oréal (France) and Infinitus (China). AVON sold their North American division, as 90% of sales come from non-U.S. markets. These companies are the top competitors for AVON, due to the similar product base within the cosmetic environment, price points, and target market audience (Wood, 2013). AVON has lost domestic market shares to Revlon, who has increased their marketing campaign against the company. AVON has a challenging foreign market to infiltrate between rivals in respected countries such as L’Oréal and Infinitus. The threat of substitutes is highly competitive within foreign markets in an already competitive industry to
Motivate the Avon business to reach its goals of promoting its products and gaining sales through advertisements, sales competition, participating in conventions and endorsing franchise. Advertising is the key to attracting consumers and the outcome is high sales. Such advertisement is done through media (television), mail, or the internet. The more awareness from the public of the company the more likely to attract more buyers and the outcome is high sales.